Recruiting Community Leaders

 

Women in community leadership positions can bring an organization new knowledge, skills and contacts. These "prestige" leaders may not be able to offer commitments of time, but they can provide influence and resources that which will help advance programme goals. Their participation may also attract other members with more time to give. How can we tap this valuable resource?

Strategies:

• Identify women active in the community on issues of interest to your organization.

• Identify decision-makers (legislators, board or council members) and women prominent in business, the media, and funding sources (corporations and foundations).

• Develop a membership brochure focused on a key IFUW issue to describe your organization's work and how it makes a difference, or prepare several brochures, each addressing a different issue. Send the brochure to the community leaders you have targeted. Follow this up by a personal visit.

• Invite selected community leaders to take a role in one of your community-directed activities or events. This is more effective than inviting them to an ordinary meeting.

• Encourage each of your members to identify one or two community leaders and help to recruit them.

• Identify groups of community leaders already working together on an issue of interest and invite them to present a programme to your membership. Discuss the benefits of IFUW membership with them.

• Establish an advisory board and invite targeted community leaders to serve.

• Give a gift or honorary membership to an influential local or national leader. Invite the media to the presentation.

 

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