Tips for Creating Compelling Opportunities
Welcome to Pro Bono CO! We have designed this portal to be a useful resource for you in recruiting new volunteers to help meet your clients’ needs. To help craft compelling and interesting opportunity posts for the portal, we have compiled tips to provide you with guidance and support for effective recruiting via the portal. If you would like more support on drafting your opportunity posts, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Feel free to email Brett for drafting help at blandis@coloradoaccesstojustice.org.
Tip #1
Length: Aim for 150-250 words. Too much detail, and people will stop reading. Too little detail, and people won’t find the post interesting.
Tip #2
Use active voice! (Ex. “Survivor seeks protection order.” NOT “A protection order is needed for a client.”)
Tip #3
Use active verbs! (Ex. “Seek”, “Find”, “Donate”, “Advocate”)
Tip #4
The headline/title of the post is an opportunity to convey excitement/importance. (Ex. “Help a veteran avoid eviction”, “Make a difference in 2 hours at our Family Law Clinic”, “Calling all Mentors.”)
Tip #5
If you are posting about a specific case, include a couple of (non-identifying) details to share the humanity of the client. (Ex. “A single mom of two is seeking help gaining her unemployment benefits.”, “A disabled veteran is facing eviction.”)
Tip #6
Focus on the potential impact of the opportunity. (Ex. “Provide one hour of time to support rural legal deserts!”, “Help keep a mother and her two children safe from domestic violence.”, “Protect a senior citizen from unlawful garnishments.”)
Tip #7
Location: Be specific. (If the client lives in a specific county or your office is in a specific location, we encourage you to highlight that.)
Tip #8
It can be helpful to narrow the focus of an opportunity. (Ex. “Seeking Bankruptcy Attorneys to provide pre-filing advice for low-income debtors” NOT “Seeking help on consumer cases”. Or, “Help a senior avoid foreclosure using a Chapter 7 bankruptcy" NOT “Bankruptcy help needed”.)
Tip #9
Ask for help! We are here to help you! If you ever get writer’s block or want to review something, just ask! Brett is available for any content-related support at blandis@coloradaoaccesstojustice.org.
Tip #10
Remember that this is within your skill set! You are experts in recruiting pro bono volunteers. Pro Bono CO is simply a new tool to help you.
Bonus Tip:
Consider posting both case specific opportunities (opportunities that refer to a time-sensitive specific issue) and “evergreen” opportunities (opportunities that refer to standing clinics and general volunteer information for your organization).
