Sometimes people who buy a home in an HOA neighborhood may not be used to the core concepts of an HOA. In most places, you take care of your property and keep it to yourself. Maybe you get to know one or two neighbors and share cookouts, but if not, that's okay too. The idea of a tightly knit community has become unfortunately alien to your average homeowner to the point where many do not even know how to approach being part of an HOA or understand what volunteering would consist of. This means that if you want to build your board, committees, and volunteer teams, you need more than a regular blurb in the newsletter. You need real outreach and community-building practices in order to show your members what it means to share and get a chance to explain what HOA volunteers do.
Hold a Regular Potluck Barbecue
The backyard barbecue is one of the most popular ways to come together with neighbors because it gives everyone a chance to get to know the other members of their local community. Kids play together, neighbors try each other's potato salad recipes, and it could bring normally quiet members out of their shells for a little while. How does this help get volunteers? People will feel more connected to their community and happy to help build a neighborhood they share with friends.
Get the Word Out
Sometimes one of the barriers between homeowners and joining the HOA as a board member or volunteer is the lack of knowledge or misconceptions about what getting involved will entail. Your best defense is to share the information in every possible avenue. Send a physical newsletter for users that read their mail and an email newsletter for those that don't. Get on social media sites like Twitter and share articles about what it's like to volunteer for the HOA. Once you have their attention, draw in your homeowners by describing the actual useful and exciting roles they could play in your HOA. Make sure your volunteer work is worth their valuable free time, and you will start getting bites.
Reach Out to Specific Members
Look for the most skilled, talented, and energetic members of your community and reach out to them for roles you think they would fill well. Have a finance manager in the neighborhood? Invite them to help the HOA stay within budget. Know a cheerful couple who likes to garden? Invite them to lead the replanting effort next spring. When you approach, emphasize the benefit to the community they can bring, and don't be shy about mentioning home values. Finally, point out that the community is made up of a lot of different opinions, and by providing their point of view they can sway association decisions that will affect the entire neighborhood.
Be Supportive and Share Praise
In many cases, HOA work is challenging but can be incredibly rewarding. Make sure your volunteers know how much their work is valued and appreciated. Be generous with praise and help everyone stay in high spirits, even in the face of setbacks. You can even hand out volunteer awards at a special party or as a shared event at the community barbecue. Remember to reward both exceptional and regular work, sometimes your best volunteers aren't flashy, but they are there to help whenever you need them.
The purpose of an HOA is for homeowners to get more from their building or neighborhood by sharing responsibility, governance, and maintenance tasks. If you have been struggling to get your fellow HOA members to join you in volunteering, it may be because they simply don't understand what they have to contribute or how it makes a difference. By bringing people together, defining what volunteerism can do, and reaching out to key community members, you can turn your HOA from a ghost organization into a lively and productive democracy. For more helpful HOA advice, please contact us today!
