Need someone to do something free for you?
Many people ask me to perform free services. Sometimes I say yes. Sometimes, I say no.
While I do believe that people should be paid whenever possible, there are many things that require free time and work from people. We don’t wish to see these things disappear. I am a member of the Board for the Basel English Panto Group. Every year, we produce a British Panto as a community theater. We are non-profit and cannot pay anyone. We have no money after we pay to rent the theatre, buy music and script rights and rent sound and lighting equipment.
Just the way it is.
You all are doing similar things that require volunteers. Here are some tips on how you can get people to volunteer for free.
Be honest. Do not ask someone to come to your office to discuss an event, a conference, or anything else without stating that it is a free gig.
Make sure that they understand your purpose. You should reconsider your request for free work if you cannot articulate your mission or why they are worth their time.
What will they get from it? It may be just a warm, fuzzy feeling of doing the right thing. There may be tangible rewards for them. Maybe it’s just for fun. Explain what it is.
You don’t have to do their work for free. Act like you don’t.
Do not use passive aggressive hints, such as “boy, we still haven’t hired a speaker to speak at our conference …”. People want to feel appreciated.
After someone does something for you, it is important to thank them.
