Encouraging members to sign up for another term has a number of advantages. These experienced members:

• Serve as a bridge of continuity for the program
• Are able to mentor first-term members
• Can help plan orientation, emphasizing the information that's stayed with them during their service term
• Become a resource in recruitment efforts

Be aware that a participant is only eligible to serve a subsequent term of service if he or she received a satisfactory performance review for any previous term of service in an approved AmeriCorps position.

Recruiting Members to Serve a Second Term
Marea Hunter, director of the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation AmeriCorps (Incline Village, NV), says recruiting second-term members often is as simple as letting them know it's a viable option.

Click the play button to hear more on this.

Notre Dame Mission Volunteers-AmeriCorps (Baltimore, MD) sends letters (in mid-March) to members recommended by site supervisors, asking them to join again and also thanking them for their service.

They also have a panel of second-term members present at their annual midterm conference. The panel allows second-term members to openly discuss what they have gained and how they have grown in their second term. It is very inspiring for current members to hear advice from their peers on the benefits of staying for a second term as well as a great way to recognize the people who've stayed.

See the letter that Notre Dame sends to potential second-term members.

See the application form that ACCESS uses.

Placing Second-Term Members
The Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation AmeriCorps (Incline Village, NV) finds that second-term members do well when they're given new assignments, rather than continuing with the same work.

Click the play button to learn more about this practice.

Another program that has been extremely successful in attracting second-term members is Notre Dame AmeriCorps (Apopka, FL).

Click the play button to hear how program director Laura Firtel believes that serving a second term benefits both the community and the member.

Firtel recommends building reflection on service into monthly meetings, so members are aware of the impact they're having emotionally, socially, and intellectually. When they realize all they've accomplished, "it's hard [for them] to turn down a second term."

Go back to Recruiting for Retention