American Red Cross Nashville Coordinator Chapter 3

Building a
winning team (8 to 4 weeks in advance)

Determine how many recruiters you'll need.
The recruiters you enlist and the work they do will have a direct impact on how much lifesaving blood your drive will collect. Build a team of Red Cross volunteers that will help you reach your drive goal. If you have any questions, your Red Cross representative can offer suggestions and advice on building a team.

In general, we recommend one recruiter for every 25 people. Recruiters should come from every part of your organization and should be outgoing, detail-oriented individuals who are comfortable asking people to donate blood.

Determine how many volunteers you'll need the day of the drive.
Ask your Red Cross representative if volunteers will be needed to help the day of the drive. Volunteer options may include: greeting donors, setting up the site, distributing publicity materials, and running the canteen. Based on the size of your drive, the Red Cross can estimate the number of volunteers required and provide training as needed.

Include senior leadership on your team.
Ask senior leadership to donate blood and be involved in the drive. These individuals may be some of your most influential recruiters. To ensure senior leadership's involvement, request that your organization's president or leader ask other leadership people to participate.

Meet and motivate recruiters.
Once you have your recruiters on board, get everyone together to generate enthusiasm for the blood drive. Try to make this a casual event under an hour. This is an ideal time to have your Red Cross representative outline the donation process, and review blood drive procedures. Keeping your collection goal in mind, accomplish the following:

Have senior leadership endorse the blood drive, thank the group, and stress the importance of their participation.
Provide blood drive specifics - date, place, time, collection goal, and volunteer needs.
Establish objectives for each recruiter. Sign up predetermined numbers of donors, distribute support material, and coordinate appointment schedules and reminders.
Review the checklist and timeline (see Chapter 9) to ensure all steps are covered.
Invite your Red Cross representative to present a motivational video, answer the most commonly asked donor questions, and discuss the most common reasons for not giving blood.