Birthright Armenia: Getting the Word Out

Recruit:  (verb). To find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, etc.; to persuade (someone) to join you in some activity or to help you; to secure the services of. Synonyms: call up, engage, conscript, draft, retain, take on. 

One can chalk it up to timing, targeted digital marketing, content, concerted global reach, and perhaps a few other key factors, but Birthright Armenia is becoming a common household term that continues to spread around the globe. What used to always exude a response of “Birthright? What is that?” now commonly gets “Of course I know Birthright Armenia, my (fill in the blank) did Birthright and can’t stop talking about it”.

As the number of program participants continues to grow, inevitably a majority of people know someone, a friend, relative, church goer, or fellow student who has done Birthright or a donor who has supported the organization, and are therefore already familiar with the basic premise and mission upon which the non-profit operates.  With 970 alums from 35 different countries, positive promotion and word of mouth generated by these ambassadors on the ground plays a large part of the program’s successful recruitment of new volunteers.   

“The best result of our brand being more recognized around the world is that it really is no longer a question of whether or not our young people will do Birthright, it’s more just a question of when,” says Linda Yepoyan, the executive director of the non-profit organization.  “We are thrilled that volunteering in Armenia is becoming more of a rite of passage for the 21-32 age set.  We couldn’t be more pleased,” she adds. 

In order to increase the geographic diversity of participants while numbers continue to grow, it takes a recruiting effort that includes more than boosting Facebook posts and GoogleAds.  This past year there was a well-planned recruitment plan in place that was implemented from city to city, state to state, country to country.  The events targeted church parishes, youth groups and the various Armenian Student Associations on college campuses for live presentations lead by staff and local area alumni.

In 2014 alone, a total of 20 cities were visited including Tampa, Cleveland, Columbus, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Southfield, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto, Ottawa, Providence, Richmond, Washington, College Park, London, New Brunswick, Istanbul, and Tblisi.  These face-to-face presentations are important for getting the word out firsthand, dispelling myths people associate so frequently about Armenia, and overall information sharing about the types of possible placements and the impact volunteer service has in Armenia. 

This coupled with an aggressive social media presence has proven to be a successful recruitment approach which will be continued throughout 2015 with stops planned for Boston, Northern and Southern California, France, Boca Raton, Montreal, Colorado, New York, and a South America tour, amongst other cities. If you’d like to host a Birthright Armenia presentation on your campus, in your church, for your organization, contact linda@birthrightarmenia.org to schedule.