And actually, my tip this week comes from a Facebook connection I made with an involved PTO mom. Her advice (and I concur): Never give an outright "no" to an offer of help from a parent at your school. It sends exactly the wrong message and is the first step in getting a clique reputation.
Yes, you may have enough help for this particular effort (and too many volunteers can be almost as bad as not enough), but take the time to explain that to the parent offering -- and always have another nice volunteering opportunity (or even better, a few choices) to connect that parent with. The worst thing you can do is to simply say no and hope she calls back again later. Most often, she won't. And she'll think your frequent requests for help are hollow.
It actually takes work and attention to cultivate more new volunteers. Little steps mean a lot. And little mistakes can do real harm. If this is a challenge for you, you might also like this article about 13 keys to build involvement.
Good luck!
