Top Ten Reasons to Cultivate your Volunteers as Donors

Submitted by Beth Steinhorn on Thu, 12/10/2009 - 15:11.
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by Jill Friedman Fixler and Beth Steinhorn

It's that time of year, isn't it?  No, not the holiday season! It's time for the year-end solicitation, right? We know that, just like retailers depend on the holiday shopping season to bring them into the black each year, nonprofits have come to rely on the year-end solicitation to adjust the bottom line a bit more favorably.  So, we'd like to share with you the Top Ten reasons to ensure that your year-end solicitation strategy includes an intentional and strategic "ask" directed to your volunteers:

#10         Your volunteers are already in your midst.

Volunteers are already in your world. Don't overlook the obvious when you send out solicitations to large lists that include people who may not have made a donation in years. Remember to ask those who volunteer regularly, who recently helped run a program, or who donated some time as a pro bono professional.

#9           Your volunteers know your organization.

Your volunteers have already demonstrated a strong connection to your mission and your programs by giving of their time. With a volunteer, there's no need to "make the case" as you might with a potential donor who is further removed from the organization.

#8           Your volunteers understand your organization.

Who would understand better the impact of budget reductions on service delivery than the volunteers who help you deliver those services? For the volunteers, budget reductions not only would impact your ability to serve clients, but would directly impact their work as well.

#7           Volunteers are being selective with their money in the same way they are being selective with their time.

We already know that when volunteers don't perceive that their volunteer work is having an impact, they take their skills elsewhere. The same goes for their funds. If you aren't transparent and honest with your needs, your volunteers will take their dollars somewhere as well.

#6           It's not too late!

While it may be the second week of December, you can still contact your volunteers through a strategic email campaign or a few well-planned phone calls to solicit them for a donation to your organization.

#5           It's not too much work - Go viral!

If you do not have the time to organize a campaign, engage a volunteer to do so. Leverage social networks. Develop a brief, compelling online campaign and post it to Facebook, Twitter, and your organization's website and then ask your volunteers to share it with their networks. Think of the thousands of people you can reach by asking your volunteers to spread your message.

#4           Volunteers can tell your story in a way staff can't.

Volunteers all have personal stories to share about why they feel connected to your mission or how your organization helps make the world a better place. People don't give money to organizations - they give money to people. Let your volunteers be the face of your organization and inspire others to donate.

#3           You position your organization well for 2010.

As you embark on 2010, this effort can become the seed of an intentional fund development plan directed towards your volunteers. This is the start of accessing the abundance that's already in your world even in tough economic times by deepening your relationships with volunteers.

#2           Your volunteers are more likely to give to your organization because they volunteer there.

A recent study released by Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and VolunteerMatch reports that 67% of Americans who volunteered in the past year say they "generally make their financial donations to the same organizations where they volunteer." So, have you asked your volunteers to donate? Have you made it easy for them to do so?

And the #1 reason to cultivate volunteers as donors:

Volunteers donate, on average, 10 times more than non-volunteers.

The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund study also reports that "Americans who volunteer their time and skills to nonprofit organizations also donate an average of 10 times more money to charity than people who don't volunteer." Need we say more?

 

Submitted by Beth Steinhorn on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 18:11.
Thank you. It's a great point - and only further supports the need for solid data tracking so that an organization can access this deeper data you are mentioning - not just whether a volunteer is engaged, but how and in what roles. Having this data - in easily accessed databases that are relational with the develoment database - is critical. Furthermore, your point underscores the need for the volunteer engagement staff to be working collaboratively with the development staff to better understand the trends within your own organization and then develop effective, personalized fundraising strategies.  Thanks for adding to the conversation!
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/02/2010 - 15:24.
In other nonprofit research, we found that the greater the number of activities/programs a volunteer was involved in, the greater the gift amount, on average. Moreover, there is also a difference in donor dollar based on the type of engagement as well. A greater understanding of the nature and level of engagement of a volunteer may help an organization more strategically make the "ask" by taking a more targeted and cost-efficient approach to income development.

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