Do you want to raise more money?
Of course you do!
A great strategy to do just that involves using volunteers for fundraising.
But before we discuss how to use volunteers to fundraise, it’s important to understand why we use them.
Why We Use Volunteers for Fundraising
1. Volunteers bring sincerity and passion.
Volunteers already love you and your organization.
It’s one thing to ask for money when you’re a staff member, but volunteers come at fundraising from an entirely different place. They are not being paid; rather they are there because they genuinely want to be. There is no better advocate for your cause than a dedicated volunteer.
2. Volunteers bring networks and relationships.
Of course, you’ve heard the concept, “six degrees of separation.” Adding volunteers to your fundraising toolkit only broadens your network and your reach.
If you’ve been fundraising for more than a week, you know fundraising is about building relationships. Potential donors are much more likely to trust and support their friends (your volunteers) than they are to trust you. Friends give to friends.
3. Volunteers have time and skills.
Short on time and resources? Volunteers could be the answer, provided they are well trained and supported.
Volunteers may also bring skills to the table that you, as a staff member, don’t have. Business, sales, and marketing skills are all extremely valuable and transferable to fundraising.
How to Use Volunteers as Fundraisers
1. Identify important skills and characteristics.
What skills and characteristics do you want in a volunteer fundraiser?
- Willingness to ask.
- Good listener.
- Passionate about the cause and your organization.
- Familiarity with your organization.
2. Solicit current volunteers (board and non-board members).
Using the list of criteria above, identify current and potential volunteers. Include board members as well as non-board volunteers. Are there volunteers who work in the office, directly with the clients, or in other parts of your organization who might be willing to help with fundraising?
3. Create a list of ways to help.
Provide a list of current fundraising opportunities—large and small. Your volunteers may not be aware of many of the opportunities to get involved, especially if they are not board members, or working near the administrative offices. Communicate with all volunteers, but specifically target those you have identified as willing to help in this area.
Examples of ways volunteers can help with fundraising include:
- Bringing friends on tours of your organization.
- Selling tickets and sponsorships.
- Signing appeal letters to their network of friends and family.
- Making thank you calls to donors.
- Promoting your organization through social media sites.
4. Train your volunteers.
If you expect volunteers to do things in certain ways and be successful, they must be trained. Period.
5. Provide specific instructions and doable tasks.
Don’t assume your volunteers know what to do. Fundraising isn’t “natural” to most people. The more specific you can be, the more successful they will be.
And remember, volunteers are busy people too. If you ask them to make three calls this month (as opposed to thirty or three hundred), they are likely to be successful and come back for more.
Taking it to the Next Level
I’d like you to do me a favor…
On October 4th 2012, I will be leading a webinar for AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) called, Turning Your Volunteers into Fundraisers (click here to register). Your feedback will help me create a program that will answer all those burning questions about volunteers and fundraising.
Simply let me know what questions you have about using volunteers in the comments. If I don’t reply with an answer here, I’ll definitely address your question during the webinar. And if you prefer to be confidential or anonymous, please contact me directly with your question.
So many people are actually afraid of fundraising. They have had bad experiences in school, scouts, community, work, etc. Usually because they didn’t have good training and/or where not invested in what they were promoting.
One thing people need to know is that to get 1 “yes” to 10 no”s is a decent return. We have been so acclimated to seeing every “no” as failure.
I find that being in a group and role playing (which people hate!) is almost essential.. Talking about how we each respond to different types of approaches helps see how what we project onto the person being asked it usually our own anxiety, not what is feels like to be asked. Asking people in an appropriate way takes insight and preparation,