Thursday March 20- Volunteers

Hi !

👩 Carol Willick: TL;DR version

Volunteers are the backbone of every nonprofit organization. They give their time and effort to help you run your programs, impact people and grow your services. Without them? I’m guessing you’d be really stuck.

The problem is what volunteer opps are (or are not) offered and retention of volunteers. Many nonprofits struggle with this and this leads to constant turnover of these very special people.

Your nonprofit must make sure to

• Offer multiple opportunities for people to get engaged and connected

• Have a proper onboarding process

• Make volunteers feel special so they stick around for the long haul

Let’s dive into this week’s pain point: Recruiting and retaining volunteers.

😴 Mr. Heckles: Need your help please!

🙄 Janice Litman-Goralnik: Kirsty nails it

I had an intro for this section but will skip it. Instead, I highly suggest you read this short post from nonprofit digital marketing expert Kirsty Marrins. What she says is 🎯 .

Important to note: I don’t blame people for not offering their skillset as assistance. Nonprofits need to step up their game.

People WANT to volunteer, they WANT to help, they WANT to connect with your organization. YOU have to provide them with different options to get involved and then work on building a relationship with each individual volunteer. Don’t stop at asking people to paint a youth center.

The pain point: You’re not offering more than one volunteer opp and you’re not engaging your volunteers. And that hurts your ability to grow. Here’s why.

🐒 Marcel: You gotta offer more!

When a new subscriber comes onboard, I go and check out their website. I wanna learn more about the organizations my subscribers work for. Sometimes I’ll also sign up for your enewsletter. (I’m always on the lookout for great email content!)

When I visit “volunteer” pages on websites I’m often left with a feeling of emptiness. The page usually just says the organization needs volunteers, please fill out a form or call for more information.

Folks, most people won’t do that! Instead you have to bring the volunteering to them and showcase options for getting involved. Like this:

No Panic shares both potential ways to get involved and the abilities people need to possess to volunteer. CARE took it a step further:

I LOVE THIS! They didn’t just list a few ways to volunteer. They let people know in advance- based on data the organization gathered- the time commitment for each volunteering option.

Brilliant!

Your organization should come up with different ways to get involved. Give people a choice so they can find what matches their skillset and passion. Helping create that match will make for a much more successful volunteer program- and further connect each volunteer to your organization.

(If you’re having problems recruiting volunteers, the Google Ad Grant can be a helper in finding them. Additionally, have a look at this list of 20 ways to recruit volunteers.)

HOW TO: Retaining volunteers starts when you’re recruiting them. Use the volunteer page on your website to list volunteer options (like the Houston Food Bank and Rales Jewish Family Services do). Another good idea is this American Red Cross mini-questionnaire which you fill in and it helps you figure out which volunteer role you’d be best suited for.

Now let’s move to step two: Building relationships with volunteers so your organization grows and thrives.

👰 Emily Waltham: What it’s all about

Fundraising and marketing is all about money building relationships. Volunteers are no different- just because they’re providing “free labor” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be actively working to connect and engage with them. Your organization should WANT them to stick around for as long as possible.

What does that look like? Here are some ideas:

1. The onboarding process: Don’t just ask them to sign some paperwork and show up next Monday at 3pm to join your program. Provide a proper orientation! At the end of orientation they’ll know your org better. They may not know everything but they’ll have a good grasp of your mission, who you help, your programs, their specific role and more. This helps set them up for success.

2. Don’t take them for granted: Lead with gratitude, continue with gratitude and end with gratitude. If you see them as a way for you to save money, you’re doing it wrong. Let them feel the love, feel wanted, feel good about what they’re doing. They’ll stick around longer.

3. Feature them: Highlight and spotlight your volunteers in all your fundraising and marketing collateral. In direct mail and emails, impact reports, social media posts, event pages. You should certainly celebrate volunteers on your website! There’s another byproduct of showcasing your volunteers: Social proof. People will see their peers volunteering for your organization and they’ll want to join. Win win.

4. Provide added value: They’re interested in your mission. Open up opportunities for volunteers to learn more. For example, educate them further about the issue you advocate for whether that’s through in person events with a topic expert, webinars or live Q&A on Facebook. Providing added value helps people feel closer to your organization and its goals.

5. Celebrate them: Have an annual fun event for your volunteers. Hand out awards. Celebrate what they’ve done individually and as a collective. Show them how they’re helping your organization move forward.

Spend time and energy into building relationships with your volunteers. Doing that will benefit your organization- not just in impact but also with your fundraising.

Expert tip from me: Many organizations are afraid or hesitant to ask volunteers for a donation.

My response: If you’ve built a relationship with them, ABSOLUTELY make the ask! They have seen your programs and services up close, they know who you’re helping and how you do it. They have firsthand knowledge of the need. Ask them! (5 tips for building donor relationships through volunteering)

Volunteers are some of the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet. They selflessly give what they can to help your organization move from survival to thrival.

But that only happens if your recruiting gets better and you work hard at building relationships with them.

☕️ Gunther: A little of this and that

Here’s some great content for you to learn from:

1. It’s not about you. This week’s Ephraim’s Must Read! (Hands On Fundraising)

2. 5 revenue streams to strengthen sustainability (Ann Green)

3. All about the P.S. in your emails. They matter a lot! (Designmodo)

4. How to use personalized video messaging for donors (Nonprofit Pro)

👶 Frank Buffay Jr.: Thank you!

If you were a subscriber of Email 366, YDDN or both, I want to thank you. Back in July many of you answered my request to fill in and submit a survey about the pain points within the grants process.

Thank you!

After spending a lot of time analyzing the data (over 1,000 grant seekers submitted the survey and hundreds of grant funders did as well) and conducting dozens of interviews, I’ve got something for everyone:

An ebook, published with Foundant Technologies, that takes a deep dive into the grants process and suggests numerous ways for it to be more user friendly and seamless!

I look at the various frustrations and challenges BOTH sides have with the grants process and offer concrete solutions and ideas to solve the problems and create dialogue between the sides. (I am presenting and working on presentations and trainings to help forward the dialogue and ease the grants process for everyone.)

Download this free ebook today and see how both grant seekers and foundation funders can work together to make the world a better place!

🤦 Ugly Naked Guy: This week’s Make It Make Sense poem

I applauded loudly, this guy aint no dummy
Learn the crazy reason why this Indian man has more money.

Job interviews can be tense and stressful as we all know
Would be great if they asked questions only about this show.

At work I’d prefer a window seat please
But be careful about putting an employee in one of these.

And finally a painful story for many, if not all
A soccer player’s child has bitten a referee on his…

I’ll be back next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

P.S. I listened to a song on an endless loop while working on the enews. Not sure which song? Find the easter egg in the enews and you’ll have it.