Start Treating Volunteers and Donors the Same
As the world continues to bounce back from the pandemic and a struggling economy, nonprofits are still among those trying to recover.
One of the best ways for these charities to regain momentum is to stop splitting donors and volunteers apart. Some nonprofits are still keeping these two groups separate - having development staff build relationships with donors while event managers create and empower a volunteer base.
We need to merge these two sets of ongoing supporters together to create one highly-valued and significantly powerful affinity group. Here’s why:
When we show the same love to our volunteers as we do our donors, we succeed in our missions.
Creates Community - Whether someone is a donor or a volunteer, they are still demonstrating a sustained passion and commitment to our causes in ways they feel emotionally connected to the mission. We’ve done this where I work and we call them ZERO champions. Putting these donors and volunteers under the same banner creates community. Not only does sharing a connection to the same mission bring people together but having a shared title within a community, allows bonds to form and those bonds amplify passion and commitment for our causes.
Promotes Value in Diversity of Giving - Every person is a different person and the way we give to causes we care about is pretty diverse. By unifying titles and the way we treat and honor donors and volunteers, it creates a sense of equal value. For example, it tells our volunteers they are just as important as anyone who gives a donation. We’ve run into it time and time again where a volunteer says they’re not as important as a donor. However, the old adage is true – Time is money. Each hour a volunteer gives is nearly a $30 value according to the Fidelity Charity Fund.
Turning Donors into Volunteers - Donors, especially those who give repeatedly understand they are transforming our missions. Bringing them into volunteering at an event reminds them why they donate and it shows them how our staff are excellent stewards of their contributions. There are more times that I can count that a donor has come out to volunteer and later increased their donation because of the emotional connection they felt by being hands on with others fighting for the same cause.
Converting Volunteers to Donors - Some of us can feel a bit icky about asking people who are already giving time to also give money but volunteers are not only just giving time, most are chipping in with other costs we don’t even know about. In other words, their whole heart is dedicated to the cause and if a case of water needs to be bought for a run/walk, they’re paying for it. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, four in five volunteers are also donors. Volunteers are usually asking what they can do to help. If we ask them to donate, the chances are high they will also provide a contribution to further propel our programs forward.
