Most Donors Plan to Maintain Giving in 2009 March 25, 2009 By Mary Pat Donnellon

Now is not the time to put your fundraising efforts on ice!  While 401(k)s have taken a hit and jobs are less secure, the majority of donors plan to donate as much this year as they did last year, according to an article published last week in the Chronicle of Philanthropy (http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=7442).  

The article cites a survey, completed in January, of 17,365 individuals who are past givers to charity.  The survey indicates 52% of donors will give at the same level as in 2008, while 17.5% said they are giving less.  The remaining 30% said it was too soon to tell, presenting a challenge and an opportunity for savvy fundraisers.

According the the article, "respondents were prepared to make sacrifices to sustain their philanthropy.  Of those who planned to give at least as much in 2009, 50 percent said they were willing to make compromises in other areas of their life to do so."

It has never been more important than now to cultivate and care for your valuable donors.  Don't be shy to ask for their support, and don't assume they won't support you as they have in the past.  Finally, make sure you have a tool like GiftWorks Fundraising Software to ensure you fully know your donors, understand their support, and can ask for it again in the most meaningful and personal way.

Leveraging Volunteer Talent March 17, 2009 By Mary Pat Donnellon

Intellectually we all know how important volunteers are to our nonprofit work.  But day in and day out, we often fail to fully leverage and tap into this rich vein of talent and support.

Certainly this is a hot topic these days.  As budgets are strapped and demand for services up, increased dependence on volunteers is likely a smart solution for all organizations.  In addition, given the record level of layoffs in the past few months, there are possibly more talented individuals available to provide hands-on help.  And we have seen evidence of an increased interest in volunteerism in the up and coming generation, many of whom were seriously mobilized and engaged for the first time in the 2008 election. 

Yet, despite these trends, studies show nonprofits have a hard time retaining and leveraging volunteers.  The cover story of this month's Advancing Philanthropy addresses the topic and cites a Stanford Social Innovation Review article that nonprofits lose volunteers for a number of reasons which include not matching volunteers' skills to the jobs assigned, failure to train and lead volunteers, failing to recognize volunteers' contributions and measure their value.

What's to be done?  First, there needs to be an organizational commitment to leveraging volunteers to their fullest.  In order to do this, it's quite helpful to fully understand the impact volunteers have on an organization which is impossible without good measuremement.  (Check out a very helpful article on this topic from Blue Avocado: http://www.blueavocado.org/content/tracking-volunteer-time-boost-your-bottom-line-complete-accounting-).  Second, decide and learn to manage volunteers just as you would manage any other critical function in your organization.  The Advancing Philanthropy article previously mentioned has some great ideas on this. 

Finally, make sure you don't add more responsibility without the tools to measure, manage and scale.  GiftWorks Volunteers can help with all of this - from capturing volunteer skills and your organizational needs, capturing volunteer and project hours, to providing the means to recognize and communicate with your volunteer team.