Converting Your Volunteers to Donors October 15, 2009

October is GiftWorks Volunteer Appreciation month, and I just came across a very pertinent article in fundraising guru Mal Warwick's newsletter about the often delicate topic of converting volunteers to donors (excerpt below).  Certainly if someone is interested enough in your organization and mission to volunteer their valuable time, a logical next step for you is to ask for their financial support as well.  To do this effectively requires that you acknowledge the volunteer's current participation in your organization and build from there.

Do comment if you have ideas or insight on this topic!

Here is an excerpt of the Converting Your Volunteers to Donors article by Deborah Block and Paul Karps:

Acknowledge their participation

Right off the bat, you want to make sure the volunteer understands you’re well aware of her existing relationship with your organization. For example, you might want to describe exactly what sort of volunteer activity the recipient’s involved in.

What’s more, if your volunteers are doing different tasks—and you’re able to personalize the letter, even it’s only on the first page—you could write segmented copy for each of the volunteer efforts.

Let’s say your group is a social service agency. One segment could be written to people who deliver meals to the homebound, another to those who staff your hotline, and another to the individuals who drive seniors to appointments. You get the idea.

The more detail you can offer to acknowledge how these volunteers help you, the more personal—and compelling—the  appeal will be.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Just as you would do with an existing donor, be profuse in your thanks and praise. After all, giving of one’s own time and energy is, in many ways, more of a commitment than “checkbook philanthropy.”

So thank early. . .and often.

Paint the bigger picture

In many cases, a volunteer may be involved in just one small portion of your group’s work. So you want to educate this person—much as you would a cold prospect—about the broader scope of all your organization does to fulfill its mission.

Emphasize the need

Once, of course, you review the big picture—so the reader gets a full understanding of who your group is and what you do—you’ve set the stage to explain exactly why you need additional financial support. And, as always, the more specific the better. Focus on programs, services, and the people who will benefit. Not operational needs, like paying the rent or utility bills.

Don’t be shy about stressing your group’s fiscal responsibility and your cost-effective use of volunteers—something the recipient can certainly relate to. “Even so,” you might say, “the need is so urgent, I’m reaching out to you today.”

Take the next step

As in any fundraising letter, you want your Ask(s) to be direct and straightforward. There’s no beating around the bush: Don’t just ask for the volunteer’s support and/or help. Ask this person to send a gift.

Because you’re writing to a volunteer, you can approach the Ask in a very similar fashion to how you might write to a current donor. In other words, you can combine a thank-you with asking the reader to do even more to help your organization. Something along these lines: “That’s why I want to thank you for doing your part to keep our local rivers clean.  And why I want to ask you to take the next step in your dedication to preserving our environment—by sending a generous gift today to Save Our Waters.”

A final (cautionary) word

One final thought about converting volunteers to donors. However much you try to craft that perfect mailing, you may still find yourself fighting a losing battle. Many people volunteer their time precisely because they can’t afford to make a gift. Or they just may not be direct mail responsive.

So don’t get discouraged if your results don’t match your expectations. And instead of going for the gusto on the first shot, perhaps test a segment of your volunteer base to see if a conversion package makes sense economically, particularly when compared to using cold acquisition—but direct mail responsive—lists."

Comments

This is a very important initiative. After all, the volunteers have the opportunity to see the organization up close. If those closest to the organzation are not supporting it financially, how can we expect to get outsiders engaged? Take the time (while they are at your organization)to educate the volunteers in understanding the case for financial support.

Another important aspect is to get corporations (who send their volunteers over for a Day of Caring) to get in the habit of underwriting the expense for the day. It costs real money to oversee volunteers. Raise the bar -- get your corporate partners involved in understanding the full responsibility of volunteerism.