How to work effectively with volunteer leaders engaged in fundraising
Howard Lake | 11 February 2015 | Blogs
Committed volunteer leaders are essential to the success of every fundraising effort. Yet, charity CEOs and development professionals often find it difficult to engage board members, major donors and other senior volunteers in fundraising.
At the same time, volunteer leaders report that they want to make a tangible impact, to feel inspired and more connected to the organisation, that they would appreciate more meaningful opportunities to get involved.
Making the most of volunteers
Common signs that you are not making the most of your volunteers include:
• Insufficient clarity on fundraising role and specific tasks and expectations
• Lack of follow up on actions agreed
• Fundraising is viewed as being the responsibility of staff/development committee alone
• Low participation in board/volunteer orientation and fundraising training
• Lack of knowledge about the organisation, its plans and past performance
• Inability to articulate the organisation’s case for support
Strategies to consider
So how can you work effectively with volunteers and ensure fundraising is a positive and rewarding experience?
Here are some strategies to consider:
• Engage volunteer leaders
– Provide orientation for senior volunteers to cover role and expectations, case for support, mission and history of the organisation
– Involve volunteer leaders when preparing strategies to approach potential donors
– Provide concise and thoughtful briefing materials
– Communicate regularly the impact of philanthropy
• Value their time and input
– Begin and finish meetings on time
– Distribute written agendas and materials in advance
– Be flexible and offer the option to conference call
– Follow up individually to provide guidance and check on progress as required
• Set definable annual goals for committees
– Outline both the annual plan, and more detailed quarterly and monthly timetables
– Set interim financial goals and benchmarks
– Link financial goals to activity targets and the case for support (for instance, the target this month is to meet with the following three prospects and secure one major gift to fund an essential staff position for the next five years)
• Assign specific tasks
– Tailor tasks to your volunteers’ preferences and skillsets
– Volunteer leaders can be asked to:
• Review lists and help identify and cultivate potential supporters
• Open doors and make introductions
• Host dinners, receptions and presentations
• Articulate the vision and inspire potential supporters
• Serve as an advocate of the organisation
• Act as a closer on significant gifts
• Lead by example and support the organisation financially
• Thank donors
The active involvement of senior volunteers can result in many benefits beyond financial – their participation serves as a powerful endorsement of the organisation’s cause and adds credibility to the fundraising effort.
To make the most of your leaders, follow a number of simple steps – supply the right information, give them a reason to feel inspired, don’t waste their time and don’t ask them to do too much or too little.
How does your organisation utilise volunteer leaders?
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Additional Resources
• Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Fundraising Fundamentals, Section 3.5, Volunteer Advisory Boards
• Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, Richard T. Ingram, 2nd edition, © 2009 BoardSource
• Fundraising Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, James M. Greenfield, © BoardSource 2009
Magdalena Douleva is Assistant Vice President with CCS Fundraising, a leading global fundraising management and consulting firm working with over 300 non-profit organisations each year, to design and implement successful and sustainable development initiatives.
During her time with CCS Magdalena has delivered fundraising campaigns with combined goals exceeding €100 million.
Magdalena’s clients have included Christian Aid (UK), University College Dublin (Ireland), Rotterdam School of Management (The Netherlands), All Saints’ Episcopal Church (Belgium), American University in Cairo (Egypt), Children’s Medical and Research Foundation (Ireland), Open University Business School (UK), Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (Ireland), Schlumberger Foundation (France), Tiri (now Integrity Action), (UK), Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), (Ireland).
Most recently, Magdalena has been serving as the resident campaign counsel at University College Dublin, providing overall campaign direction and management focused on the most urgent priorities of Forming Global Minds – The Campaign for UCD.
Photo: Volunteer t-shirt by wavebreakmedia on Shutterstock.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.