Getting Volunteers for Retail Fundraising for Philanthropy challenge like 100heros seemed to be a great challenge for our NGO. Even though Give has incentivized most fundraising volunteers shy away from Retail Fundraising Volunteering.
How to address this ?
Even if we could gather some volunteers they think it is compromising their self-respect when they ask for money in their friends and family circle and they have low will. How to address this and motivate them to use the Communication kit to communicate effectively
How to keep the energy of the Volunteer sustain who finally get the will to participate and start communicating for a period of 60 day time duration of 100heros.
Volunteers are unlikely to fundraise for an org unless they have already been volunteering for some time on the OTHER work of the organisation (teaching, mentoring, etc.)., typically over a reasonably long period of time (6m+)
They need to see the impact and they need to see how much difference money can make. Typically vols like to see money going to support beneficiaries
Regular conversations with volunteers about the work, the impact, the need for funds, sharing what the org does with the money, etc. can build more buy-in.
A good indication of whether someone will fundraise for you or not is whether they are themselves donating to your org. If they arenāt, they are probably not yet convinced about the impact/value of money spent, and u may need to work on that first.
Getting vols to understand that inviting others to donate is an opportunity to give friends the JOY of supporting a great cause, works well. But again, this can only happen if the volunteers find joy in donating to support your work.
To summarise from your points, it seems building trust is an issue about the spending of money and the impact it is creating over a 6m+ period of time.
We are an audited organization like other Tax-exempt NGOs where there are financial reports and annual reports where you can see the money journey from where it is coming and going created by third-party professionals like our auditors and reviewed by our solicitors.
What else practical communication is required to work on the points you mentioned?
Involving volunteers - sharing the vision, goals, resources needed, seeking their thoughts and inputs on the goals/plans, seeking their support in mobilizing funds will help. Some may be comfortable crowdfunding, others may offer ideas or ways to reduce costs/ receive support in kind, yet others might be happy to connect to their companies for CSR supportā¦
I think involving volunteers as partners and important stakeholders (along with staff and others) is the route to go.
kartheevidya
(Karthee Vidya - Team Everest (Volunteer Man of India))
5
@Author_SriJoydip - When someone volunteers, donates or fundraise, it means, they trust you and your organization.
Building trust takes time. Donation requires more trust than Volunteering. Fundraising requires more trust than donation.
Trust for Fundraising > Trust for Donation > Trust for volunteering
Financial reports is just part of the puzzle. But, it is too logical and not emotional. When people connect with your cause, and understand āWhyā, they will support.
Global retention rate of fundraiser is 25%. That is if 100 people fundraise for your NGO this year, only 25% will fundraise for you next year.
So, you need to constantly hire volunteers for fundraising year on year.
There are many cultural challenges as you have mentioned where people are not willing to ASK. Only a tiny % is ready to do it. Thatās why motivating them, making them part of your cause, experiencing it - all this becomes important.
So, if you ask 100 people and you get 10 fundraisers. To get 100 fundraisers, ask 1000 people then.
When you do it, see how you can increase the conversion % from 10% to 15% through experiments. Itās a long journey and not a sprint. So, never stop experimenting to figure out what works for your organization.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. Hereās a concise summary of the key points from your post to help us move forward with a focus on subtler aspects:
Trust is Paramount: Building trust is the cornerstone of successful fundraising through volunteers.
Trust-building Strategies: Trust is cultivated by sharing your vision, fostering a sense of ownership, and connecting emotionally rather than relying solely on facts, figures, and audit reports.
Training and Tools: Equip volunteers with the necessary training and tools for fundraising.
Recognition and Rewards: Offer financial incentives and public recognition to motivate fundraising efforts.
Demonstrate Impact: Show how fundraising efforts lead to recurring support.
Recruitment and Retention: Continually recruit new volunteers, recognizing that only a fraction will actively fundraise, and retention may be a challenge.
I have taken note of these points and plan to implement them.
Additionally, I have observed that many of your volunteers, often recent college graduates, initially show enthusiasm during presentations but struggle with follow-through in their actions. I have tried appointing leaders over them and requested progress reports, but some volunteers remain unresponsive.
My NGOās main challenges are:
Translating Inspiration into Action: How to convert the motivation and trust established during orientation into concrete actions and financial results.
Financial Viability: Making the volunteering program more financially sustainable, as it currently consumes a lot of energy and time while producing subpar results.
How to explore some subtle strategies to address these challenges effectively.
A non-profit programme by design isnāt financially unviable.
My two cents, donāt look at volunteering primarily for cost savings, donāt accept sub-par results for similar inputs.
Very important to understand donor/fundraiser psychology.
Fundraising is different than donating and volunteering for many reasons. One primary reason is transactional trust. When we donate, we donāt put our reputations on line; rather we trust an NGO to do the right thing and the use of funds in no way affects our social image. Similarly, when we volunteer, we are giving our time to an NGO, often for activities that canāt negatively impact our social image. But when we fundraise, we are essentially vouching for the NGO and trying to facilitate a transfer of trust via our own social standing. In that fundraisers are telling their network ādonate to this NGO cause they do good work and I can vouch for themā. In such a case misattribution of funds can also negatively impact a personās image.
In essence, you are looking to build trust through constant communication and evidence. Thatās why communication journeys are important as they allow you to nudge a volunteer to become a donor and donor to become a fundraiser.
Even if we could gather some volunteers they think it is compromising their self-respect when they ask for money in their friends and family circle and they have low will. How to address this and motivate them to use the Communication kit to communicate effectively
The main agenda should be to remove the taboo associated with fundraising. Inspire rather than instruct.
This can be done via an orientation session once someone has signed up to be a fundraiser.
How to keep the energy of the Volunteer sustain who finally get the will to participate and start communicating for a period of 60 day time duration of 100heros.
Have communication journeys (Email + Whatsapp) wherein you are reaching out to fundraisers with tips and motivational content at least 2 times a week. All of this can be motivated.
Share a toolkit that helps them navigate the maze of fundraising ops. This could include donation appeals they can use, posters, etc.
Have a scorecard to gamify the experience. Basically share who have raised the most.
In conclusion, please remember that fundraising as an event is driven by the tail. Your top 20% fundraisers may well raise more than the other 80% combined.
1 Like
kartheevidya
(Karthee Vidya - Team Everest (Volunteer Man of India))
10
Loved your explanation on how fundraising is very different from donating & volunteering.
I guess the approach is to work with volunteers who have already volunteered with you in other areas (not fundraising) and know/ trust your organisations. These volunteers can fundraise for you in their personal capacity. Many companies also offer a $ match for every hour their employees volunteer- including Cisco, Google, Microsoft and a few others.