by Jason Dick on July 1, 2009
Volunteers are one of the gems of the nonprofit world and are an invaluable asset to making connections in the community, raising funds, and getting day-to-day work done. Board members and campaign volunteers are two of the best resources for bringing in new gifts.
But sometimes it can be quite a challenge to get follow through on specific requests. I’ve seen many tools to help us remind each other and our volunteers like: going through lists of assignments as a group (peer pressure), using email reminders to make follow up easier, setting regular times for volunteers to make phone calls. But, these techniques do not always work and how we handle these reminders is important for our ongoing relationships with our volunteers.
It is important that you really believe your volunteers have high value. If you don’t believe they add value then either you have the wrong volunteers or they are doing the wrong jobs. When I want something done for me I try and take the perspective of a servant (cheesy but it helps). I try to be straight forward about what I am asking about and offer my help as often as I can. I use statements like, “is there anything I can provide for you to help with calling Mr. X,” or “have you had the opportunity to write your thank you note to Mrs. Y.” I have found asking this way gives them a reminder but also gives them an out so they don’t feel like you are nagging them.
Any tricks you would like to share? How do you remind your volunteers to help you with key tasks?
by Jason Dick on June 28, 2009
Ok, so I’m getting excited about a new idea. Who would get excited about all of us together starting an online community where we promote each other’s online fundraising?
Would you be willing to commit to comment and vote for each other to win/raise money for your organization? Online fundraising can be really hard especially when you’re first getting started. But through this blog maybe we can make it easier for everyone.
Here are a couple of ideas that I’m thinking we could offer if together we decided to create this community.
- Promotion of nonprofits who are competing for online grants & awards to help bring up your voting numbers
- Forum discussions on fundraising and social media issues, along with forum leaders/experts to help coordinate and answer questions
- Live video feed discussions where I will (or try to) answer any social media or nonprofit question from your nonprofit
- A resource for you to ask questions and provide outside advice on how your organization can think about social media and online fundraising questions
This idea will not work unless I get a flood of responses from all of you. Please send me an email or leave a comment (or both!) if you would like to join. If you would be willing to co-lead a component this concept please send me an email and I’d love your input.
Loading ...
Loading ...
Loading ...
As we plan and think about this feel free to invite your friends or let other nonprofits know about this idea. What does that mean?
- RT (retweet) this post on Twitter
- Put a link to it in your Facebook status update
- Send a couple emails to friends and see if they’d be interested
by Jason Dick on June 24, 2009
I spend a significant amount of time trying to get a hold of people and have a few different techniques that I’ve used to do so. I’d love to hear back from you if you have any additional tools or ideas. Just leave a comment below with your technique.
- Call at different times in the day and do not leave a message. Most people will answer their work phone when they are at their desk if they are not currently in a meeting or on a call. (Do not use this technique with their cell phone.)
- Try multiple numbers. Make sure you have the work, home, and cell numbers of those contacts that you need to get in contact with the most often.
- Leave more than one message a week on their phone. Depending whom the individual is I will sometimes leave 2 or 3 messages a week.
- Use Gentle Persistence… don’t accuse them of not answering your call or get verbally frustrated with them, you want them to feel like they have a clean slate every time you leave a message.
- Get to know their assistant. An assistant is often the gateway to the individual and they know when their boss will be available and when is a good time to call.
- Try an email and call combo. When I have a little question I find leaving a brief phone message followed by a short email mentioning your call can be one of the most successful ways to get a quick response.
by Jason Dick on June 22, 2009
One of the most important elements in motivating co-workers is building an environment that celebrates success. I’m not talking about a little cheer when you get a big gift (although that works for some people). We need to take regular time to talk about what is going well and why.
Celebrating success is important especially in economic times like these. We will all have harder seasons to fundraise than others and for many people knowing that you did a great job is what will get you through.
I try and start my regular meetings by taking a quick opportunity to mention some of the successes and praises since the last time we met. Make sure that credit is going where credit is due. If you are getting someone else’s praise mention the good work that individual did to help you succeed. This will build your relationship with your co-workers as well.
Here is the tricky part, try not to flatter, over celebrate, or be too cliché. Many times just mentioning the specific success and a small piece of why it was successful is the perfect amount. Your co-workers know when you are flattering them (and although it may work for some it works in reverse for others) so make sure you are being authentic about your recognition.
by Jason Dick on June 19, 2009
50 States for Good program
(submitted by Devin Kingdon)
“Through the 50 States for Good program, the company is now asking its consumers to help decide what projects around the country should receive the company’s financial support. With a $100,000 community action fund and a goal of inspiring participation across all 50 states, Tom’s of Maine encourages people to share their opinions on the projects that matter most to them.” - www.50statesforgood.com
Applications are available on their website and are due by August 30. At that time submissions will be voted on and the 5 projects with the most votes will receive $20,000.
An Idea
Here is an idea… I find out about these things every so often and I do enjoy letting you know about them. Would you be interested in helping each other out with the voting process as a community?
What I am thinking is the first 3 to 5 of you that are going to submit an application would let me know. Then, as a community, we can help each other out and vote on a readers applications. What do you think? Would you be interested in something like this? Would you be willing and committed to help vote for each other?
