Stewardship strategies for turning volunteers into donors

By Debi Hoxter

Stewarding your nonprofit’s volunteers with the intention of eventually converting them into donors can be an intimidating responsibility. You may have a collection of people who are giving hours, even days out of their busy lives for your organization’s cause, and then you’re tasked with also asking them to make a monetary donation. As a result, some nonprofits tend to shy away from approaching this important group of stakeholders altogether.

Fortunately, the process isn’t nearly as ominous as it may seem. And that’s because when done properly, stewardship is an organic and even inviting process that turns a somewhat uncomfortable situation into a winning one for both the nonprofit and the individual.

Facilitating such a relationship starts at the very beginning, when the individual first becomes a volunteer. At that point, it’s important to roll out the red carpet and make sure the volunteer immediately feels valued within your organization.

One way to make your volunteer feel welcome is to plan a tour of your nonprofit’s headquarters. But make sure it's well-planned and intentional: Introduce the volunteer to your organization’s executive director, staff, or constituents, and have personalized materials prepared, such as a press kit or annual report. Having these items ready will show the volunteer you went out of your way to plan for their visit.

Be sure to also conduct research into the individual ahead of time to determine his or her capacity. Having knowledge upfront about your volunteer's ability to give or solicit others allows you to steer the relationship in that direction from the beginning.

Once the volunteer feels like a valued part of your organization, make sure he or she stays that way. The key here remains personalization. The more you make an individual feel personally valued by the organization, the more he or she will be compelled to give.

For volunteers who came for a single day of service or who worked on a particular project, write a personalized thank you note and ask to put him or her on the mailing list. For individuals who volunteer on a regular basis, check in from time to time, reminding them how much you appreciate their time and asking how they feel about their experience.

Personalization is a critical component for a successful appeal. Just as you would with a non-volunteer donor, take the time to include a letter to individual volunteers, thanking them for their efforts and asking if they would consider financially supporting the organization.

Finally, never give up on a volunteer. Even if an individual is not yet ready or capable of making a donation, don’t be afraid to ask if there is anyone in his or her personal network who is. Perhaps a friend works for a company looking to expand its philanthropy, or a family member might also be interested in volunteering (studies show that households in which more than one individual volunteers for the same cause are also more likely to donate).

If your organization wants to improve its volunteer stewardship strategies, a firm such as Dunleavy & Associates can provide powerful insights and expertise. Our firm works closely with nonprofits to craft customized stewardship plans that help build lasting relationships with volunteers, existing donors, and new prospects alike, resulting in increased revenue for your organization.

About the author: Debi Hoxter is Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations at Dunleavy & Associates. Pulling from her prior experience as Executive Director, Corporate Underwriting at WHYY, Debi works with clients to build donor and corporate relationships and create strategies for meeting revenue goals. She began her career in advertising, working first at Ted Bates and Grey advertising agencies in New York before serving as Advertising Sales Manager at Philadelphia Magazine.

How can nonprofits plan successful endurance events?

By Cheryl Pompeo

America seems to be going fitness crazy. In the past decade, the popularity of 5Ks, half-marathons, and Spartan races has exploded. And many nonprofits have hitched their wagon to the train, looking to endurance events as a way to fundraise and gain exposure.

But like a newbie runner encountering shin splints for the first time, nonprofits discover that organizing an endurance event is not as simple as just racing out of the door. With events seemingly scheduled every weekend between Easter and Thanksgiving, many nonprofits find out the hard way that just organizing a race does not mean the runners will come. So how can an organization ensure a successful position in a crowded field?

For starters, don’t race. And we’re not talking about your employees participating in the race (that’s highly encouraged). We’re saying give your nonprofit plenty of time to plan. In most cases, you’ll need at least a year to successfully organize an event, particularly since finding and reserving a course is a process that requires significant lead time.

As with any large project, you’ll want to assemble the right team to organize an endurance event. It’s ideal to have a planning committee of volunteers who will work with a staff member on race recruitment, logistics, fundraising, and promotion. Of course, having beneficiaries of your organization and any individuals with connection to the running community on the committee will increase the chances of success.

Once you have the right people in place, the decision-making and planning process can begin. And perhaps the most important decision is what kind of race to hold, and when to hold it. This decision is best informed by the goals of your own organization: A nonprofit looking to reinvigorate an established donor community may benefit from a low-key race in its own back yard, while an organization seeking a new donor base may want to expand to different niches or geographic areas.

It’s also important to clear major logistical hurdles first. By working to secure a race location, date, and corporate sponsor, the committee can then turn its attention to promotion and planning. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be a nonprofit’s goal to win the gold with their first race. We actually recommend planning endurance events in three-year phases and emphasize growth over huge financial success in the first year.

But that’s not to say inaugural endurance events can’t be a hit on the first go-around. Dunleavy & Associates recently helped a client plan a new race that drew 350 participants and buoyed its constituent base. If your organization is considering holding an endurance event but is unsure of its capacity to successfully plan, it may be beneficial to seek out a planning partner to help make your event successful.

About the author: Cheryl Pompeo is Senior Project Manager at Dunleavy & Associates and brings nearly a decade of experience in special event and volunteer management experience to the firm. Formerly a Senior Director of Special Events and a Regional Director for a Philadelphia area healthcare nonprofit, Cheryl also specializes in campaign fundraising, corporate development, donor cultivation, board and committee development, and program delivery. Cheryl uses her knowledge to help Dunleavy’s Clients strategically plan and implement endurance events, including walks, runs, and marathon campaigns.

How can our nonprofit address a new need without mission creep?

By Stephanie Taylor

As nonprofit professionals, it’s in our nature to help as many people as possible. When we see a new opportunity to expand services and improve the lives of more people, it’s difficult not to jump right in and set a plan into action. That’s particularly true when there’s new money available for services and your organization wants a piece of the pie.

But expanding without careful planning is a time-tested recipe for mission creep. A nonprofit with the purest intentions can suddenly find its mission diluted, its staff in over their heads, and its clients and donors upset or even angry. Fortunately, there are guiding principles and questions a nonprofit can use to ensure that a new direction is the right one.

The first question a nonprofit considering a new service should ask itself is, “Is anyone already doing this really well?” Take a look at your target population and see if there is an organization successfully providing the service you’re considering.

If that's the case, serious thought should be given to a partnership proposal. The other organization has already done the heavy work of laying an operational foundation, and can tell you what assets your organization has that would be of value. For example, an organization committed to supporting youth entrepreneurial efforts might benefit most from another nonprofit’s relationships with schools in the area.

By working together, both organizations can stay within their wheelhouse, while expanding services to new areas without encountering the perils and pitfalls of mission creep.

If the answer to the prior question is no, and there isn’t an organization already devoted to the effort under consideration, it doesn’t automatically follow that your nonprofit should be the one to lead the charge. It’s at this point that it becomes instrumental to refer back to your strategic plan, and carefully consider whether the program or opportunity fits within your nonprofit’s mission.

There’s nothing wrong with an organization evolving with the times — in fact, it’s a necessity for survival — but it must be done strategically. Providing new services should be a decision made by the board, which can consider the implications thoroughly. If the board determines the new opportunity is truly necessary in changing times, it can alter the strategic plan, put other projects on the back burner, and free up the resources needed to launch successfully in this new direction.

Seeking the board’s approval and an alteration of the strategic plan also helps guard against the slippery slope of mission creep. If it takes leadership-level consideration to add new services, it will be difficult for departments to slide too far down the mountain until somebody notices. Without this safety net, the impact of your current programs could get watered down, your staff stretched too thin, and you might be viewed as an organization lacking a clear direction or commitment.

By following this process, your organization’s employees not only will know they have the resources and approval to add new services, but donors and clients will be assured that their stakes are in good hands.

About the author: Stephanie Taylor has spent 15 years in the nonprofit sector working in almost every capacity, from program delivery to operations. She specializes in leadership, change management, and nonprofit operations, and holds an MBA in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University.

How can a nonprofit make its second appeal work better than its first?

By Gloria Pugliese

We're two months into 2015 and hopefully you've been happily going about your business, taking it as it comes. It may seem a long way off now, but you know eventually you'll glance at the calendar and have the sudden realization that the end of the year is approaching, and it will soon be that time again.

And no, we're not talking about writing the family holiday card. We're talking about the annual donor appeal for your nonprofit, and unlike your relatives, nobody is obligated to give you a penny. So how can you make this year's appeal better than the last?

The key is to start now. If you wait until sometime in autumn to ask this question, you'll already be too late to answer it effectively. That's because planning an effective donor appeal is a year-round process, based primarily on responding to and analyzing the results of last year's efforts.

Donor appeals are about building momentum, and the only way to keep that momentum going is to keep your donors in the loop. Following an appeal, take the time to creatively thank those who supported your organization. Anything personalized is the gold standard, and it doesn’t need to cost money. We've seen very effective thank you letters that included handwritten notes from students who benefited from donations. A simple phone call works wonders, too.

Don't make the follow-up a one-way form of communication, though. Heed the saying, "If you ask people for money, they'll give you advice. If you ask for advice, they'll give you money." Donors — particularly major ones — love to give their feedback on the appeal and messaging, and by engaging them you'll receive important input on what hit home with prospects.

If your nonprofit has already been doing a great job thanking and garnering feedback from donors, you can start digging into the data from last year's appeal to look for ways to make this year's better. There are countless ways to analyze your results, such as determining what messages, media, demographics and delivery times work best. We've even seen studies showing that appeals featuring dogs instead of cats garnered more donations for an animal rescue nonprofit.

The key here is finding balance. You don't want to exert more time and energy than needed to analyze your appeal. It's easy to become hyper-focused on one approach, and lose donors to whom your new communications don't appeal. You also need to be careful not to make too many changes at once. That will make it difficult to determine what change made the difference in your results.

If your nonprofit doesn't have an expert in this field, consider bringing on a consultant such as Dunleavy & Associates before shelling out money for a robust CRM solution or placing the burden on your staff. You'll get qualified insights into what will work best for your organization, and the expertise to execute analysis if needed.

About the author: Gloria Pugliese is Director, Advancement and Capital Campaigns at Dunleavy & Associates. A Certified Fund Raising Executive with more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit industry, Gloria formerly served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for La Salle University and Gwynedd-Mercy College, in addition to Director of Advancement for the Delaware County SPCA. She shares her expertise with clients seeking to improve their communications, capital campaigns and development.

How much administrative support does a nonprofit board need?

By Kate Goffredo Dougherty

Time can be an easy thing to under-budget. A 20-minute drive into the city? Try 45. Half an hour at the grocery store? More like an hour and a half. A few minutes after dinner for a stroll around the block? Forget about it.

But time is the key factor when deciding how much administrative support a nonprofit needs to give to its board of directors. Over or underestimation of time commitments on either side can result in leadership breakdowns with ramifications throughout the organization. So how can this be avoided?

Follow this golden rule: Boards do not have a lot of time. Never lose sight of the fact that board members are almost always volunteers, with jobs and other commitments that will take priority over your organization. Even the most enthusiastic board member will at some point find themselves running short on time when life's other responsibilities come calling.

For this reason, you must treat your board's time with respect. Expect little of it, and make the most of what you do receive by giving extra emphasis to organization. When board meetings roll around, be prepared.

Don't use word-of-mouth to determine who should be attending or what will be on the agenda. Instead, send out an email a week in advance with all of the necessary materials and a list of who will be speaking. If neither your board nor your administration has its ducks in a row prior to a meeting, you'll end up wasting time or, even worse, arriving at crucial decisions based on faulty information.

Administrative support shouldn't conclude with the meeting, either. Although it can be a cumbersome task, have someone take thorough minutes and commit to spending a few hours after the meeting to cleaning them up and sending them out. You have your board's attention and the meeting is fresh on their minds, so follow up immediately. They can't be expected to jump back into the fray a week or two down the line.

Occasionally, board members can actually be the ones who underestimate how much of their own time is needed. We see this often with organizations that lose an executive and decide to temporarily shift responsibilities to the board. Board members optimistically believe they can divvy up the time, but they often fail to realize the extent of responsibilities: tax filing, banking deposits, invoicing, event organization, and even day-to-day communication with employees and stakeholders.

These responsibilities should rarely, if ever, be given to board members, because these situations can quickly degrade into disorganization and lost revenue. For that reason we always advise nonprofits to enlist administrative support services provided by a company like Dunleavy & Associates when faced with an absence, even if only for a short period of time.

About the author: Kate Goffredo Dougherty is Senior Project Manager, Operations at Dunleavy & Associates. With a background in nonprofit administration, Kate oversees the lion's share of Dunleavy's operations, and shares her expertise with clients seeking to improve their operational and organizational management. She also specializes in event planning.