Religious Fundraising: Investing in Your Volunteers Pays Off

Doug Seebeck, Director of Partners for Christian Development, learned a very important lesson early on about volunteers: you need to listen to them.
One of Partners' volunteers was giving countless hours to the ministry. Doug asked the volunteer, "What can we do to help you do your job better?"

Perk Up Group Work

Many organizations have work that is best done by groups of volunteers all at once. Often this is some form of manual labor, whether sorting donated items, constructing a playground, filling food baskets, preparing a mass mailing, or painting a room. Even if the volunteers regularly help you and/or know one another before they arrive at your site, don't assume they'll spontaneously work well together or that everyone is feeling the same about the work. You have multiple challenges

A Harvest of Volunteers

This is the season in which many people stop to give thanks for all the things they have, and many feel the urge to give something of themselves in return. This is your chance to "harvest" new volunteers-and to watch current volunteers grow. According to Susan J. Ellis, co-author of the best-selling book, The (Help!) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management: "Recruitment is a process of sowing seeds, nurturing relationships, and sensing when the time is right to gather together!"

Achieving an 'A' in Communication for Your Volunteer Program

"I would rather die than stand up and speak in public," is the faltering battle cry with which we represent our organisations. Most of us go through life with the view that you either can or you can't. Speak in public, that is. It's high time we changed that perception and realized that, as with so many things in life, it's a skill that can be learned, worked on, acquired.
The value we bring to an organisation depends on our communication, and more specifically, our public speaking skills. This is particularly true for volunteer program managers, who are often responsible for making presentations in the hope of attracting new volunteers to their program. If we can represent our organisation competently and enthusiastically, we can contribute more powerfully. Achievement depends on getting an A in Communication Skills !
Here are some "A's" in Public Speaking to mull over:

Are You Scaring Away Volunteers

Your organization is great, right? You serve a worthwhile cause and do many exciting things. So why don't more people want to volunteer with you? Halloween is a great time to ask: Are we scaring away potential volunteers?
Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc., the internationally-renowned volunteerism training and publishing firm, notes that there are many things organizations do or say that can "haunt" prospective recruits! According to Ellis, author of the best-selling The Volunteer Recruitment Book: "It's hardly surprising that people shy away from desperate pleas for unlimited help in unknown situations."

What Fundraising and One-night Stands Have in Common

Dear Non-Profit Organization,
I haven't heard from you in awhile and I admit, it hurts.
I find it hard to believe you aren't answering my letters or returning my calls. I thought we got along so well and we seemed to have so much in common.

Income Base

A major consideration of a fundraising group is to know who and what is their income base. All companies need to know where they will make their money so they can develop strategies to maximise this vital resource. If you don't understand this then you will have tough times raising the funds you need. Once you understand that fundraising is exactly like running a business then you will understand that copying what businesses do will benefit you greatly.
For grassroots' or small community fundraisers there are four main levels or areas to address:

Electronic Transfer

One of the hardest parts of fundraising is collecting the monies owed during the year, wouldn't it be nice to collect in way that was easy, time saving and someone else does most of the work? Well, this may be just what you are looking for.
Nowadays the ability to move money around electronically is amazingly simple and simply amazing. So simple in fact that there must be an opportunity for charities and fundraising to benefit somehow and there is. All banks and societies offer electronic banking, that is you sign an authority for them to pay your bills for you, or for your work to automatically transfer your wage into your bank account.

Sponsorships

Here is a short list of principles you should keep in mind when seeking or negotiating a sponsorship. Don't just try the obvious list of sponsors, get original! As long as you have something to offer - ask!

Managing Fundraising Efforts

Fundraising does take significant energy and effort. (Some people call this concept WORK.)
Different fundraising programs will need different levels and types of energy and effort, so you will need to compare your organization's resources with what will be required of a potential fundraising program.

Money Making Booths for Summer Fairs

Sometimes you need to do a fundraiser, but you don't need all the hassle of throwing an event yourself. That's where the concept of piggy backing a fundraiser on a larger more successful event can work wonders. One such opportunity is a booth at a summer fair.

Fundraising Idea of the Month: Don't Come Events

Do you ever feel that at times you would rather not go to that function? You feel that you would rather stay at home, grab a quiet night and help out a really good cause by doing so? Then the Don't Come Event is something that you should seriously consider using as a fundraising event.