Raising funds is key to the success and sustainability of a non-profit organisation. Designing a fundraising strategy should include using volunteers who are passionate about your cause. Volunteers are willing to put in the time and effort when it comes to supporting a NPO close to their hearts!
There are various ways of using volunteers when fundraising for your NPO in Australia. You can supply them with branded shirts when manning stalls at local events, using custom embroidery Sydney uniform suppliers offer their customers. Or, they can perform tasks within the organisation, saving your NPO additional payroll costs.
Want some more ideas? Read on to find out how you can use volunteers when fundraising for your NPO.
5 Ways to Use Volunteers When Fundraising for Your NPO
1. Getting Advice for the Fundraising Plan
Volunteers come from a range of backgrounds, equipped with a variety of skills and knowledge. They’re also committed to your cause. By tapping into this pool of valuable resources, you can engage with volunteers when planning your organisation’s fundraising campaign.
Find out which volunteers are qualified in marketing, social media management or have experience in fundraising in other fields. Firstly, asking these volunteers for advice saves you the expense of paying for this kind of resource elsewhere. Also, you’ll get more commitment from your volunteer base when sharing your fundraising strategy with them and asking for suggestions.
2. Spreading the Word
Volunteers who are passionate about a cause will be more than willing to spread the word. It makes them feel empowered and valuable members of an organisation that means a lot to them. Word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful tools available and volunteers will gladly talk about your NPO if they support it.
Volunteers can be used to:
- Create awareness about your organisation and the work it does
- Advertise events being hosted by the NPO
- Promote the services and products of the organisation
Networking is vital when raising funds and your volunteers can broaden your reach by talking to more people, multiplying your donor market exponentially.
3. Being Part of the Communication Team
Smaller NPOs often don’t have the capacity to employ their own communication team. You’re left handling a multitude of tasks including the day-to-day running of the organisation. This means limited time to engage with essential stakeholders.
Finding the right volunteers who can engage with stakeholders on your behalf will take a load off your shoulders. But, it also means that a vital fundraising opportunity isn’t missed. Using volunteers as part of your communication team is a good strategy to put in place as long as they’re well-equipped to communicate the right facts and do the job professionally.
4. Tapping Into Different Platforms
Tapping into different platforms, both offline and online, reaches a far greater audience. Your volunteers will come from a wide variety of backgrounds such as students at universities or MD of a large corporate entity. Some may work for social media companies while others have access to school or college learners. That’s a LOT of networks that can hear about your NPO via your volunteers.
Whatever their background, volunteers can find ways of using their own platform as a base to promote your NPO and potentially raise funds. College students can host stalls at career days, talking about your cause or a teacher can mention your NPO in the school’s newsletter. Tapping into different platforms is easier when you have a strong volunteer base with a large number of members.
5. Volunteers Become Donors Too
Volunteers won’t only help you raise funds, but they also become donors. Whenever your NPO runs a donation drive, volunteers will want to support it. In most cases, volunteers will give money as well as their time when supporting an NPO close to their heart.
Increasing your volunteer base is another way of reaching more donors. And, volunteers want to practice what they preach by contributing when asking others to donate!
Working as a volunteer gives them an inside view of the work your NPO does. In turn, they’re more likely to donate monetarily when they can see the value your organisation.
What You Can Do to Support Your Volunteers
With over 4.4 million Australians volunteering for NPOs, you want to make sure you get the best ones! You need to do your bit to support and motivate your volunteers. You can do this by:
- Supplying them with branded clothing they can wear when representing your NPO at events or meeting stakeholders on your behalf. Make them feel part of the team!
- Involve them in fundraising strategy planning meetings.
- Acknowledge them when writing up annual reports.
- Show your appreciation by including them in year-end functions or awards ceremonies.
- Develop a strong volunteer programme they’ll be proud being part of celebfleet.
Getting good volunteers is one thing. Retaining them is another story altogether. Make sure you engage with your volunteers regularly and let them know how important they are to your NPO entmtmedia.
Final Thoughts
Volunteers are valuable assets for any NPO so find out how you can use them to keep your organisation growing while being sustainable at the same time. Engaging volunteers in your fundraising efforts is a good place to start! If you have more ideas or success stories, please share digitalstudya!
