Volunteers

People volunteer for many different reasons, which mean they also have different motivations for lending a hand. Regardless of the reason, if someone is willing to lend their time and talents to your organization, you should take the time to get to know them as individuals…

Turnover is costly, even in the nonprofit sector. Although most volunteers are not paid, extensive training may go into preparing the volunteer to perform their duties. Nonprofits also invest money in recruiting volunteers either by inbound or outbound marketing strategies...

Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Just about everybody got a dose of Maslow somewhere along the line, either in high school social studies class, or college psychology or sociology courses. And if it somehow slipped by you in school, you may have read about it in management or productivity books. Even books on project management talk about it...

It is not a secret that nonprofits need volunteers and donors to achieve their goals and carry out their mission. The question is, is your organization focusing on the volunteer base that you already have? Many nonprofits do not know that the line between their volunteers and donors is very thin.  The value of a…

Does your organization have a volunteer engagement strategy? Engaging volunteers takes an investment of time and also yields incredible benefits. It’s the time, treasure and talents: Research shows that people who volunteer donate five times more than those who do not volunteer. People give greater gifts to where they volunteer...

Your volunteer has two relationships you need to worry about: one with the organization you represent, and one with the mission of that organization. We’ve all seen a volunteer became disenchanted with an organization, but not with the mission...

It’s no secret that volunteers are one of the most important components to the success of your nonprofit and its ability to achieve goals. If volunteers engage in a positive experience with your nonprofit organization, they can fill multiple opportunities of need and take part in your fundraising campaigns. The truth of the matter is that providing an outstanding experience for your volunteers starts from the first communication you have with them...

A cursory search on the Internet for “volunteer handbooks” produces disappointing results. Most examples are no more than a couple of pages stapled together, highlighting dress codes, attendance policies and general volunteering expectations...

While meeting with Turnkey’s clients in New York City this week, a recurring question came up: What is the state of fundraising walks? Is the walk dying off? Will DIY someday edge out the tried and true mainstay that has raised millions—sometimes billions—of dollars for so many nonprofits?...

I have spoken at and attended many of my clients’ national leadership meetings, supporting their peer-to-peer income streams. I have been in a lot of bars (for the sake of science), have been in a lot of conference hotels and have spoken with a lot of volunteer leaders about how they came to be there...