eGuide_How To Engage Fundraising Volunteers

HOW TO ENGAGE FUNDRAISING VOLUNTEERS

Your helpful guide to engaging and retaining board members and fundraising volunteer.

CONTENTS. Page 3

Why Volunteers Disengage

Page 4

Planning

Page 5

Setting Expectations

Page 6

Training/Education

Page 7

Being Well Organized

Page 8

Well Run & Important Meetings

Page 9

Accountability

Page 10

Urgency

Page 11

Recognition/Celebration

Page 12

Mission Focus

WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST MEETING . . .

WHAT DID I JUST SAY ‘YES’ TO? You have been there . . . heck, we’ve all been there.

Your good friend asks you to consider volunteering for something near and dear to their heart. In fact, they might have even implied that they’re “calling in a favor.”

You – being a good friend – say YES and now find yourself attending the first meeting. As the meeting trudges on, you suddenly realize that you didn’t really know the full extent of what you were being asked to say YES to doing . . .

FUNDRAISING?!?!

Now you’re thoughts turn to things such as “can I back out of this commitment?” OR “can I just do some of this instead of all of it?“ You land on “doing a little bit“ rather than outright quitting.

This is the definition of disengagement.

And when many of the fundraising volunteers sitting around your table are having this same internal discussion with themselves, your fundraising campaign is on life support.

This eGuide focuses on nine different principles that are critical to keeping your board members and fundraising volunteers focused and engaged on fundraising success!

3

PRINCIPLE #1

PLANNING Planning is the foundational step in organizing a successful annual campaign pledge drive.

It involves setting clear goals, identifying target donors, allocating resources, and creating a timeline.

Effective planning ensures that volunteers understand the campaign's purpose and are equipped to contribute meaningfully.

More importantly, when volunteers see that a fundraising campaign is “well planned,” they are less likely to think the project will be a heavy lift and decide to disengage.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) outlines in its Ready Reference Series how organizations can assess internal and external readiness before launching a capital campaign. This includes evaluating leadership, donor engagement, and infrastructure to ensure campaign success.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Using Basecamp, organizations can centralize campaign planning by creating project templates, assigning tasks to volunteers, setting deadlines, and sharing documents.

The platform’s calendar and To-Do lists help keep everyone aligned and on schedule.

4

PRINCIPLE #2

SETTING EXPECTATIONS Setting expectations involves clearly defining volunteer roles, responsibilities, and performance standards. It ensures that volunteers know what is required of them and how their contributions support the campaign’s success.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington emphasizes the importance of detailed volunteer role descriptions and accountability. By outlining responsibilities, time commitments, and supervision structures, organizations can foster clarity and engagement.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp allows organizations to post role descriptions, share onboarding materials, and maintain open communication channels. Volunteers can access expectations and updates through message boards and shared documents.

5

PRINCIPLE #3

TRAINING/EDUCATION Training and education equip volunteers with the knowledge and skills needed to perform their roles effectively.

It includes orientation sessions, skillbuilding workshops, and ongoing support.

Event.Gives highlights the impact of advanced volunteer training techniques, such as role-playing and scenariobased learning, in enhancing volunteer confidence and performance during fundraising events.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp supports training by hosting educational materials, scheduling training sessions, and facilitating Q&A through group chats. Volunteers can revisit resources and communicate with trainers as needed

6

PRINCIPLE #4

BEING WELL ORGANIZED Organization refers to the structured coordination of people, tasks, and resources. A wellorganized campaign ensures that volunteers are effectively deployed and that campaign activities run smoothly.

The Institute for Nonprofit News showcases collective fundraising efforts where multiple organizations coordinated events, campaigns, and shared projects through structured planning and division of labor.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp enhances organization by allowing teams to create separate projects for different campaign components, assign responsibilities, and monitor progress through task lists and status updates.

7

PRINCIPLE #5

WELL RUN & IMPORTANT MEETINGS Effective meetings are essential for communication, decision-making, and volunteer engagement. They should be purposeful, wellfacilitated, and result in actionable outcomes.

FundsforNGOs describes successful fundraising events like charity galas that relied on meticulous planning and execution, including impactful meetings with stakeholders and volunteers.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp facilitates meeting planning by enabling agenda sharing, scheduling, and follow-up task assignments. Meeting notes can be stored and accessed by all team members.

8

PRINCIPLE #6

ACCOUNTABILITY Accountability ensures that volunteers and staff are responsible for their commitments and performance. It fosters trust, transparency, and continuous improvement.

The Museum of Science Boston’s fundraising campaign emphasized donor accountability and public transparency, demonstrating how organizations can uphold commitments and share outcomes.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp promotes accountability by tracking task completion, documenting progress, and enabling feedback. Volunteers can see their responsibilities and deadlines clearly.

9

PRINCIPLE #7

URGENCY Urgency creates a sense of importance and motivates timely action. It helps volunteers and donors understand the immediate need and encourages prompt engagement.

NextAfter implemented a high-urgency multichannel campaign that led to significant increases in donor activation, demonstrating the power of urgency in driving results.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp supports urgency by setting deadlines, sending reminders, and highlighting priority tasks.

Campaign leaders can communicate time-sensitive goals effectively.

10

PRINCIPLE #8

RECOGNITION & CELEBRATION Recognition and celebration honor volunteer contributions and reinforce their value to the organization. It boosts morale, retention, and ongoing engagement.

The Expo Group describes how campaign celebrations express gratitude and build momentum, highlighting the importance of recognizing donors and volunteers.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp enables recognition by sharing success stories, posting thank-you messages, and organizing celebration events. Volunteers can be acknowledged publicly within the platform.

11

PRINCIPLE #9

MISSION FOCUS Mission focus keeps volunteers aligned with the organization’s core purpose. It ensures that all campaign activities reflect and advance the mission.

Mission Advancement emphasizes the importance of a compelling Case for Support that defines urgency, builds consensus, and inspires action. This alignment with mission drives campaign success.

How Basecamp Supports This Principle Basecamp helps maintain mission focus by centralizing campaign messaging, sharing vision documents, and reinforcing goals through regular updates. Volunteers stay connected to the organization’s purpose.

12

The Healthy Non-Profit opened its doors in 2011 offering consulting, coaching, training, and facilitation services to nonprofit organizations.

Services focus on fundraising (e.g., annual campaigns, capital campaigns, resource development plans, resource development assessments, etc.) and organizational development (e.g., board development, executive coaching, strategic planning, etc.).

https://www.TheHealthyNonProfit.com

(847)812-3984 (cell)

erik@TheHealthyNonProfit.com facebook.com/TheHealthyNonprofit linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847