5 Tips to Turn Volunteers into Donors

When people raise funds for a good cause, a famous quote by Winston Churchill strikes our mind, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” The act of kindness is invaluable. Many people and organizations come forward to donate a hefty sum of money every year. These people and organizations are called donors. You can create online donation page or start your crowdfunding to mobilize contributions with GivingX. 

However, backstage, the people who run the fundraisers are volunteers. They take care of most tasks that make fundraising feasible. They do more than they take credit for, and if encouraged, they can become your donors. In this article, we list the top 5 tips that you can incorporate to turn your volunteers into donors. 

1. Appreciate Their Efforts

In any relationship, you must take time to appreciate the efforts. It makes the other person feel happy and encourages them to work stronger toward the relationship. A simple thank you can fortify your relationship. In the end, everyone wants people to recognize their efforts.

Likewise, as a fundraising organization, you ought to recognize the hardships of your volunteers. You can start by keeping track of the tasks they do. Be grateful for their work with a personalized thank you message highlighting it. Another way is to thank them before their peers. In addition to boosting their confidence, it increases their passion for volunteering.

These additional strides you take toward your volunteer may push them to make donations for your fundraising. When you appreciate their efforts, they may either become your donor or continue to work with more effort.

GivingX is a custom Fundraising Software with an intuitive Donor CRM. With this, you can track the journey of your donor. 

2. Educate Your Mission

Most of the time, people fail to connect with your cause. When they are unclear on your objectives, mission, and vision, it is difficult for them to align with your purpose. So, they stay clear of such causes. One of the organic ways to convert your volunteer to a donor is to educate them.

You can create a philanthropic environment where the main motive of every individual is to give and help others. Also, conducting frequent meetings where the topic of discussion is donation is a brilliant way to convey your message to the volunteers. As you discuss, they feel motivated to do more.

Not just now. At any point in life, they will donate a portion of their money for fundraising. When you tell them the story behind your fundraising and how it will help the recipients, there are higher chances for the volunteers to donate. 

3. Treat With Respect

Your volunteers are already your donors. So, you must treat them with respect. It is because of their efforts fundraising becomes a success. Volunteers have a huge role in the proper functioning of any fundraiser. Be it an online or offline event - volunteers have their footprints everywhere. 

In the absence of volunteers, you have to pay a large amount of money to get the work done. In some cases, you might even require to hire employees. For instance, if a lawyer is volunteering his service to your organization, he is saving you a hefty sum of money that you’d otherwise have to pay for the same service.

The bottom line is - volunteers are sometimes doing more than the donors for the welfare of your organization. So, you have to respect their contributions and honor them with kindness. It will prompt them to become your donor. 

GivingX is a unique fundraising software that makes your funding easier. You can use it to collect donations once the volunteers turn into donors. 

4. Ask For Donations

Are you wondering if a particular volunteer is ready to donate? Are you confused about how to confront that person? The easiest solution to this is asking. Psychologically, you can solve some of the most complicated problems by simply talking about them. You can directly ask the volunteer if he is ready to volunteer.

By talking, you will create an opportunity window. You can use this to gain insights into their financial well-being. It might even encourage your volunteers to donate. In some cases, this may drop a thought into their mind that they can donate as well.

It all depends on how you view it as an organization. When you consider every conversation as an opportunity, you can easily reach your objectives. However, be cautious not to overdo it. GivingX Fundraising Software lets you streamline your donor management. 

5. Track All Volunteering

To convert your volunteers into donors, you must maintain a database of all their volunteering. You can also record the donations of the volunteers here. You will see different patterns based on demography, geography, or other divisions as you analyze the database. With this data, you can make smart decisions. 

The database acts as your knowledge hub where you can track the trends of volunteers. You can effortlessly shortlist volunteers with more chances to make some contribution. By leveraging this data, you can reach out to them for contributions. You can see stats on current donors who were previously volunteers. It will assist in making practical decisions. 

Data makes your work easier. GivingX’s custom Fundraising Software enables you to manage and track everything related to fundraising from a single system. 

Wrapping Up

Kindness is priceless. People show their kindness in all viable ways with proper guidance. Similarly, volunteering and donating are acts of kindness that everyone appreciates worldwide. Your volunteers are one of the building blocks of fundraisers. So, you have to handle them with care while interacting with them and making them feel special. 

By following the above tips, you can get a holistic view of your volunteering program and decide your next course of action to convert your volunteers into donors.