Turning Volunteers and
Board Members Into Donors
Network for Good Webinar
1 August 2018
Kay Sprinkel Grace, Presenter
What We Will Cover
The demographics of volunteers and volunteering – a
brief overview
Board members as our principal volunteers
Volunteers and giving – current data and the role of
values in “PQ” and giving decisions
Moving volunteers into the fullness of philanthropy
AAA – looking at an engagement model that works
Q & A – questions for discussion cued at end of slides
A thought to begin our session…
“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in
democracy. You vote in elections once a
year, but when you volunteer, you vote
every day about the kind of community
you want to live in.” — Unknown
Demographics of Volunteers
and Volunteering
Data from Corporation for National & Community Service
2017 Report (2015 Data)
A Volunteer Nation
62.6M Americans volunteered 7.8B hours at an estimated value (at
$23.56/hour) of nearly $184B
In 2015 (the year of the study), one in four adults (24.9%) volunteered
through an organization. Informal volunteering is estimated at 75% or
higher.
Generation X had the highest participation rate at 29%. Silent Generation
had the highest median hours among volunteers at 100+ and Millennial
volunteering is growing rapidly.
Utah is #1 in volunteers among states; Minneapolis/St. Paul is #1 among
cities.
San Jose, CA, is #1 in Millennial volunteers; Washington, DC, is #1 in Veteran
volunteers and Wyoming is #1 in College volunteers.
Are you getting your share? If not, do you know why?
Board Members as Principal Volunteers
Leadership role
Interaction with other volunteers
Board service as the goal of volunteer progression
How passion wanes and values recede during board service
and what to do about it
Keeping the voluntary engagement excitement for board
members not working directly with program or the community
What can board members learn from other volunteers – and
vice versa?
Now, For the Surprise…
Volunteers are almost twice as likely to donate to charity as non-
volunteers.
Nearly 80% of volunteers donated to charity, compared to 40
percent of non-volunteers. And, for board members, most
organizations are heading towards 100% board member giving.
Overall, half of all Americans donated at least $25 to charity in 2015.
The key factors leading to giving (and volunteering) are
engagement, values and stewardship
So, why do we struggle with board and non-board volunteer
giving?
An Overview of Philanthropy and
Philanthropists
Ambrose Bierce was wrong
Philanthropy is 4-fold: giving, asking, joining and serving (and
for board members, it is not multiple choice)
Philanthropy begins with love of humankind and according to
Paul Schervish of Boston College, is “care giving”
Philanthropy is all voluntary action for the public good
Philanthropy is based in shared values: 70% of traditional
donors cite values as their principal motivation – and now 70%
of Millennials are saying the same (Moody, Generation Impact)
9
Philanthropy
Based in values
Development
Uncovers shared values
Fund Raising
Gives people opportunities
to act on their values
Treating Our Volunteers Like Donors
Volunteers are donors -- they give their time
To “monetize” that gift – do we treat them like donors?
Do we steward our volunteers the way we steward our
donors (or perhaps we do, and that’s the problem!)?
Once a year “Volunteer Appreciation” lunch is not
enough: we need to engage them with stories of
impact and engagement in results
Could your volunteer stewardship – including board
members – be better?
What the Donor Wants - TRUE
11
Trust
Do I trust that you will do what I expect with my gift?
Do I trust that you are making the right programmatic
decisions in which you want me to invest?
Relevance
Why is this relevant to me?
Is this relevant to society?
Urgency
Why is this investment needed now?
What is the critical need I will help you meet?
Experience
What will my donor experience be? What impact will I
see?
Kay’s Key Principles:
12
Why People Give
• People give because your organization meets needs, not
because you have needs (how do you define the needs
you meet?)
• A gift to you is really a gift through you into the community
(must be evident to maintain a donor’s loyalty)
• Fundraising is not about money, it is about relationships
based on shared values
• How do these principles connect to volunteering?
About the PQ
Volunteers have it
Board members sometimes lose it
What it is
How to encourage it
How it relates to giving
Why it is essential if board and non-board volunteers are
going to give their “time, talent…..and treasure”
Moving Volunteers Into the
Fullness of Philanthropy
Giving, asking, joining, serving
Basic Principles of Recruitment,
Enlistment, Orientation, Stewardship
Clarity
Job descriptions, organizational plans and vision
Transparency
Expectations
Engagement
Open ended questions, finding out who they are
Retention
Principled stewardship and active communication
Engagement and Giving
“It is apparent that engagement is a key component.
Through many different surveys and reports, it is clear
that board members give more to organizations that
offered substantive, meaningful board experience. The
more engaged they could be on their board, the more
they wanted to support the organization financially. This
finding is hardly surprising as people support those
organizations to which they are connected.” Avrum Lapin
Time or Money? Time and Money?
“Some feel that contributing their time is sufficient and
that a donation isn’t necessary. While time is valuable,
board giving of actual dollars is important to the
financial health of nonprofits and creates, and
reinforces, a culture of giving that is not attainable by
volunteering alone.” Avrum Lapin, “Skin in the Game”
Give or get? Or give AND get? A constant issue.
Not just board members: non-board volunteers should
be asked as well
Board and Volunteer
Engagement: AAA
Ambassador, Advocate, Asker
The road to confident engagement
19 Defining a AAA Volunteer Team
A “Triple A” volunteer team is one where every
board and non-board volunteer is motivated
to be an Ambassador – and some to be
Advocates and/or Askers – offering
assignments drawn from your strategic or
development plan that are specific and
geared to your interests
AAA crosses demographics, experience and
interests, allowing volunteers to work in their
“confidence zone”
AAA is a powerful management tool
20
Roles Volunteers Play in Creating
Community Relationships
Ambassadors
Making friends
Building relationships
Advocates
Making the case (formal and informal)
Key to solid board recruitment
Askers
Making the ask (for money, time, auction items, etc.)
“Front line” fund raisers
21 1. Ambassadors
A role everyone has to play (no excuses!)
Principal role in cultivation of prospective donors
and stewardship of continuing donor-investors
Need to be well oriented and coached in the
messages about your priorities
Masters of the “elevator speech” (and the
“elevator question”)
Catalysts for donor-investor renewal
Are all of your board and non-board volunteers
confident Ambassadors? If not, what do you
need?
22 2. Advocates
At work or in the car pool – strategic
information sharing
May also be asked to advocate for your
organization on a more formal basis with
government, another organization with
which you are partnering or an
institutional funder
Are informed not only of the case for
support, but also knowledgeable about
your strategic plan and mission
Are coached on desired results of the
advocacy and handling objections
23 3. Askers
Enjoy asking
Well informed, well trained
“Matched” with prospective donors (or current
donor-investors) for maximum possibility of success
Teamed with another volunteer asker or staff
leader
Staff organizes the ask so the meeting has the
highest possible chance of success
Benefit from the work of the Ambassadors and
Advocates
24 The AAA “Rating”
Some will do it all
Most will excel at one or two
Motivation is increased when volunteers are
assigned to roles that draw on their skills and
are in their confidence zone
Implementing the AAA program can
engage volunteers in roles that contribute to
the organization’s advancement and helps
them feel both valued and engaged
As motivation increases, you will find
volunteers moving among the roles –
perhaps even to Asker!
25 Tools to Build AAA Confidence
Continuing reconnection with mission, vision and
values will lead to stronger engagement
Staff and board leadership support, feedback and
encouragement
A volunteer “tool kit” – including (but not limited to)
fact sheet, elevator speech/question, stories from
your organization, objections/responses they may
confront, financial statements, staff and board lists
with annotation, organizational funding priorities, etc.
26 SAMPLE VOLUNTEER SURVEY
Please review the following roles and identify () how
you will be involved in resource development as an
Ambassador, Advocate and/or Asker. You may select
all that apply to you. In making your selection(s),
assume that you will be provided training, materials and
support to fulfill your role(s).
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I WILL BE AN AMBASSADOR
As an Ambassador, I will:
Identify and cultivate those in my circle of
friends/colleagues who would be interested in supporting
our programs.
Host a private cultivation or donor recognition gathering
(at my home/at a public venue/at the organization).
Take (#) of people to lunch each quarter.
Invite my best prospects to be my guests at
appropriate functions, special tours, lectures, etc.
Help to steward relationships with our prospects and
donors through writing notes, participating in
Thankathons, hosting donor events, etc.
Other: __________________________________
_________
I WILL BE AN ADVOCATE
28
As an Advocate, I will:
Represent the organization if asked at public
functions (as an attendee/as a speaker)
Become part of a speaker’s bureau if asked
Make phone calls to appropriate city or other officials
when asked.
Work with staff to create and engage in specific
strategies to present the case to my best prospects or
those identified by staff. (Arrange information sessions
with your contacts who are individual, corporate, or
foundation prospects)
•Other: ____________________________
29
I WILL BE AN ASKER
As an Asker, I will:
(Lead/Participate in) requests to potential and
renewing donors for investment in the organization
Generate and sign letters asking for appointments or
gifts.
Make follow up phone calls to solicitation letters
and/or visits.
Seek sponsorships for special events and/or promote
table purchase by my friends and colleagues.
Other: ________________________________
Please provide your comments or other ideas for
getting involved:
30 What AAA Organizations Report
Non-board volunteers are more engaged and
major gifts committees (e.g.) are using the model
Staff members are very keen on being
Ambassadors and Advocates – and many are
making great Askers on team calls
A true culture of philanthropy emerges
AAA has been integrated into job descriptions
and recruitment matrices
Confidence has grown into stronger engagement
among their volunteers
SUMMARY:
Key Points We Have Covered
Volunteer demographics in the US indicate a “back up
work force” that is unequaled in the world.
Volunteers are “donors” – they give their time in the
philanthropic model of giving, asking, joining, serving.
When they are truly engaged and stewarded, they also
give money (and ask others to give as well).
The AAA Model encourages engagement in their
“confidence zone” – choosing tasks at which they will
be successful.
Our job is “resource development” and volunteers are
one of our finest resources: they will give if engaged.
My Closing Thoughts
Before I Hear Yours…
“Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of
the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish
caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.”
Erma Bombeck
Our responsibility is to engage them with passion,
stewardship, care and understanding – we will then
know the “80% Return” – the national average – for
giving from volunteers – and 100% from our board
members.
About “AAA”
Developed and copyrighted by Kay Sprinkel Grace
Book, “The AAA Way to Fundraising Success”
available through whitpress.org
Permission to use all or a portion of this material
may be given on request to the author at
[email protected] Time For Your Questions
Thank you!
Turning Volunteers and
Board Members Into Donors
Network for Good Webinar
1 August 2018
Kay Sprinkel Grace, Presenter
www.kaygrace.org
[email protected]
