Responses to:
Should
We Ask Volunteers to Give Money on Top of Time?
Submitted on
30 July 2007 by Leif Christiansen, Project Manager,
CommUniverCity,
San Jose, California, USA
I would refrain from asking volunteers for money. I believe that a volunteer's
time is priceless to any organization, and asking them for a monetary
donation might be asking too much. What I do is to create a mailing list
which includes all of my volunteers (in addition to our existing contacts)
and I attach a form which gives our contacts/volunteers a choice to
donate--this is non-verbal and non-pushy. One volunteer hour equates to
almost twenty-dollars an hour...to me, that's sufficient [as a contribution}. As an Americorps
volunteer for the past 5,000 hours of my work-life, I'd be offended if my
Director tried to solicit money from me--and as a newly appointed Director
of an Americorps program, I would NEVER ask my volunteers for money because
them sustaining our program through volunteer efforts is quite enough.
Submitted on
11 August 2004 by Ann Robitaille, RAISE
Home Support Service for the Elderly, Kitchener, Ontario Canada
What a fantastic idea!
Don't know why we WEREN'T doing it, but we are going to START doing
it [i.e., volunteer recruitment with our donors --via a small insert
re: volunteer opportunities in the envelope with their income tax
receipt] with our current fundraising/membership campaign! [We already
offer our volunteers the opportunity to donate and/or become members]
THANKS!
Submitted on
22 July 2004 by Jennifer, Girl Scouts, Wisconsin
It's absolutely OK to solicit
donations from volunteers. In fact, according to all of the Fund Development
training I've had, it's essential. Your current volunteers obviously
see the value of the organization. I can't tell you how many times
I've heard the phrase "Nobody ever asked" from longtime volunteers.
Submitted on
9 July 2004 by Kay Kobayashi, OD Consultant High Performance OD Consulting,
British Columbia
I think it depends on the person and case by case. I
volunteer for several NFP organizations and one organization which
I know is desperately needing money to go on, I donated some money.
But, for another, I know that they can collect from other donors and
since I spend significant time for them as a volunteer, I do not.
I am curious to know how
what percentage of executive directors and and staff of NFP organizations
contribute money to their own organizations.
Submitted on
7 July 2004 by Christy Trudo, Minister of Parish Life, United Church
of Christ, Cleveland, OH
Churches have a lot of experience with this since volunteers
(leadership and service) are also donors. One caution from this arena:
make sure volunteers understand that their assignments are not dependent
on their financial contributions. I'm guessing few organizations would
want to create a climate in which some felt that more enjoyable assignments
were based on monetary contributions
Submitted on
7 July 2004 by Robert Leigh, Chief, North America Office, United Nations
Volunteers, New York, USA
Let me throw in a note of caution. Your title "Giving Money on
Top of Time" suggests that motivations are the same for both
types of volunteering. I wonder where are the skills acquired, contacts
made, fun had,in donating money? I also wonder where are the tax breaks
from giving time? Such considerations need to be built into any strategy
for combining the two forms of philanthropic behavior.
Submitted on 6 July 2004 by Betty
Stallings, Trainer, Author, Consultant, Pleasanton, California
Great hot topic and suggestions! Volunteers should definitely
be given the opportunity to give their time, their financial contributions,
etc. Has anyone added the financial/in-kind contributions of all volunteers
in their organization for a year (board level, program support volunteers,
etc.) and added that figure to the "value" of volunteers
to the organization. Too often I see the number of hours valued by
the current Independent Sector figure for use in determining their
value, but I have NEVER seen the total financial contributions added
to that number. I don't advocate using the hours and dollar value
as a way to share the impact of volunteers but if it is required in
your organization, I would definitely recommend adding the financial
contributions made by volunteers in your organization to demonstrate
that volunteers give time and money.
And, yes, how can we do
a better job of inviting our donors to be volunteers?
Submitted on
6 July 2004 by Margaret Brewer, Manager, Volunteer Services at the
Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach CA
We are in the midst of an All-Staff campaign. Letters
went out to 750 volunteers and 200 employees. I have received a couple
(only a couple) of complaints from volunteers stating that they already
give enough by giving their time. In my weekly email newsletter and
in other communications, I have stressed three things: (1) the research
that indicates those who volunteer their time are more likely to also
donate financially, if asked to do so; (2) the positive impact that
staff (both paid and volunteer) support has on major funders; and
(3) each individual should give only what is comfortable for them.
I would hate to have a volunteer feel left out, because they were
not asked; it would be such a shame if a volunteer felt insulted because
'someone' decided not to ask. Our All-Staff Campaign includes prizes
(every donation qualifies for the drawing) and is capped off with
an ice cream social for all contributors. Our Development Department
makes it fun and it works.
Submitted on
5 July 2004 by Jayne Cravens, Online Volunteering
Specialist, UN Volunteers, Bonn, Germany
Within regular communications with volunteers -- a newsletter, for
instance, simply saying "A reminder: financial contributions
from volunteers are also welcomed! Visit blah blah blah.html to read
about the different financial contributions can make and how to give",
or something similar, is perfectly acceptable, IMO. No "hard
sell" necessary -- just let volunteers know there are other ways
they can help (just as you should let donors know about volunteering
opportunities). Another great Hot Topic!
Submitted on
3 July 2004 by Mary Cefalu, Volunteer, Vision Literacy, California
Thanks so much for bringing up the point that volunteers
should be recognized a bit differently when requesting financial donations.
That is such a key point. I was a significant volunteer at a particular
agency (president of the board for 2 years). After I left the board
and moved on to other activities, I started receiving normal direct
mail appeals--it was as if my involvement with the agency NEVER existed
at the level it had. It was quite disappointment to me. As a result,
my donations have reduced significantly. While I still believe in
the mission of the agency, I prefer to give now to an agency who also
reciprocally believes in me as a volunteer for the agency.
Submitted on
3 July 2004 by Hillary Roberts, Pres., Project Linus NJ Inc., NJ/USA
Some time ago we added "committee interest" and "financial
support" boxes to our volunteer intake card. Including both opportunities
into the volunteer registration process during interview was a natural.
We have found that given
the opportunity to contribute on a variety of levels, volunteers remain
at the agency longer, share the mission with others and become the
best advocates we could hope for.
The old proverb, "you
won't know unless you ask" certainly applies here.
Submitted on 2 July 2004 by Ernie
Pearson Civic, Fraternal, Church California
You're 100% on target! The financial form of giving is part of the
volunteer spirit. The dollar amount may vary considerably depending
on the individual volunteer's financial circumstances and that's OK.
I've followed this practice for many years.
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