Our previous volunteer retention post touched on an important aspect of keeping volunteers happy and productive—give them recognition and appreciation more often.

If you’re like many volunteer managers, you are always searching for creative—and inexpensive—new ways to recognize your volunteers. Whether you’re tiring of the standard “thank-you” banquet, or you just need some quick and easy ways to demonstrate your appreciation, here are several ideas that might just work for you!

Go beyond doughnuts: Sure, picking up doughnuts or bagels on your way into the office is pretty easy—and it’s always welcomed by staff and volunteers, right? Well, considering how many of them could be on gluten-free, sugar-free or weight-loss diets, maybe not. As an alternative, try stopping by your grocery store’s salad bar, and create a nice platter of fresh fruit and vegetables. Most everyone loves strawberries in spring and melon in summer, and it’s a healthy, sweet treat that won’t break anyone’s dietary restrictions. And they’ll know you appreciate them, too!

Give a book: As an alternative to plaques, why not give a gift that will be used and enjoyed, rather than gathering dust? A book that mirrors your nonprofit organization’s mission, interest, or purpose will bring even more meaning. Here are a few suggestions:

• Historical organizations:   America’s Historic Places
• Animal Welfare:    The Art of Racing in the Rain
• Social Services:    The Women of Hull House
• Volunteering in general:    Chicken Soup for the Volunteer’s Soul
• Education:    Three Cups of Tea

Keep it Relaxed: Instead of a formal affair at an expensive venue, throw a casual volunteer thank-you party at your house—or one of your board member’s homes. Fire up the Bar-b-Que, order a simple meal from a wonderful caterer, or prepare some homemade soups and breads. If you have a specialty dish you can prepare, even better—the personal touch and effort will not go unnoticed by your volunteers. Just give everyone the opportunity to relax and socialize in an informal setting.

Who needs sun? Bring a day of sunshine to the office in the middle of winter. Party stores usually stock beach-theme favors, so pick up a bunch of sand pails and fill them with goodies. Inexpensive sunglasses, bottles of bubbles, Frisbees, and water squirters, plus an ice cream sundae bar are sure to bring out the kid in all your volunteers.

And in addition to these great ideas, here’s another—and it’s the most effective, least expensive one: be sure to say “thank you” often and loudly to each and every volunteer.

Most volunteer managers want good volunteers to stick around. But sometimes, life prevents volunteers from continuing their work with your nonprofit organization. Others move away. And then there are those volunteers who prefer to help for short-term projects at different times throughout the year. But for those willing and able to volunteer long-term, how do you retain them?

Volunteer retention starts with great communication—and that starts with the recruitment process. When both sides are clear from the beginning what the needs are, what the position entails, and what time commitment is needed, you’re more likely to retain the volunteer. There should be no questions about duties or hours needed. If your volunteer leaves because you indicated a maximum commitment of 2 hours a day and they cannot complete their tasks in that amount of time, you have a problem with process or communication—not retention.

During the interview process, repeat the job description for the available volunteer position. Assess their skills to ensure the volunteer is right for the job. Placing volunteers in positions that match their interests and abilities is an important step in retention.

Set aside sufficient time for orientation. Welcoming new volunteers and integrating them into the organization’s mission and culture is vital to a smooth transition. Show new volunteers where everything they need is located, and be sure to introduce them to all other volunteers and staff they’ll be working with. Let them know who to turn to when they have questions or problems.

Thorough training is important. Depending on the volunteer and the job they’re matched to, they may need little training, or extensive training. Try different techniques to see which are most successful for each volunteer—everyone learns differently. Ask for input and feedback to ensure you’re giving the volunteer the training they need, and that they are comfortable with their tasks.

Check in often. Informal chats as well as formal evaluations are a good mix. Especially in the beginning, ask new volunteers how they are doing, if they feel they’re succeeding at their tasks, and what help you can provide. Semi-annual evaluations will allow you and the volunteer time to review expectations, performance, and satisfaction. Provide constructive feedback and ask how you can better support their efforts.

Provide variety. Don’t expect a volunteer to enjoy the same tasks for a long period of time. Some folks like variety, so don’t forget to ask your volunteers if they are happy with their job or if they’d like to try new tasks.

Give recognition and express appreciation. You’d be surprise how many volunteers say they left a nonprofit organization because they didn’t feel appreciated! Tell your volunteers how much you need and appreciate their efforts. It will go a long way to volunteer retention.

Courtesy of Houston Zoo

A non profit website that caught our eye recently is the Houston Zoo. Take a look and you’ll see why! The site is colorful, but not cluttered, organized perfectly and highly interactive.

Visitors to the site can easily find upcoming events for adults and kids, all the latest zoo news (including updates on soon-to-be-born baby elephants!), videos and activities. The site is updated daily, plus features a live Twitter stream. Following the zoo on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and connecting to the Zoo’s Flicker photostream and You Tube Channel are as easy as clicking your mouse on the home page buttons.

Interested in supporting or volunteering at the Houston Zoo? They make it any easy. Of the seven main navigation tabs, one is “Make a Donation.” You can see how important fundraising outreach is to the zoo. From that tab, one can choose from a variety of options:

• Donor Clubs: the zoo offers several tiers of support level, from the Flock, aimed at young professionals, to the Asante Society for higher-level givers. All supporters receive special perks and invitations to private tours and parties.
• The African Forest: This special project gets its own area of the site, fully explaining the vision and soliciting support to make it a reality.
• Fundraisers: Large-scale events and smaller family-oriented parties are highlighted, with photos from past years and “mark your calendars” information about this year’s dates.
• Corporate Support: Clear details on how corporations and businesses can sponsor events and volunteer at the zoo make getting involved a no-brainer. Plus, the content is obviously written with the reader’s motivation in mind, answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” Answer: visibility, brand enhancement, exposure, and wide appeal.
• Corporate Volunteer Program: this area of the site is well-writeen and appealing, outlining the ways business gourps can become involved, the commitment required, and how to get started with becoming a volunteer.

Finally, the zoo’s Annual Fund Drive and Other Ways to Give tabs make it easy to do just that.

Other ways this site is a winner:

• The site creates instant credibility by featuring the Zoo’s accreditations at the bottom of the home page, along with a Better Business Bureau seal;
• Hours, prices, directions, zoo maps and newsletter sign-up are at the top of each page;
• An interactive “Ask us a question” form and the event calendar appear on all 2nd- and 3rd-tier pages; and
• A big “Donate Now” button shows up on most 2nd and 3rd tier pages.

Non profits can learn a few tricks from Houston Zoo’s website. Even if your non profit cannot manage the high-level programming and graphics that this site has, you can still borrow most of the outreach ideas. Clear content that answers visitors’ questions and keeps them coming back are easily achievable website goals!

Whether you have a big, volunteer-heavy fundraising event coming up, or just want to handle your regular supporter outreach duties more efficiently, you can save money and time by using easy-to use, free online tools.

1. Email is a friendly, most-often acceptable method of staying in touch with volunteers and supporters. Sure, some folks do not want unwanted emails clogging their inboxes—that’s why you always want to include an opt-out option in every email. You might be surprised how often a well-written, informative email from your organization will be opened by most of your email list. More important, emails are easy to forward and share—so you get more bang for your effort!

Make sure you capture emails from interested donors, supporters, and volunteers at every opportunity to build a solid email list.

2. Re-think expensive printing projects. Do you need to pay for the design, printing, and mailing of event announcements? If you wish to impress recipients with a nicely-done invitation to a big event, then consider skipping additional mailings. Will an email blast do for a save-the-date request and RSVP reminders?

3. Avoid another expensive mailing project next time you want to solicit donations for a special project or year-end campaign by allowing donors to give through your website. Replace the typical mailed letter and response envelope with a nicely-designed email containing a link to an online “Donate Now” button. There are dozens of online donation services available to nonprofits and charities. Just do a Google search and get started!

4. Promote it yourself! Garner support for your cause across town, throughout your region, and even around the world through online media and social networking sites. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and GroupMembersOnly are fantastic ways to create a buzz while creating community and informing potential supporters, donors, volunteers and clients who may not know about your organization. All are user-friendly, easy to set up and maintain, and not as time consuming as you may have heard. The effort you put towards social network promotion may surprise you!

Using free online tools to promote your event or fundraise for your nonprofit organization can save you time and tons of money!

As promised, we continue to offer some best practices tips for volunteer managers. Increase efficiency and stay organized with tips from both the for-profit business sector and other nonprofit organizations.

1. Develop a Volunteer Acquisition Plan: Plans help you keep on goal; your volunteer recruitment efforts will be much more effective if you plan carefully. First, determine how many volunteers you need for each project, ongoing tasks, and events you have in a typical period—one month, six months, one year. Then decide the level of experience you need from your volunteers. Do you need special training, like food service, catering, accounting, truck driving, or traffic control? Or is the project something that is suitable for a family with small children?

Next, make a list of former volunteers, current supporters, and even your friends and business contacts who possess the desired training or expertise. Contact them and ask for their help. Be sure to clearly define your needs, expectations, and their time commitment.

2. Protect your Organization from Legal Harm: As a volunteer manager, you must be as aware of employment laws as any human resource manager. If you lack training in this area, research training opportunities or enlist the help of an HR Law professional for guidance. Some of the applicable federal land state laws are the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (which covers volunteer background screening and credit checks), and anti-discrimination legislation like Equal Employment Opportunity.

Keep staff, served populations and other volunteers safe and your organization out of legal trouble by carefully screening all volunteers. Review insurance policies annually to be sure volunteers are covered when working for your organization. Don’t wait until after a volunteer suffers an injury to find out you are under-insured.

3. Keep Excellent Records: Many organizations are required to track volunteer time. If you are not required, it is still a good idea to do so. Whether you obtain specialized computer software to help, or use simple spreadsheets, it’s vital to keep track of volunteer contact information, interests and abilities, projects assigned and completed, and notes regarding successes and challenges. These notes  will come in handy when conducting evaluations or when your organization is required to report to state or federal officials. If you are challenged for time to track volunteer activity, assign the task to a volunteer.

4. Be Flexible: The ability to switch hats, courses of action, and gears is a valuable one for volunteer managers. If a volunteer is having trouble with a project, losing interest in the organization, or not working out as well as you’d hoped, be ready to communicate, evaluate, and act accordingly. If your volunteer recruitment plan isn’t working as well as you need it to, double your efforts, ask a mentor for help, or simply change your approach. Try spreading the word with social media or free online ads like Craigslist.

Borrowing good management practices from others is an easy way to implement procedures that really work—and can save you valuable time!

Sometimes it’s easier to follow established procedures, rather than starting your own. This is especially true if you’re a newer nonprofit volunteer manager. If you’ve inherited your role, or if the volunteer manager job begins with you, increase efficiency and stay organized by adopting procedures that are already proven effective.

Some of these tips come from the for-profit business sector, while others are unique to nonprofit organizations. Gather them into your own handbook and your organization will be better for it.

1. Establish Clear Communication with your Volunteers: Good communication begins the day your volunteers inquire about offering their services. Know whether or not you are currently accepting volunteer applicants. If so, let people know exactly what positions you have open, whether they are short- or long-term, and how many hours per week they require. Ask your volunteer applicant appropriate questions to guage both their areas of interest and their skill sets.

Make sure your applications are clearly written, detailing what is expected of all volunteers, as well as how the volunteer’s personal information will be used. If your charity requires volunteers to undergo background screening, state it on your application; you’ll need the person’s permission to start the process.

2. Provide proper training, if required. In a perfect volunteer situation, the skills you need are perfectly suited to a particular voluntneer, who jumps in with both feet. In the real world, you’ll at least need to orient each volunteer to your organization’s way of operating, your mission and goals, and the details of their position. Proper training will lead to a much more successful relationship with your volunteers. They’ll be happier, and more enthusiastic to return to help you again.

3. Feedback and Evaluations: Whether a new or long-serving volunteer, take a cue from employers and provide regular, formal feedback. Semi-annual or annual evaluations can be a great way to set aside time for one-on-one discussions. Since it’s a volunteer position, you as manager might provide feedback more like a coach, rather than an employer. Ask your volunteers to evaluate the organization—and you.

4. Manage Projects According to Volunteer Abilities: It only makes sense to avoid placing new volunteers in leadership positions—at least until you’ve been able to observe them performing assigned tasks. If you have a natural leader or experienced business owner or manager among your new volunteer recruits, they may be more ready to assume responsibility. Ask your longer-term volunteers if they’re ready to take on a leadership role in training or leading other groups of volunteers. They could make your job much easier!

Look for Volunteer Management Best Practices: Part II right here next week.

As if charities needed another one, a change in the estate tax could prove to be a possible roadblock to fundraising.

Here’s why: the estate tax meant that wealthy Americans, upon their demise, could leave their money to their children or to charity. When left to their heirs, the US Government took 45% and the heirs got 55%. If left to charity, the full amount of their pretax estate could be donated.

As of January 1, 2010, the estate tax is repealed for a full year. Now, that giving to heirs choice looks better—because the 45% tax has vanished—disappeared—poof!  Whether or not wealthy will continue to give, it’s clear that a reason for them to do so has been eliminated.

The impact on nonprofit organizations might depend on a philosophical question: is philanthropy based in goodness, or in tax savings?

The opportunity for charities is to make a real connection with their donors—all of them, but especially the wealthy. Give donors a reason to feel that the money is secondary to the benefits they will receive. Help them feel a part of your organization, of something bigger than themselves.

But how?

• Stay in touch with well-written newsletters.
• Produce a simple video and post in on your website. Feature clients if possible. Show, rather than tell, what good your organization is doing.
• Show the video at your next fundraising event.
• Introduce donors to the people your organization serves, and tell the success stories they are helping to make happen.

Stay tuned for updates on this issue; Congress can decide to reinstate the estate tax and make it retroactive to January 1. We’ll keep you posted!

Nonprofit volunteer managers are sometimes inundated with offers from corporations—especially around volunteer “holidays” like The National Day of Service and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While no NPOs we know would turn down volunteers who are willing and qualified to help, sometimes too much of a good thing can make for headaches.

Every volunteer manager has had unusual requests from corporations. From custom-designing a volunteer opportunity just for them, to dictating who will show up and when, and what their employees will and will not do, companies can be “overeager” with their requests.

Some companies want only group activities—are they working on their team-building? What if you have more tasks that require only one person or two-people teams to complete?

Other companies want opportunities that will teach their employees a skill, or enhance their existing skills. What if your needs do not match this desire?

NPO managers are not required to satisfy their corporate volunteer programs’ needs. NPOs do not have to invest tasks and projects to meet their requirements. If you have work that matches what a company wants for their employee volunteers, then great. Let them go get it done! If not, offer an alternative.

You’re in charge—there’s no need to fill someone’s made-to-order volunteer desires. Ask for their help in getting your goals met. Offer alternatives that might make both sides happy. Break up large projects into smaller ones that can work over a longer term. Alternatively, group smaller projects into a work day that a corporate team can attend together.

Finding ways to fulfill both sides’ needs is important when corporate volunteer programs come calling. NPOs can’t alienate supporters, but they also shouldn’t let them dictate the terms of engagement.

Budget cuts at the state and local levels are having a huge adverse effect on nonprofits all over the country. Couple budget cuts with the reality that grant makers expect to give fewer grants in 2010, and you have a recipe for another difficult year for nonprofits.

Fundraisers and nonprofit directors need to look at alternative income streams to replace traditional sources operating funds like grants, individual donations, and state funding.

Here are a few ideas for alternative income sources:

1. Earned revenue. The profits from a product or service that people will pay for is a great way to raise needed funds.  A separate, for-profit company is sometimes needed to do this. Some nonprofits open coffee or ice cream shops. Arts organizations set up historic-area or architecture tours in their cities to earn tourist dollars. Others publish books, print t-shirts and mugs, or open thrift stores. The possibilities are endless, with a little imagination.

2. Major gifts. Developing relationships with philanthropic organizations or community groups is crucial. Find out who has money to give and make sure they know your organization’s mission and needs.

3. Rent out empty space. If there are empty offices in your building, offer them to entrepreneurs, other nonprofits, or professionals.

4. Sell assets. Are there assets you own that are not increasing in value or earning a return? If your NPO has not already done its spring cleaning, it may be time to look at what assets you can sell. Vehicles, parking lots, vacant lots, buildings–they should all be considered.

5. Diversifying your outreach. Social media is the answer to getting your organization’s message out to the masses. Smart phones are the new information delivery system, but consumers will only let in information they want or trust. Make friends and fans by setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts, and gather your supporters’ cell phone numbers as a way of mobilizing them when you need to.

6. Diversify your fundraising. Try sponsoring a fun run, a 5K or even a long-distance run. Get a booth at a community event and sell something: t-shirts, hand-crafted items, or food (cupcakes, candy, brownies, or ice cream.)

Creativity and diversifying will be the keys to increasing your nonprofit’s income in  2010!

The recession has been extremely difficult on charitable organizations, and many have not survived. To avoid shutting their doors, many are opening their minds to new possibilities—also known as “survival tactics.” Reports show that increasingly, nonprofits around the country are turning to collaborations, partnerships, and mergers.

One California program that helps special needs individuals through horseback riding thrived for fifteen years—until the economy tanked. Instead of shutting down, they found a sister organization the works with children and adults with disabilities, and after many, many hours of talking and planning, they merged into one new streamlined organization.

In Washington State, a youth-services organization faced extreme cuts in state funding that threatened to close its doors forever. The outlook was dire for the young people who counted on the services it provided, including a homeless youth shelter, foster program, and family counseling services. Luckily, a financially stable family-service organization stepped in. By taking over half of the youth service organization’s programs, the cash-strapped organization bought some time to reorganize and survive—without loss of services.

Whether it’s to improve finances, gain a wider range of services or additional expertise, mergers can be an ideal solution for nonprofit organizations. But mergers take a great deal of focus, planning, and dedication on the part of board members, staff, management, and volunteers.

Nonprofits collaborate in other money-saving ways these days—like sharing space. As budgets are slashed, personnel is often the first area targeting when cutting expenses. Fewer staff means less space needed. And that extra space is being filled by sister organizations.

Sharing rent, utility bills and administrative staff is a great way for nonprofits to reduce expenses. Plus, there’s the spark of new energy and ideas, a broadening of service offerings, and one-stop shopping for clients needing more services that make collaboration a great way to survive the down economy for nonprofits.