Campaign Components

Volunteer Relationships

Did you know that volunteers give two times more money to the organization to which they give their time (Independent Sector, 2000) than those who do not volunteer?

The financial benefit is just one reason you need volunteers. Volunteers are the lifeblood of your organization because they bring needed skill sets such as financing and marketing to run your agency. They are a resource to help you solve problems and they help generate positive public relations. Also, volunteers help "open doors" to obtain new contributors.

Now let's consider why the right volunteer team is essential if you are conducting a capital campaign. You look at the prospective donors in the database and you ask, "How can I personally solicit all these prospects?" If you answer the question truthfully, you probably can't and you will need the passion and commitment of dedicated volunteers to effectively manage a successful effort. The points detailed in the following are suggestions to enlist campaign volunteers:

• Set expectations through clearly written job descriptions.

• Enlist your most powerful people first.

• Invite people to do activities that they can do successfully.

• Outline all objectives into manageable goals for the volunteers.

• Remain flexible to what a volunteer is willing to do.

• Celebrate all successes.

• Create a fun environment.

• Identifying, recruiting, training and motivating volunteers are key steps in building a successful campaign.

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