How to Work With Bosses and Volunteers to Raise More Money

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of speaking at the Western North Carolina chapter of AFP in Asheville.  I had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones.

Can you imagine me anywhere not having fun?

I spoke to them about working with bosses and volunteers in fundraising, especially when you don’t like your boss or volunteer.  I know this is (unfortunately) a common issue for lots of people and I’ve experienced it myself.

I remember working as a Development Director and not liking my boss much.  It wasn’t easy, but we were able to be successful in fundraising as a team.

Here are some of the things I shared with the group.

There are three keys to being able to work with a boss or volunteer in fundraising. 

The first is communication. We must learn to be clear in asking for what we want and in sharing information.  And we must learn to set clear expectations when we set out to work with someone else.  This above all I think is critical in relationships!  I see lots of problems on Boards because people were not given a good idea of what to expect when they agreed to serve on the Board.  Being clear in the beginning can prevent a lot of problems later.

The second key is trust. No matter how much we like or dislike someone on our team, we must work to build trust with them.  Otherwise, we aren’t going to get very far.  Some ways you can build trust are to act consistently and keep your word.  Do what you say you will do.  And treat people with respect.  Remember, if you don’t respect someone, it’s your problem, not theirs.  It’s yours to fix.  Again, I know this isn’t easy, but it’s what will help you be successful in raising money.

Finally, I talked about ‘leading from the chair.’ There are an awful lot of Executive Directors and Board chairs out there who have little in the way of leadership skills.  If this is your situation, then you can try providing leadership without actually being in charge.  It’s not easy to do, but with some grace, it can be done.  When I was in this position, I found that it was a matter of gently (and I mean gently!) sharing information that my boss needed to know, and making suggestions as to the action that was needed.  Over time, my boss turned to me repeatedly for advice and insight into lots of situations.

Sometimes the relationship with your boss or your volunteer is so damaged and broken that no amount of trust and respect will repair it.  That’s when it’s time to dust off your resume and go find another job.

The good news about working with bosses and volunteers in fundraising is that you can get a lot more accomplished when working as a team.  They may have connections in the community that you need or knowledge of your organization that you don’t have.  Either way, presenting a united front to your donor prospects will get you much farther down the road of raising money for your good cause.

There’s a great article in the latest Advancing Philanthropy magazine about using volunteers to get more work done in your office.  I’m a huge proponent of using volunteers.  Over my career, I’ve enlisted volunteers to do all kinds of things, and almost every time, had great success.

If you work in a small shop, you know what it’s like to have more work than you can shake a stick at.  There’s always more to do than you can get done.  The key to effectively using volunteers is to think about those things that someone else could do, then find someone who would enjoy doing it.

Here are some things I’ve used volunteers for over the years:

• Help with mailings.  Volunteers can be great help in folding letters and stuffing envelopes.  I like to make sure I have coffee and refreshments ready when I have folks come in to help. If there’s a TV nearby that they can watch while they stuff, even better.  If at all possible, I like to work with them to get to know them better.
• Hand-written thank-you cards.  Sometimes there are occasions to send donors or volunteers a thank-you card.  The right volunteer (with good handwriting!) is a gem at helping get these out.
• Special events.  If you have an event, you’re going to need extra hands.  The key here is to be very clear about exactly how many people you need and what they’ll need to do during the event.  Be sure to give them breaks and refreshments.  And if you have an event T-shirt, give them one.
• Foundation research.  The right volunteer can help you research potential foundations for grantwriting.  I had a volunteer do this once and he really enjoyed it.  He liked that he could do it from home and I liked that he saved me TONS of time!

Volunteers can come from lots of sources: retirees, stay-at-home moms, and college students looking for practical hands-on experience.  Be sure to give them a good experience with you and they’ll come back for more.

There are so many little things that get overlooked when we as Fundraisers get busy.  One of them is thanking volunteers.

I was coaching a busy Executive Director lately and she mentioned that she has a lot of people who are volunteering with her organiazation and doing sweet things.  I asked her if she had thanked them recently. “Thanked them? Uh, no.” 

So here’s the idea I gave her.  Go pick up a box of valentine’s and write a personal note on them, then mail them to your volunteers.  It’s simple, it’s affordable, it’s quick, and it works!  Most of the time, people just want to know you appreciate them. (This also works for some donors and other supporters.)

Brainstorm a couple of ideas throughout the year when you can do these little things to thank your volunteers.  Then get them on the calendar so you won’t forget.

Would you like more great little ideas like this?  Join me Thursday afternoon at 3 pm eastern for a free call.  Sign up and get all the details here: http://getfullyfunded.info/where-is-sandy/free-teleseminars.

I love days that I get to work in my office.  It gives me some quiet time to think and plan.  But today, my solitude ihas been interrupted.

Sadie is a rather large kitty and has decided that she wants to sit in my lap.  This is one of our older cats and she’s a big girl (16 pounds!).  Not only is she in my lap, but she’s purring to beat the band and insists on keeping her paw on top of my arm, making it difficult to type.  Why she isn’t upstairs pestering my daughter, I don’t know.

Now, you probably know I love my critters.  This one included.  I just don’t love her when she gets in my way. 

Which reminds me of a donor story I heard today.

My friend Lynn is an Executive Director of a good-sized organization and has a new facility manager she just hired.  He’s working out great and is followinfg her directions for keeping things clean and tidy.  There’s a long-time volunteer who also happens to be a major donor who has taken it upon himself to tell this young fellow everything he needs to know.  The only problem is that the volunteer/donor is giving the staff guy different instructions than what Lynn did.

So for Lynn, this volunteer/major donor is kind of like the cat in my lap – I love you, but don’t get in my way.  If the proverbial cat gets too big (if the volunteer/donor gets too caught up in being in charge) it can really cause problems.  Best to deal with it as soon as possible.

Lynn feels a bit caught between a rock and a hard spot. My suggestion is that she sit down with the volunteer/donor and go over the procedures for the facility and get his buy-in.  She should also let him know that she’s got the new guy well-oriented and is supporting him.  She should probably go one step further and ask the volunteer/donor to let her know if he sees things happening that he thinks needs to be addresed with the new guy.  And find a way to let the volunteer/donor know that it’s not his job to tell the new kid what to do.

This is a tough situation, trying to keep the volunteer/donor happy and engaged, but keep him out of staff business.

What would you do if it were you?  Click on the comment link and let me hear from you.

Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can convince Sadie to go find another lap!

National Volunteer Week is April 19-25, 2009.  How will you recognize your volunteers?  Here are a few suggestions.

Send your best volunteers a hand-written note card thanking them for their time throughout the past 12 months.  If you track their time, tell them how many hours they have contributed to your organization.

List your volunteers in your next newsletter and publicly thank them for their efforts.

Write a letter to the Editor of your local paper and thank your volunteers for their time.

Some organizations give volunteers little treats like pins or magnets.  You don’t have to spend money on trinkets to let folks know how much you appreciate them, especially this year.  Just be warm and sincere and it will do the trick.

Got questions about recruiting volunteers?  Check out Energize, Inc.

Peruse the online library. Read the wisdom of others working with volunteers. Sign up for their monthly newsletter.  There’s lots to see and learn.

www.energizeinc.com

A Wish List is a great tool for giving donors, volunteers, and prospects ideas about how they can help you.

You can include literally anything on a Wish List – I’ve seen refrigerators, vans, and forklifts!  I would suggest including a range of items from toilet paper and copy paper on the low end to whatever you need on the high end.

Be sure to include your Wish List in your newsletter, volunteer materials, and consider including it with Thank You letters.

Oh, and if you need volunteers for something specific, you can include that, too.  “Volunteer wanted to answer the phones each Wednesday morning” or “Volunteer needed to help with golf tournament goody bags”.  Just a thought!

I spent most of today working on a Habitat house.  It was GREAT!  We got the house prepped for siding and apparently there’s a big group coming tomorrow to do that.  Everyone today was pleasant and cheerful, and even though the weather threatened rain the whole day, it was lots of fun.

I thought about the 10 or so folks who were there volunteering with me.  Some were retired, others were using a day off from work to be there.  How cool that people value the mission of Habitat so much that they were willing to be there all day working on that house?  Of course, from what I saw, the volunteers got lots of benefit from the experience.  Several of us learned a new skill and made new friends.  Some were hanging out with old friends (I could tell from the laughter and joking!).  In the end, we were all there to do something for someone else.

If you don’t volunteer for another organization, you need to.  Likewise, you need to be a donor to another organization.  These experiences will help you offer a better experience to your own donors and volunteers.

Volunteers can make a big difference in your organization. Thanking them is a key ingredient in having happy, loyal volunteers. Here are some easy ways to do that:

• Regularly tell them in person how much you appreciate them. It must be sincere.
• Mail them a hand-written note telling them how much of an impact they are having.
• List all your volunteers in your newsletter along with the total number of hours donated.
• Order some special Volunteer pins and give them one.
• Send them a letter at the end of each year letting them know how many hours they gave you.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 27-May 3, 2008. Plan a special picnic or reception during that week for your Volunteers. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local paper saying how much you appreciate your Volunteers.

Just thank them regularly and from your heart!