April 18-24 is volunteer appreciation week. Come together with your fellow development professionals in Southern Colorado for a discussion with development and volunteer engagement staff about how we can leverage some of our biggest supporters across our work!
It is not uncommon for nonprofits to look at volunteers and monetary donors differently. Both provide tremendous value and allow an organization to reach goals and obtain its mission. Oftentimes nonprofits target these donor types differently and design different communication strategies/campaigns between the two groups. Diversifying targeting and campaigns may be beneficial for some organizations, but what happens when a supporter fits into both categories? New data is providing insights into the relationship between volunteers and financial donors. The results may surprise you.
A comprehensive study, performed by Fidelity Charitable, found that 87 percent of volunteers say there is a relationship between their volunteer behavior and the causes they support financially. The same study found that 79 percent of donors volunteer for a charitable organization, citing the interest in providing more than just financial support for a chosen cause. Finally, the study found that a mere 7 percent of donors have not volunteered, primarily due to time restraints and/or a preference for financial support. The data suggests a clear-cut relationship between volunteers and donors and implies that the same supporter often falls into both groups.
The Fidelity Charitable study is not the only report presenting these claims. A donor engagement study found that nearly 75 percent of the 1,136 donors surveyed claimed they are likely to or have volunteered in the past. Two-thirds of the donors surveyed volunteered in the past 12 months.
Volunteers have also been found to donate more than donors who do not volunteer. The Fidelity Charitable study showed that volunteers donate 10 times more. Talk about value! The link between volunteers and donors means that organizations need to focus on retention, conversion strategies, and connecting volunteer and donor data.
FREE Member Registration
AFP members from a chapter other than AFP SOCO should email info@afpsoco.org to register. CNA members should register through the CNA website.
