Volunteers Have Choices
Get to Know Them, Why They Volunteer
And Support Them in Their Work

By Jennifer Furla, Executive Vice President
Kansas City

At 2:30 on a Sunday morning, we were surprised to see a Red Cross representative appear at what was my parents’ home with a bag of emergency supplies. My parents’ home was nearly destroyed by fire on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Not only were we impressed with the care by which the fire department reviewed post-fire procedures and returned into the smoldering structure to retrieve important personal items and clothing, but by the appearance of the Red Cross.

They only come for big disasters, I thought.

After making a final assessment with the fire department, the young man offered temporary lodging, a week’s worth of groceries and a clothing stipend.

“Are you a volunteer or staff?,” I asked. “Oh, a volunteer, Ma’am.”

“May I ask: What motivated you to do this?”

“Well, when I was a little boy about 8, my family lost their home in a fire similar to this. The Red Cross helped us and I wanted to give back.”

Why do you volunteer for the causes that you do? Why do volunteers spend some of their most precious currency giving their time to your organization?

Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. They have a myriad of reasons for getting involved in your organization. They could have a passion for your programs or mission. They may have connected through their work or a personal acquaintance. Maybe it was a family or childhood experience that motivates them to give back.

The opportunity to share business experience and provide leadership can often be a factor. Sometimes volunteers even connect because they were drawn by the opportunity to raise money for your cause.

Regardless of the motivation, I would guess that most volunteers do not sign up because they relish the chance to venture beyond their comfort level to ask friends and colleagues for major gifts.

Often when we are fundraising, we focus so much on the goal and the process that the fundraising, itself, becomes the object. When preparing for a campaign or major gifts effort, we would be well served to acknowledge that fundraising can be a foreign and scary experience. Even the most committed and experienced volunteers need to be supported and well trained.

So what can you do to help ease the anxiety and help your volunteers feel successful?

Support your volunteers with orientations and training that provide them a thorough understanding of your organization and your plans to support the mission through fundraising. Help them know your organization and be able to articulate how you arte fulfilling your mission. Help them find that essential part of your mission or work that hooks them and keeps them involved. When volunteers understand these key elements, they are more likely to want to share the “what” and the “why” with others.

Thank your volunteers generously and often. It’s tempting to get too focused on reporting upcoming projects and events and how you need volunteers to work a shift, fill a table or seek donations. While you certainly have needs to present and opportunities for them to help, remember that your volunteers need to hear that they are appreciated. Your appreciation is your free currency. Be generous in how you offer your thanks and share their successes at meetings, in your board and development committee packets, via email and personal notes. When volunteers know their colleagues have been successful in their solicitation effort, they are more likely to go out and try for themselves.

Be patient and communicate frequently. Patiently offer reminders and encouragement. Remember, they are volunteers. They are busy individuals who have tremendous amounts of other responsibilities competing for their time and attention. They need and appreciate gentle reminders. They may also need your help and encouragement.

Most importantly, take time to get to know your volunteers. Learn about their passion and why they became involved in your organization and, even more, why they choose to continue to give their time among literally thousands of competing opportunities.

Another Red Cross story: A number of years ago, we visited the regional president of a major national bank on a Community Readiness Assessment ^SM (feasibility study) interview for a local American Red Cross chapter. When asked what he knew of the Red Cross, the president explained how when he was a boy, he stood on the banks of a raging river watching his family farm destroyed and his boyhood home float downstream after a sudden and devastating flash flood. Later that day, the Red Cross appeared with boxes of fried chicken for the flood survivors. It was the best fried chicken he’d ever had. The bank president went on to agree to chair the chapter’s highly successful capital campaign.