Meaningful donor relationships power your mission’s growth by providing revenue you can count on. That’s why it’s vital for any nonprofit to form genuine relationships with donors and offer valuable engagement opportunities. One donor retention strategy you might not have considered is engaging donors in volunteer opportunities.

Meaningful volunteer work allows donors to see the impact of their donations firsthand, gain on-the-ground experience helping your cause and build connections with your staff, beneficiaries and fellow volunteers. Plus, you can recruit more volunteers for your cause, which Double the Donation’s volunteer statistics report finds 62% of nonprofits have challenges with.

To engage donors in volunteering, your organization should:

1. Offer a variety of volunteer opportunities to appeal to donors’ interests.
2. Segment your donors to reach out with personalized opportunities.
3. Highlight the impact of volunteer work.
4. Solicit donors’ feedback.
5. Thank donors for their participation.

Proper volunteer management isn’t that different from donor management. Both require deliberate efforts to get to know each supporter and appeal to their preferences. Let’s explore strategies that will help your organization do just that!

1. Offer a variety of volunteer opportunities to appeal to donors’ interests.

Your donors likely have a wide range of interests when it comes to volunteering, and it’s crucial to offer roles that match their preferences. Appeal to these interests by offering a variety of opportunities, such as:

• Virtual volunteer opportunities: Virtual opportunities offer flexibility and convenience for those who prefer participating remotely. Digital opportunities enable busy donors to connect and volunteer in ways that suit their availability. Plus, this approach eliminates geographical barriers, enabling any donor to participate wherever they are.
• Corporate volunteering: Some passionate donors may be able to organize corporate volunteer events at their workplaces. These opportunities give donors the ability to volunteer during the workday while also introducing your nonprofit to their co-workers. If supporters show interest in starting corporate volunteer days at their workplaces, help them by providing any materials they may need to present to their employers.

Overall, donors will appreciate your efforts to offer multiple ways to get involved and appeal to their interests and busy schedules.

2. Segment your donors to reach out with personalized opportunities.

Segmentation is the process of grouping donors based on shared characteristics and needs. Segmentation can be done in multiple ways, depending on your organization’s goals and unique donor base. Capture all the necessary data from your donors to help you determine how to group them, such as by:

• Their preferred communication platform: Segment your donors based on their preferred communication method to ensure you get your message across and meet supporters where they are. Use your past interactions with donors to determine which platform they use the most, such as email, SMS or social media.
• How long they’ve been involved in your nonprofit: New donors require more information about your organization than those who have supported you for a long time. Reach out to each group with information relevant to their interests and knowledge level to ensure everyone has what they need to get involved.
• Demographic information: Segmenting donors based on their age, geographic location, job or education status allows you to share content that will resonate with each group. For example, younger donors may prefer to communicate through social media and enjoy video content, while those who are older may prefer communicating through email or phone calls.

Use these segments to reach out with personalized volunteer opportunities. For example, you might share virtual volunteering opportunities with older volunteers who may have mobility issues and more physical roles with younger, local volunteers.

3. Highlight the impact of volunteer work.

Donors want to know the impact of their donations, and this is also true of their non-monetary contributions.

Show donors how their donations allow your organization to conduct vital on-the-ground activities that advance your mission. This can inspire them to volunteer and continue donating.

In your communications with donors, highlight how volunteers are vital contributors to your organization’s environmental cleanups, weekly community meals or after-school mentoring programs. Make the connection between volunteer work and donations by sharing statistics and hard data. For instance, describe how a $100 donation allows volunteers to create four care packages for families in need.

Take impact further with volunteer grants.

While volunteer work is impactful on its own, your donors might be more excited about volunteering if they know their work will have a monetary impact as well.

Share how volunteering can translate into real money earned for your nonprofit when donors apply for volunteer grants. Through these programs, companies donate to the nonprofits where their employees volunteer, typically granting funds based on the number of hours someone volunteers. For instance, a company might have a volunteer grant program that awards $10 per hour volunteered.

Companies implement these programs to inspire volunteerism in communities where their employees live and work. They leverage dedicated CSR and employee engagement tools to facilitate these initiatives, making it easy for employees to participate. Remind volunteers that they may have to log their hours and submit a volunteer grant request form within their company’s platform.

For an overview of the current state of volunteer grants, check out these statistics from 360MatchPro:

• 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grant programs.
• 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs provide between $8-$15 per hour volunteered.
• 85% of the top matching gift companies also offer volunteer grant programs.
• The average employee participation level for volunteer grants sits at just 3%.

As these statistics show, volunteer grant programs are widespread and potentially profitable but are underused. Alert your donors to these opportunities and encourage them to check their eligibility so they can maximize their volunteer experience.

4. Solicit donors’ feedback.

Asking supporters for feedback after volunteer opportunities gives your organization access to valuable insights about what’s working within your volunteer program and what needs to be improved. Collecting feedback also shows donors that you value their opinions and reminds them that they’re an essential part of your mission.

Ask a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions to ensure volunteers can complete your survey quickly but also share their full opinions. For instance, you can ask questions like:

• Before you participated in today’s opportunity, how familiar were you with our volunteer program? (provide a sliding scale between “very familiar” and “not familiar at all”)
• How likely are you to participate in a future volunteer opportunity?
• How likely are you to recommend our volunteer program to family members or friends?
• What was your favorite aspect of the volunteer opportunity?
• What do you think we can do to improve our program?
• Did you feel like the activities or tasks you participated in are relevant to our organization’s overall mission?

These questions help you understand how effective your volunteer opportunities are for showing participants what your mission looks like in action.

5. Thank donors for their participation.

Everyone wants to be appreciated and thanked for their work. By showing appreciation for your donors after they participate in a volunteer opportunity, you demonstrate that your organization values and appreciates their non-monetary contributions as much as their financial ones. There are many ways you can show volunteer appreciation, such as with:

• A team lunch or dinner: Everyone loves free food! Offer a team lunch or dinner event to give donors the chance to get to know each other and your staff properly. Use the meal as an opportunity to thank donors for their engagement and ask for their feedback in a casual setting.
• Personalized merchandise: Show your appreciation and spread brand awareness by designing your own t-shirts, water bottles, tote bags or any other merchandise and offering it to volunteers for free.
• A volunteer appreciation event: Events offer volunteers the opportunity to dress up, socialize and celebrate what they have accomplished. Cater dinner and hand out awards to volunteers who went above and beyond.

With these efforts, you can remind donors that they are essential members of your team and that your organization appreciates their dedication. Even sending a personalized email or handwritten thank-you card can go a long way in expressing appreciation to your donors for taking the time out of their day to volunteer.

Bonus: Encourage Your Volunteers to Become Donors

Note that all of these tips can also be applied to stewarding volunteers to become donors. Volunteers are often overlooked as fundraising sources, but they have the potential to become highly valuable, loyal donors.

Your regular volunteers demonstrate a high level of commitment to your mission, and they likely have the capacity to donate to your cause as well. You just have to ask!

By following these same stewardship strategies, from offering a wide range of opportunities to requesting their feedback and thanking volunteers for their participation, you can encourage your volunteers to become donors themselves.

All of these activities intertwine your volunteering and fundraising efforts, strengthening your nonprofit by inspiring greater engagement from all supporters.

Now that you’ve learned some of the ways your nonprofit can build strong donor relationships through volunteering, you can plan how you will implement these tips! Keeping your donors engaged in volunteering, acknowledging their contributions and collecting feedback will encourage donors to continue supporting your cause. Remember, your donors are the backbone of your organization’s growth, and offering them a memorable experience is essential.