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Integration Announcement: VolunteerLocal Chooses Double the Donation for Integrated Volunteer Grant Solution

Guest Blogger

A warm thanks to Julia Beltran and our integration partners at Double The Donation for this guest post!

Double the Donation is proud to debut its integrated partnership with VolunteerLocal, one of the most powerful volunteer management platforms. This duo has come together to offer 360MatchPro to nonprofits, event planners and volunteer coordinators of all types through its seamless integration.

“Our volunteer grant integration with 360MatchPro will take the mystery out of volunteer grant submissions,” said Brian Hemesath, Founder of VolunteerLocal. “Volunteer coordinators can expect a simple way to contact eligible supporters and encourage them to submit their grants – leading to more funds for qualifying organizations.”

Through this new and innovative solution, organizations can now use 360MatchPro to identify volunteer grant-eligible supporters and guide them to their employer’s volunteer grant guidelines and submission steps directly after a volunteer shift. This technology helps organizations take advantage of corporate volunteer grant programs, which are offered by 40% of Fortune 500 companies.

“VolunteerLocal offers a range of features that are essential to an effective volunteer management strategy, and we are so excited to add volunteer grant outreach to their platform.” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “This robust solution will help organizations everywhere take advantage of corporate volunteer grant opportunities.”

While volunteer grant opportunities are significant, many organizations miss out on these funds because of a lack of donor awareness and outreach. This solution can now educate supporters and help organizations take advantage of this revenue stream.

“Our organization is so excited to integrate 360MatchPro with our VolunteerLocal account,” said Lin Lu, Web Developer at AnitaB.org. “We now have a simple way to tailor volunteer grant outreach to eligible supporters. This valuable integration will help us raise more without any extra effort.”

With around 63 million Americans volunteering each year, the value of volunteerism is worth an estimated $175 billion annually. Using 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal, organizations can educate their supporters and guide them to submit a volunteer grant application.

Start raising more from volunteer grants!

Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Volunteer Grants!

The 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal integration process is simple, allowing your organization to quickly enhance your volunteer grant fundraising initiatives. To get started, just enter your API keys within your VolunteerLocal account to activate the integration, and then add the 360MatchPro search field to your event or application forms.

This process allows your volunteers to enter their employer information as they sign up for a volunteer shift. The search tool provides suggestions as the user types, ensuring the volunteer enters their correct employer. This tool even takes spelling errors, parent companies, and subsidiary companies into account. 360MatchPro then automatically checks to see if this volunteer could be eligible for a volunteer grant through their employer’s corporate philanthropy program. This means your supporters can identify themselves as volunteer grant-eligible simply by entering employment information during their natural sign up process.

VolunteerLocal sign up form

Your organization can then sync this information into 360MatchPro to kickoff automated outreach streams. These messages are completely customizable, and they allow your supporters to learn more about their volunteer grant programs alongside actionable instructions to submit a volunteer grant request. Using 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal, you can learn valuable volunteer insights and encourage your supporters to submit volunteer grant requests, leading to greater revenue for your organization without any unnecessary effort!

Drive More Volunteer Grant Submissions to Completion with 360MatchPro!

Drive More Volunteer Grant Submissions to Completion with 360MatchPro!

360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal use their innovative solution to fuel support for your organization.

With these features, you can:

  • Identify more volunteer grant revenue opportunities: 360MatchPro enables you to automatically collect volunteer grant eligibility from supporters using email domains, within donation forms, on confirmation screens, or by email. The more volunteer grant opportunities 360MatchPro discovers and shares with donors, the more volunteer grant requests your donors will successfully submit.
  • Drive more grant requests to completion, from form submission to corporate payment: Direct supporters to their volunteer grant submission process after their volunteer shift is complete. Then, provide the right information to the right supporters at the right time with custom emails based on eligibility. Target follow-ups drive more completed submissions than ever before, bringing exponentially more volunteer grant checks from companies through your door.
  • Reallocate your time from routine follow-up to your top opportunities: Your time is valuable, so why spend it chasing volunteer grants? Let 360MatchPro automate your volunteer grant outreach while flagging your highest-value opportunities, allowing your team to personalize follow-ups to the most valuable volunteer grant-eligible supporters. Rest easy knowing that 360MatchPro can handle the rest.

Ready to learn more or get started? Schedule a personalized demo to see how 360MatchPro can fit your organization’s needs and drive donations through company gift matching.

About VolunteerLocal: VolunteerLocal is a user-friendly volunteer management platform used by nonprofits, event planners and volunteer coordinators of all types. This powerful software is designed to help your organization schedule volunteers, recruit groups, collect supporter data and more to ensure your volunteer management system is both efficient and effective. Interested in learning more? Check out their website.

About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift and volunteer grant fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.

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VolunteerLocal Product Updates: 5 New Features to Support Your Work

kaylee@volunteerlocal.com

What a year this has been.

Our team at VolunteerLocal has been hard at work, enhancing our product to better serve our customers during this unique time and for years to come. The last six months have brought a slew of new features and functions, many of which are included at all plan levels.

I’ve outlined these new features below and encourage you to reach out via the form below with questions, feedback or to schedule a video call with someone on our team.

Volunteer Applications

You can now build a centralized application that all volunteers complete as a part of your sign-up process.

  • The application can include unlimited questions of varying formats, including file uploads and profile pictures.
  • Volunteers who are approved can self-schedule into events using their first name and email address. Yes, we are a still a password-less platform!
  • Existing volunteer records can be imported directly into an applicant-pool.

Application Status

Applicants can be assigned a status value to be used for tracking and limiting access to shifts. We call this an “application status.”

  • Volunteer statuses drive later eligibility. For example, a profile status of “Approved” can be required for volunteers to register for events.
  • A volunteer’s status value can be used to allow or deny the volunteer’s ability to schedule a shift. For example, a status of “Denied” would keep a volunteer from seeing an event’s shifts.
  • Available statuses can be customized to fit your workflow: Approved, Denied, Pending, etc.

Background Checks

We know that many volunteer positions require a background check, and we’ve partnered with a company called Verified First to provide affordable, integrated background checks through VolunteerLocal.

  • Verified First has a Chrome extension (download it here) that integrates directly into your VolunteerLocal Report.
  • Volunteers’ background check results are visible within the report, and will automatically “expire” after a specific time-frame (1-3 years, depending on your state requirements).

Qualifications

Volunteers can indicate their special skills, interests or certifications at the time of application, or this data can be maintained exclusively by administrators. Qualifications can be used to determine which jobs are visible to a volunteer.

  • Qualifications can be unique to your organization. For example, electrical work, a CDL driver’s license, or a massage therapist.
  • Jobs can require one or more qualification(s) – those positions are only visible to volunteers who are eligible/qualified to do them.

Template Messaging – Emails and Texts

You can now create (and save) template messages, for both email and SMS.

  • Template messages can be sent to individual volunteers from within their profiles.
  • These templates can include smart-tags: first name, last name, job info, volunteer profile link, etc.
  • Templates can be visible to other administrative users, but the ability to edit a template can be restricted to just the primary administrators.

These are just some of the changes we’ve rolled out in the last few months, but by far the most significant. Each offers unique benefits and we hope you can take advantage of them!

If you want to learn more about these features on your own time, check out our FAQ and YouTube Channel.

Did you know we have a weekly newsletter that specifically highlights our product? Subscribe to our Friday Tips Series newsletter here.

Contact us to learn more or schedule a product demonstration with a real person.

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VolunteerLocal Partners with Blerter For Safer, Smoother Event Management

Isabel Reed

VolunteerLocal is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Blerter, a tool that helps outdoor events streamline delivery, prepare for things that can go wrong and increase crew engagement. With a simple, easy-to-use platform that helps centralize your communications, operations and safety processes – your entire event team is connected in one place.

We had the pleasure of chatting with Anthony Vernon, Head of Sales at Blerter about what they do, their partnership with VolunteerLocal, and how he sees the future for the events industry. 

How do you describe Blerter to someone who’s never heard of it before?

Blerter is an event delivery platform that connects your entire event crew on one unified platform to centralise communication, manage risk and streamline operational delivery. It leverages the latest digital technology to provide visibility and situational awareness across teams and locations by allowing users to rapidly communicate issues and incidents, giving event organisers the ability to deploy resources faster and easily crowd source event intelligence for better audit control and post event reporting. 

It helps protect the sponsors brand, support the event experience and mitigate the risk associated with your insurance premium and legal liability.

What are the primary industries you serve?

We developed the platform to serve the events industry – in particular sports and festivals. Blerter is purpose-built for the idiosyncrasies and dynamics of each event.

Why is your solution important? Why is it innovative?

Events can be incredibly rewarding. But there is a fine line between getting it right and wrong. Events provide opportunities to curate wonderful experiences and as events professionals we are obligated to create an environment to make this happen. 

But this is no easy task, we’ve found that most events still use radios, paper forms or apps like WhatsApp to communicate and deliver the event. These systems have inherent flaws and create disconnected teams and disorganised communication. Information often goes missing, they lack context, people can be sent to the wrong locations to deal with issues and some teams like volunteers, often, have no direct line of communication at all. They are briefed for 30 minutes before an event and told to call a number or find someone with a radio if something goes wrong. It’s not effective. There are too many opportunities for time delays to occur, which is not suitable for a time sensitive industry. It only takes one situation to escalate and the entire event is at risk.

There are currently no systems that help events centralise communications, operations and safety in one platform. That is why we are innovative.

Why partner with VolunteerLocal? How do you think this partnership will benefit the industry?

Almost every customer I have a conversation with asks if we integrate with a volunteer management system. This partnership will allow customers to build a robust technology infrastructure, leverage specialist technology in one workflow, seamlessly share data and reduce administration time by digitising the process of volunteer management, registration, briefing, training and communication. 

It is a seamless end to end solution. 

What’s one thing you’d like our customers to know about Blerter?

We have an extremely diverse team. Nearly 50% of our development are female and over 60% of the company coming from different countries and ethnic backgrounds. I think this has allowed us to innovate and explore new ideas much quicker than our competitors. 

Where do you see the industry heading in the next 5 years? How is your company positioned to enable that growth?

I think the events industry will be the leader for leveraging experiential technologies. You can already see it happening with music artists appearing as holograms, virtual and augmented reality becoming more common amongst E-Sports and Gamers. It will dramatically change the marketing landscape, audience engagement and how sponsors will leverage their products.

Ultimately, I think it will help events drive new revenue streams and reach a larger global audience.  It epitomises the global economy we now live in. Technology will allow consumers around the world to experience the atmosphere of the Super Bowl as if they were actually there, without having to buy the ticket, flights and accommodation. 

To find out more about how you can use Blerter with VolunteerLocal, click here.

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5 Resources to Build Resilience in Crisis

Isabel Reed

Only a matter months ago, many of us had different expectations for the months and years ahead. Thinking back to early March, the gravity of the COVID-19 crisis was just beginning to dawn on our families, friends, and communities. We prepared ourselves to be patient, careful, and committed to riding out the storm.

Months later now, many of us are exhausted by the storm. We’ve been “at it” for months and have hardly any more clarity about what lies ahead of us than we did at the start. Under these conditions, we’re learning how difficult it is, and — in equal measure — how critical it is to practice healthy, sustainable relationships with ourselves, our social groups (socially distanced), and our communities at large. At this point in time, we must look to adding one more tool to our crisis toolkit: resilience.

Let’s examine this first from a technical lens (definitions), root ourselves in the reality of this word (a social critique), then finally circle home to the application of this word in times of crisis (resources for building resilience in times of prolonged crisis).

Resilience, by definition, is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”. Resilience is the ability (in many cases, the privilege) to be mentally, emotionally, and physically elastic to outside stressors, such as difficult change or trauma.

We must acknowledge that resilience is more than a “muscle”, or a private reserve that we all have within us, ready to be activated and strengthened with practice. Resilience, for many, isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s a “must have” in order to live a functional life in systematically challenging conditions. Examples of this include communities facing ongoing challenges posed by poverty, racism, discrimination, marginalization, homelessness, and more. The requirement of resilience to live is a glaring flaw in our social systems, and one that cannot go unnoticed in a narrower discussion of resilience in pandemic-related crisis.

Here we are, about half a year into quarantining, social distancing, disinfecting, and virtual solutioning. Some of us are hurting, some of us are restless. Most of us are, in some shape or form, exhausted. None of us wish for the world to continue in this way, but without a clear end in sight, we must determine how we, ourselves, will continue.

So now, to deliver on the promise made in the title: resources to build resilience in times of crisis. Below are resources you may explore to find what resilience looks like for you and your family. It takes many shapes — from mindsets to practices. I hope you find something true to you, to give you the strength needed to continue charging forward.

“A Psychologist’s Science-Based Tips for Emotional Resilience During the Coronavirus Crisis” by Jelena Kecmanovic

This wellness article in The Washington Post delivers the tangible take-aways we need, backed by research. A tip that I particularly appreciated was “reflect, relate and reframe.” In fact, this practice plays in well with other key points in the resources to follow — specifically, it relates to the exercise of guiding our attention toward the positive rather than the negative, which is where our attention often rests by default.

Read the full article here.

Know Your Natural Strengths

Many employers and universities are familiar with the StrengthsFinder assessment. The results of the assessment indicate your top strengths or skills, categorized generally by the following verticals: executing, relationship building, influencing, and strategic thinking.

Know you strengths so that you may leverage them. In times of crisis, many of us wonder if we are good enough, or doing enough. Considering this, it’s important to quiet those thoughts with more affirming ones: I am capable, I am competent, I am good at…[insert your top strengths here].

Once you know your strengths, develop confidence in them. Then leverage your strengths to get yourself and your loved ones through these difficult times.

Take a free version of the StrengthsFinder test here.

TED Talk by Susan Henkels: What if There’s Nothing Wrong With You

Watch the TED Talk here or below:

“This presentation is a discovery toward what’s in the way of having the life you deserve and an easier and more fun way of getting there. You will find ways of releasing judgment and criticism of yourself, begin to consider forgiveness of yourself and others, start making wiser choices, and expand your passion for contribution. Asking the question: What if there’s nothing wrong with you?…can become an ongoing practice for life.”

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Book description: “Pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls ‘grit.'”

Read more about Angela Duckworth and her book here.

Watch the TED Talk she delivered about the topic here.

Freakonomics Podcast: Ep. 422

Episode 422 – “Introducing ‘No Stupid Questions'”

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Read the transcript here.

Co-hosts Stephen Dubner and Angela Duckworth discuss the relationship between age and happiness from the lens of psychology and stages of life and development. A key take away here: attention matters. Where you focus your attention (on the positive or negative) influences the perspective of your well-being.

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From One Volunteer to Another: You Get Back More – Everyone Does

John Kizilarmut

Cliches usually have no business taking up space on a blog post- no one has time for that. But in this particular circumstance, the cliché is apropos: It’s better to give than to receive. Our universal resistance to asking each other for help proves that this is the case! While it’s inarguably true that being asked to help a friend or family member is somewhat better- I think we can all admit that it can be a mixed bag. “PIVOT!!!”

Volunteering is a different story. When you show up at just the right moment to help someone, outside of the bounds of a social contract, the experience is much deeper. It stops being transactional in nature and becomes an act of humanity – one that often produces results that surprise and exceed the expectations of both giver and receiver.

Right now, in this extraordinarily difficult period, those investments are paying off at an all time high.

Usually at this point in a blog post, the writer pines on superfluously about a personal experience in which he, after several autobiographical paragraphs, has come rather expectedly to be inspired to write said blog post in the first place… like a flower that planted itself and grew to generate the seeds from which it sprouted. Let me save you the time, reader: I have come to love volunteerism, and I know that you will too.

When you invest money in someone who has less, you come awake to the realization that your money is worth more than you thought it was. The same is true of your time – and your voice. If you’re lucky enough to have the kind of volunteering experience where you come home tired and covered in dirt, you will likely find that you are somehow also full of renewed strength and energy.

Volunteering is a powerful, non-transactional gift that we each have a unique ability to offer. A gift with the power to leave you feeling like you have come to own more of yourself than you did before you gave some of it away. On behalf of VolunteerLocal, I hope you will consider volunteering in your own community during this difficult time.

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5 Free Webinar Series Nonprofit Teams Won’t Want to Miss

Isabel Reed

It is fair to say that, back in January, no one expected the world would come to such a grinding halt in a matter of months. Yet, here we all are, doing our best to stay safe amidst COVID-19 and make the most of our circumstances. While many city blocks are quieter than usual, our virtual lives seem to be bubbling. Teams are embracing the tools that keep us connected from a distance, and as I’m sure you’ve heard time and time again, there’s a brand new webinar just about everywhere you look.

To make “looking” for webinars a bit more organized, we’ve compiled a list of 5 organizations that are hosting a whole series of webinars over the next few months – specifically for the nonprofit sector.

Without further ado, I present 5 free webinar series that your nonprofit teams can benefit from this summer. (Or winter, depending on your hemisphere!) Browse through these sources and load up your calendars.

Nonprofit Hub

Check out their webinar series here.

About Nonprofit Hub: The name says it all! This online community serves as a hub for all things nonprofits need to establish and grow their nonprofits. Resources vary from guides, blogs, e-courses, and (drum roll) webinars.

Upcoming webinars we’re excited about:

Navigating Your Nonprofit’s Challenges through Emotional Intelligence. Led by Stephanie Cory on Jul 15, 2:00 PM CDT

Virtual Donor Engagement During the Pandemic and Beyond. Led by Caliopy Glaros on August 19, 2:00 PM CDT

Nonprofit Learning Lab

Check out their webinar series here.

About Nonprofit Learning Lab: In case you were hungry for more resources, Nonprofit Learning Lab has your back! Although many of these resources are member-only, others are completely free, from guidebooks to activity sheets, and a plethora of nonprofit resources for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Upcoming webinars we’re excited about:

Equity vs. Equality. Led by Richard Leong on July 20, 1:00 PM CDT.

How Far Are You Willing to Go? Moving from Diversity & Inclusion to Anti-Oppression. Led by Richard Leong on August 17, 12:00 PM CDT.

TechSoup

Check out their webinar series here.

About TechSoup: This company introduces nonprofits to the technologies they can utilize to thrive in any climate (even a pandemic). TechSoup aims to empower impact. For members, a number of technology discounts are available. Furthermore, many of their free, public resources (including webinars and trainings) are pre-recorded, and therefore, available whenever you are!

Webinars we’re tuning into:

Crowdfunding in Our Climate: A Digital Fundraising Plan of Action. Led by Moshe Hecht.

Getting Started with Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits. Led by Rachel Clemens.

Network for Good

Check out their webinar series here.

About Network for Good: A hybrid nonprofit and B Corporation, Network for Good “powers more digital giving than any other platform”. For nonprofits, donors, and companies interested in giving, this platform points you in the right direction. Much like TechSoup, their webinars are available anytime after they have been recorded. Dig into their archives and stay tuned for new webinar releases!

Webinars we’re tuning into:

Staying Afloat: PPP Loan Forgiveness, Accounting, Tracking and Reporting For Nonprofits. Led by Network for Good.

The Burning Question: How Do I Find More Donors? Led by Kimberly O’Donnell.

IFEA (International Festivals & Events Association)

Check out their webinar series here.

About IFEA: A global nonprofit organization, IFEA serves to support festivals and events with the programming, resources, and guidance needed to be successful. Nearly every week through October 1st, the IFEA webinar series is hosting webinars on a variety of topics pertinent to event, festival, and nonprofit work. Although these webinars are not free, they are well worth the ticket price. If you are interested in a pair of free tickets for your team, please contact us at hello@volunteerlocal.com – we’ll make sure you’re taken care of!

Upcoming webinars we’re excited about:

The Winds of Change: Creatively Redefining Volunteer Programs in the Time of COVID-19. Led by VolunteerLocal’s very own VolunteerLocal President, Kaylee Williams, on September 10, at 12:00 PM CDT.

Cancelling Events Does Not Mean Cancelling Relationships. Led by Bruce Erley, on July 16, at 12:00 PM CDT.

Which webinars are catching your eye these days? Have you made weekly webinars a tradition yet? We hope you’re doing well during these unsettling times. While it lasts, make sure to soak up the abundance of industry resources!

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Detailed Guide to Your Nonprofit’s Audience Persona

Donorbox

Once you start a nonprofit organization, you need to develop a marketing strategy that works best. Knowing your target audience helps to create content based on its specifics.

The audience of a nonprofit is diverse. Every group – clients, donors, staff, volunteers, media, the local community – requires an individual approach.

This article provides step-by-step instruction of creating an audience persona – one of the key tools for better understanding each segment of your target audience.

Let’s Differ Audience Persona from Target Audience

  • Target audience

For nonprofits, it’s, on the one hand, socially vulnerable categories of the population who get the assistance of your organization. On the other hand, it’s those members of the society who support the organization in achieving its goals (donors, volunteers, staff members).

For the most effective implementation of goals, you need to segment your donors and audiences.

The target audience is divided into primary and secondary.

The primary target audience is people on whom the organization has a direct impact. And at the same time, your nonprofit’s activities depend on their actions, opinions, and needs.

A secondary target audience is a group of people that affects the primary audience. In turn, the opinions and activities of the secondary audience can cause the primary audience to take note of your information, change their attitude or behavior towards it.

Defining your target audience is describing it in detail, highlighting its characteristic features (age, gender, location, interests).

  • Audience persona 

It’s a documented portrait of the perfect representative of your target audience. A persona does not rely on one specific person. This is a collective image that reflects the majority of the target audience.

Building an audience persona involves a comprehensive study of donors, volunteers, clients, employees, and other representatives of the target audience, depending on the goals of the organization.

Unlike the target audience, which is described by socio-demographic, psychographic, behavioral characteristics, a persona is more focused on the needs, motivations, expectations of the audience. This is an individualized model that the organization focuses on when creating content.

Benefits of Building Audience Personas

Understanding a persona can improve the situation with your target audience. This is the first step towards creating an effective marketing strategy.

To make this tool work, the elaboration of a persona must be as detailed as possible. This will allow you to understand the motivation, needs, expectations, and interests of your target audience. Which, in turn, is essential for building long-term cooperation.

Gender, age, demographic indicators of your donors and clients are the simplest level of understanding of the audience. The next significant step is developing personas, which gives you a much more complete image of the audience’s life cycle and its interest in your work.

Modeling a persona takes place for each segment of your target audience. Getting started, you can focus on developing 3 primary audience personas – for donors, clients, and volunteers/staff.

Four Steps to Build Personas

  1. Make Research

Your existing donors, volunteers, clients, and co-workers are a great source of information that you need.

Interview them. It’s diligent but interesting and important work. The more data you collect at this stage the more detailed and useful image of personas you will end up with.

Go to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. These platforms are a great source of what’s essential for your audience. Minding it provides you with the opportunity to address on a more personal level.

Mind every piece of information, see how total strangers turn into real people with their worldview and activities, families and friends, interests, and preferences.

Why is the research work important? Because one way or another, their life circumstances are the reason for having the will to support your organization.

At this stage, you have to create a profile for each donor/client/etc. containing the following categories:

  • Demographics (age, gender, location, education, employment, marital status, and other info that’s essential for the type of your nonprofit).
  • Goals and values (primary and secondary goals, fears connected with goals, main values).
  • How you can help (what your nonprofit does to help people achieve their goals and fight their fears).
  • What differs your donor/client/volunteer from representatives of the same social stratum.

Use Internet surveys (such as Survey Monkey and Google forms) to reach a bigger audience.

Also make use of web analytics services (Google Analytics, MailChimp, SimilarWeb, Facebook Analytics, Facebook Audience Insights (if you have a business profile)) to find out the characteristics and interests of your online audience

  1. Analyze and Integrate

Since a persona is a generalized image of a potential or real audience, the next step of developing it is analyzing data to find patterns and define types of people you can combine in one.

The types you highlight may differ from your expectations. And this is a good indicator. It defines the quality of your research work.

  1. Create a Profile and Get Acquainted

Make profiles for each of your audience personas, add pics and characteristics. Examine them. Introduce personas to your staff.

Getting acquainted with the desires and needs of your audience leads you to the understanding of what truly is valuable and important for your potential or real clients and donors.

Does your audience look different now? What strategies are you going to use to engage their attention? How are you going to address each persona?

  1. Repeat

Building an audience persona is not a one-time action. It isn’t something you do once and for all.

First, watch if there are any changes in the interaction with the audience. Are they preferable ones? What can be improved?

Then start building secondary personas. Make research and create an image.

Finally, get assured you are aware of changes. From time to time, check the needs, preferences, and goals of your audience. Your organization is developing, involving more and more new people. Therefore, it is important to stay in touch with them and adapt to their features when needed.

Mind Negative Personas

A negative persona is an important component of the audience’s portraiture. It’s impossible not to have one.

Negative personas reveal target groups on which spending resources is least beneficial. It’s just not your audience. It’s rational to be aware of them to include in your marketing strategy.

As well as you did with audience personas, determine the characteristics of negative personas, and create their profiles with a detailed description.

Summary

  • An audience persona is a useful tool for effective work with the target audience.
  • Identifying a persona requires a careful study of your stakeholders.
  • Use online services to research the audience of your web resources.
  • Make profiles of primary, secondary, and negative personas.
  • Repeat research to supplement and adjust profiles.

This guide was brought to you by DonorBox.

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Wisdom of the Crowd: 5 Things Nonprofit Organizations Wish They Knew 3 Months Ago

Stephanie Kanak

Thank you to DonorPerfect for sharing this article with our community! Read the original article here.

If you had a time machine and could go back to before coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the world, how would you prepare? What would you do differently? We surveyed over 700 nonprofits to find out what advice they’d give themselves and others about fundraising in the new normal. Here’s what they told us:

1. Set Up Better Data Collection Standards and Regularly Audit Them

Many nonprofit organizations have made the transition to working remotely due to COVID-19 health concerns. They depend on the quality of the data collected in their donor management system. Duplicate addresses, missing data, and outdated contact preferences can hinder your ability to connect with your donors. Like you, many of your constituents are also working from home, using their personal cell phones and email addresses. Are you reaching these donors effectively, or are you frustrated because you’re unable to contact a percentage of your donor base? The bottom line: if you can’t reach your donors, you can’t solicit them. If you haven’t done so already, update your procedures to collect contact methods and donor information that will facilitate virtual fundraising. The good news is that DonorPerfect’s flexibility allows you to easily customize your system to collect and organize your data to fit your organization’s needs best.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us they are making the most of the data in their DonorPerfect system to fundraise during COVID-19:

“Our strategy is to build a strong relationship with individual donors through our DP database, learn about their giving patterns, and establish appeals related to those patterns.”

“Make a plan to segment your constituent base and decide who from your organization will make personal contact with your constituents.”

ACTION ITEM:

What data collection improvements can your nonprofit make to improve virtual fundraising?

2. Take a Balanced Approach With Your Revenue Streams and Include Digital Fundraising

Many nonprofits rely heavily on in-person fundraising. The organizations we surveyed said they’re now focusing on a more balanced approach that includes a mix of in-person, virtual and digital fundraising components.

Virtual Fundraising and In-Person Events Can Co-Exist

Future events, for example, may include in-person opportunities, like a 5K run, but also provide avenues for anyone who wants to participate by offering a virtual component, such as a virtual 5K where participants run on their own between specific dates. The key is to find ways to engage with off-site participants so that they feel like they are part of the event. This might include sending t-shirts and other event goodies to participants as well as “virtual-only” type Zoom kickoffs or online challenges.

PRO TIP:
Thinking about hosting a virtual event? See how this NPO moved their fundraising event online.

Work with Existing Partners In New Ways

Don’t be afraid to reach out to event sponsors, grant funders and major donors to see if they’d be willing to work with you on how unspent funds are allocated, such as event table sponsorships. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed did that with great success. They were surprised that these partners still wanted to help and were okay with re-allocating those funds to other program needs, such as moving event table fees to sponsor online auctions.

Build A Multichannel Donor Strategy

A balanced fundraising strategy also includes a plan for multichannel donor engagement. Your supporters often engage with your organization using more than one channel. They give online through your website and emails. They like and share your social media posts. They attend your fundraising events and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Pair your website, emails, and social media campaigns with a variety of ways for donors to support your cause that is quick and easy, not only for your donors to engage but also for you to manage.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us that they are adapting their fundraising efforts to be more balanced during and after COVID-19:

“Get digital! Although this has been a big hit to our traditional operations, it has granted us the opportunity to strengthen our communications work! Look for ways to grow in the meantime!”

“We’re establishing a strong social media following and developing a reliable digital marketing plan that ties donors to online giving platforms like our website.”

“Changing your narrative. If fundraising via events, instead find creative ways to continue to raise funds virtually.”

“We have been successful with pleas explaining our loss of revenue due to canceled fundraising and adoption events. We solicited sponsors for our biggest event and were able to raise almost as much as we netted in the past.”

“We looked at all of our current grant and major donors, and, if there were funds unspent from each of their gifts, we asked if we could redirect it to our COVID-19 response. Everyone has agreed.”

ACTION ITEM:

How balanced are your revenue streams? Could your organization have a better mix of in-person, virtual, and digital fundraising components?

3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Technical Support Team

Now, more than ever, your donor management software is a lifeline to maintain good donor relationships. If it’s not working, or you are struggling with how to do something within the software, you want an experienced support team that’s there for you. DonorPerfect has the best support in the industry. Not only are they incredibly knowledgeable, but they were working remotely immediately as soon as the crisis hit. The transition was seamless. As a result, the nonprofits we serve were running remotely and ready to meet the challenges they faced.

SURVEY SAYS:

The NPO’s we surveyed told us that reliable IT support was crucial to getting their nonprofits up and running as the cornonavirus pandemic began.

“Have up-to-date IT infrastructure to enable secure remote work for employees. As long as they can continue doing their jobs, it gives the organization the best chance to get their message out and, hopefully, continue to raise funds.”

“I have never had a better tech support experience in the CRM industry. Every chat, call, or email is responded to almost immediately, with courtesy, professionalism, and best of all, knowledgeable solutions.”

ACTION ITEM:

Transitioning to remote work and virtual fundraising can be a challenge. Get the support you need from this list of resources to help nonprofits during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

4. Have a Solid Donor Stewardship Plan in Place

How do you engage with supporters so that they become more invested in your organization’s work? If you don’t have a plan in place for thanking, communicating, and interacting with donors regularly, it will be more challenging to get them to respond during a crisis. Many organizations we surveyed saw the value of having a solid donor stewardship plan in place and are concentrating their efforts to pay more attention to this in the future. Here are two areas in your donor stewardship plan to focus on in the next few months:

Communications

Plan specific touch points to communicate with donors regularly, and not just once a year when you send tax letters. This will engage your donors and involve them in your organization’s work. Focus on creating personalized (segmented) communications that update donors on the impact of the campaign they’ve supported.

Engagement

Brainstorm ways to get donors actively involved with your organization through events, surveys, and volunteer opportunities.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s what NPOs told us about their renewed focus on a strong donor stewardship plan:

“Be flexible on everything except the value of stewardship; it’s important to provide stewardship more than ever.”

“Much comes down to the relationship groundwork laid in the years before events like this. Even so, continue to meet the needs of your donors first. Reach out to them, check on them regularly. Let them know what you are doing to face the financial difficulties, and thank them for their efforts in getting you this far. Be honest about your needs. Be transparent.”

“Focus first on non-fundraising messages – we are here and doing ok, how are you? what can we do to help you? Then build upon those good messages before asking for money”

“Find creative ways to thank your donors. We had yard signs made and delivered them to donors. We also called and thanked every donor.”

ACTION ITEM:

Do you have a plan to thank, communicate, and interact with donors on a regular basis? What touch points will you put in place to engage donors? Follow these tips to connect with donors and gain the confidence to fundraise in today’s environment.

5. Investing in Yourself Pays Big Dividends Down The Road

When you’re busy working towards fulfilling your nonprofit’s mission, it can be easy to forgo the time needed to invest in “auxiliary” tasks that build your skills and fuel your mission. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed regretted not taking time to pursue training, practice using tech tools, or sharpen other skills that help them be more productive. These were skills that would have made the transition after COVID-19 began much smoother. Moving forward, they plan to refocus those efforts and commit to the importance of investing in yourself.

PRO TIP:
Take advantage of the free training that DonorPerfect offers. Our Foundational Series is a collection of 15 free, live webinars that takes you through basic and intermediate functions in DonorPerfect.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how the organizations that we surveyed are re-prioritizing their time in ways they didn’t before:

“Use this time to build a strong foundation and to do research. To prep for anything you might have in the future (events, or transitions).”

“Turn your worries into fueling your creativity. Now is the time to try new things, and if it doesn’t work, at least you tried. Listen to ALL members of your team and overall organization. Again, get creative and just GO! I think donors will appreciate at least the effort, even if they can’t give.”

“Appeal to your supporters. Remember, you are TRYING to work from home in a crisis. Cut yourself some slack. Now’s the time to be creative and remember your mission.”

“You have to re-create your fundraising plan and adjust it to our new reality and environment. Participate in webinars for education and support from other fundraisers.”

“Learn what your niche is and how you can continue to provide services and programs within the restraints. don’t wait for the crisis to be over.”

“Never waste a good crisis; figure out what you can do that will help in the future. How can you get an ROI in the digital literacy skills we are all developing?”

ACTION ITEM:

What new skills have you learned through your experiences in the last three months? What new skills do you want to cultivate?

BONUS: The Brighter Side of the COVID-19 Crisis

One surprising thing that came out of the COVID-19 crisis for many nonprofits was how much their donor community loves them and wants to support their efforts. Constituents facing substantial economic challenges are coming forward to rally behind the missions of the organizations they love and admire. Not only are they providing financial support, but they are stepping up with creative and resourceful ways to volunteer and collect in-kind donations for program areas. People want to know how to make a difference right now. Make it clear how they can help and demonstrate the critical impact it has.

SURVEY SAYS:

NPOs repeatedly shared with us how their constituents were generously supporting their missions above and beyond what they anticipated:

“Remain calm. Some people will think fundraising for anything other than pandemic relief is crass. They are wrong, and your mission-aligned donors will understand.”

“People will still give! They are sitting at home wondering how they can help from afar, and donating is still an option! Use your social media and email campaigns wisely. Everyone is glued to a screen right now, so give them the opportunity to use it for good and donate.”

“Donors want to give; they just need to know WHAT for and HOW. Keep your communications open with your community.”

“Continue to ask for donor support. They are engaged and looking for ways to help. They want to hear from you to know your needs and how they can help meet them. Be thoughtful in your messaging, but be transparent and honest.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over whether or not to ask – let the donor decide. However, be authentic about what your need is. Don’t overstate it, or you’ll lose credibility. All your targets will be off – that’s okay. We’ll all feel the impact next year too. It will take time to get back to where you were – take time to celebrate the little wins along the way.”

ACTION ITEM:

Should you move forward with your planned fundraisers or change course? If you’re feeling stuck, do this ONE thing to keep funds flowing into your nonprofit today.

The Last Word

Of all the survey responses we received, this sentiment was probably the most important:

“It’s tough! We are all in this together. It’s ok to be stressed!”

Thank you to all the nonprofit organizations that responded to our survey and took the time to provide us feedback and encouragement. We are in awe of all that you do for the communities you serve and are honored to partner with you every day, especially now during this difficult time. It is truly inspiring to watch the creative and inventive ways with which you’ve approached this crisis. When we’re on the other side of COVID-19, we have no doubt that this industry will be stronger and better than ever. So go out there and keep doing what you do the best. You’ve got this!

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Recognizing Your Volunteers

Linh Ta

Everyone likes to get some kudos, high fives and a big thanks when they do a good job, including your volunteers!

Volunteers like making a difference in their community and knowing they’ve made a positive impact on those around them. Recognizing volunteers and getting them to come back is important for your organization too -– the average value of a volunteer’s time was worth over $24 an hour in 2016, according to independentsector.org.

As a volunteer coordinator, help reinforce the good vibes by letting your volunteers know their contributions are important and valued every step of the way.

Before the event:

Let people know about the big picture impact they’re going to have by volunteering. When you send out an email reminder before your event to your volunteers, include some words about how they’re helping. It’s more than just a simple volunteer assignment -– they’re helping your organization’s mission and people in the community around them. Remind them of that and the value of their altruism.

During the event:

Check up on your volunteers. Whenever you and your staff have some downtime, make sure to ask your volunteers how everything is going. This shows them that you care about their well-being and this is also a chance to give some more thanks and appreciation.

Have fun by capturing the moment! Taking photos of your volunteers while they’re in the zone or shooting a group picture can be a unique way to celebrate the moment.

Food is always the quickest way to the heart. Even some basic sandwiches, chips and bottled water keep your volunteers fueled up, but also feel appreciated.

Wrapping up

Social media shout outs are an easy way to publicly thank your volunteers. Tag volunteers and note their accomplishments for followers to see. Thank you notes go a long way, whether they’re through email or handwritten notes. Give a personal touch and thank a volunteer for their specific task. The clean-up crew made sure the event looked nice and well organized and people setting up made sure the start of the event went smoothly. Thanking a volunteer’s specific role shows you recognize the work of that particular person and can encourage that volunteer to come back again.

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A Guide to Strong Communication With Your Team

Isabel Reed

At the heart of any thriving relationship between a coordinator and a volunteer team is a commitment to strong communication. Let’s unpack that — what does “strong communication” entail? First, we’ll explain what makes for excellent communication among teams and leadership. Then, we’ll give you some sample templates to use yourself!

Strong Communication Strategies:

Consistent & Timely

Your team wants to hear from you! They are looking to you for leadership and direction, and that often comes through communication channels. Give your volunteers a timeframe as to when they can expect to hear from you regularly. (Daily, weekly, monthly? Via email or in-person?) Then, meet that expectation promptly!

Clear:

Ensure your message is clear. What do your volunteers need to know? Is any action required on their part or yours? Leave little to no room for misinterpretations.

Concise:

Respect your volunteers’ time by delivering a concise message. Take an extra moment to trim wording or content that isn’t necessary or doesn’t somehow contribute to the overall message. While it is important to be mindful, there is no need to be overly-rigorous about this one; you still want to sound like yourself!

Other factors to consider in strong communication are, for example: How approachable are you to your volunteers? Could weekly or monthly check-ins help keep your team on the same page?

With plenty of strategies under your belt, it is time to put them to action!

Take a peek at email templates we created for you below. These templates cover the most commonly exchanged email communications between volunteer coordinators and volunteers. Notice how they align with all three strategies listed above. You are welcome to use any of these templates yourself.

Note: if you use VolunteerLocal to manage your volunteer team, simply use our Communication tool to distribute broadcast emails and texts to your volunteers. With a selection of smart tags to choose from, you can fill in unique volunteer details with no effort on your part. Schedule the email to be sent right away, saved as a draft, or scheduled to be sent at a date/time of your choosing. If you are on the Conquer Plan, you can even save the following emails as templates for quick, repeated access later!

Email Theme: Sign Up Thank You

Hello [first name],

Many thanks for signing up to volunteer with us here at [organization name]! We look forward to seeing you soon. Ahead of your shift, please review the following information:

[Any info. you need to share, such as directions, arrival instructions, what to wear, expectations.]

Your shift information is below:

[Job & shift details]

With any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Thank you,

[Your Name]

Email Theme: Reminder Emails

Hi [first name],

Get ready, you have an upcoming shift with [organization name]! Your shift details are below:

[Job & shift details]

When you arrive … [share instructions! Should they check in at a kiosk or with you? Any protocols?]

Thank your for all your efforts in support of [organization name]!

See you soon,

[Your name]

Email Theme: Post-Volunteer Thank You Note

Hi [first name],

Thank you for volunteering with us! On behalf of our whole team and the community we serve, we sincerely appreciate your support.

[Optional: include a survey to collect feedback, and/or discuss the large scale impact of their volunteer work.]

We hope to see you again soon.

Warm regards,

[Your name]

Email Theme: No-Show Volunteer

Hi [first name],

I hope all is well! I noticed that you did not attend your last shift, so I wanted to check in – how are you enjoying the volunteer program at [organization name], so far?

If you have any concerns regarding your volunteer role, please let me know. We welcome feedback that makes us a stronger team and better volunteer program.

Many thanks,

[Your name]

Of course, these templates likely just scratch the surface of the emails you exchange regularly with your volunteers. Whether you use these templates, others, or write original emails each time, remember to follow the three strong communication strategies – consistent & timely, clear, concise.

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