Volunteers' Role in Fundraising

Gift giving is about taking the opportunity to make a difference… for a cause you care about… through an organization you trust. 

Most of us want to do that. 

But, oftentimes, we confuse fundraising with an onerous, unpleasant task of asking people for something they don’t want to do, or feel obliged to do.  No one wants that job!  And, in truth, it’s not even close to what volunteer leaders should be doing. 

The most important responsibility of volunteers is to build trust and deepen relationships.  In practical terms, this means (1) identifying people who likely care about the cause you care about, (2) introducing them to find out if they do, (3) talking to them about your passion so they understand it, and (4) seeing if it fits with their interests.  When they say yes, you have opened the door to inspiring conversations about what your cause hopes to achieve (its vision), what it’s doing about it (its mission), and the successes it has already achieved. 

Then—after the trust is built and the passion is shared—comes the discussion of what we need to do and the resources we need to do it.  When someone stops saying “you” and “your” cause and begins saying “we” and “our” cause, you know they are ready for that conversation.  And then the real excitement begins.

Jim