Marketing Strategy and Non Profits

If you have read this newsletter with great regularity, at this point, you are probably guessing that volunteers will factor in at some point. You would be very much correct. As has been the case with previous articles in this newsletter, this is because Volunteers add an element to the Non Profit equation that needs to have a full reckoning.

View your volunteer base with your marketing strategy as a powerful conduit for success that other For Profit organizations would dream of possessing. This is because your volunteers can quickly become evangelists for your organization. They love your mission so much that they are willing to contribute time to help it achieve its mission. Some might have an expertise that they can give, saving you significantly on costs. Finally, some volunteers might believe in your mission so much that they want to donate to it, making sure that you have the needed resources to move forward and expand your operations.

With all of this level of commitment and dedication, the chances are really good that they would be more than willing to talk with other people about your mission. These people likely have friends and family that, if they hear what you are doing, might be interested in learning more about it, possibly to the point that they want to get involved. This is one of the easiest ways that you can grow your volunteer base, as well as donor base too. Your volunteers make excellent evangelists.

However, a major word of caution should be stated at this point. Just because your volunteers make great evangelists for your cause does not mean that you should deputize them to do it. Putting additional expectations on volunteers will not work. Granted, some might be interested in doing things, but at the end of the day, you will lose more potential evangelists among your donor base, possibly even losing them as volunteers.

The reason for this is twofold and really needs to be examined closely to make sure that we do not fall into this trap:

Changed Expectations: Your volunteers will immediately recognize this. The work that they had been doing is now no longer sufficient. In addition, they have to do added promotions that could begin to look and feel like required quotas. The perception here is that the time commitment has now changed significantly since you are required to do additional work outside of your regular volunteering.

Changed Atmosphere: People will talk about the new expectations that you have placed upon them. Most likely, you will begin to see people not as helpful or as willing as before. People might altogether stop volunteering. The attitude now is that it is no longer fun to do what had been done before.

It goes without saying, then, that this is a situation that you neither want to be a part of or to find yourself mired in. You need to avoid this at all costs.

At this point, you might be wondering how you can do this effectively? The answer is simple. Do not expect your volunteers to do it. Simply let them know that this opportunity exists and leave it at that. After all, your volunteers are there because they love it and they want to be there. If you have a great mission and an atmosphere that they enjoy being a part of, the chances are good that some of your volunteers will jump at the opportunity and would be more than willing to do all of the work that you need them to do.

On the flip side, the volunteers who can’t do it might have limitations with their capacity. They might be able to only give what they are giving you now. Making it clear that you do not expect everyone to promote the organization evangelistically will go a long way with these people. It will help eliminate the pressure that they would otherwise feel, it will enable them to continue on in their current capacity, and it will open the door long term for them in the event that circumstances change and they can assist.

In conclusion, you should incorporate your volunteers in your marketing strategy. However, it is crucial that you take great care and work through all of the considerations laid out above. If you do this properly, then the chances are really good that you will not only be successful in getting your volunteers to participate in your marketing strategy but also in helping them not feel pressured to do so.