The Impact Issue #28: Unlocking the Power of Volunteers!

Happy fall!

With the season of giving just around the corner, we thought it’d be fitting to talk about one of the most powerful ways your community can support your organization: volunteering!

Volunteers are the backbone of many nonprofits, yet tapping into their full potential can sometimes be a challenge.

This week, we're diving into how you can make the most of volunteers, explore underutilized community resources, and use volunteer metrics to supercharge your grants.

Welcome to The Impact.

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Pitfalls and Pointers

Have you ever looked around at your volunteers and noticed that the majority are in their teens and twenties?

While young volunteers are great, could you be missing out on untapped expertise?

⚠️ Pitfall: Focusing Only on Students

While students are a valuable resource (and many schools even encourage volunteerism), relying solely on them can limit your volunteer base's diversity and skill set. Many organizations fall into the trap of only targeting these groups, missing out on a wealth of experience and commitment from other community members.

💡 Pointer: Expand Your Volunteer Search

When seeking out volunteers, think beyond students. Here are some ideas you might not have considered:

• Think about tapping into retired professionals who bring a lifetime of skills and expertise. Does a local retirement community have a program to get their residents involved in the community? Do any of your staff or board members know of a recently retired friend or neighbor who might be a great candidate and has some time on their hands?
• Partner with local organizations that share a similar mission—this can open doors to a network of passionate individuals eager to contribute. Are there events that you could collaborate on together? They might also gain from increased volunteer participation, which strengthens the partnership and encourages a continuous flow of volunteers between your organizations.
• Don’t forget to reach out to underutilized community resources like civic groups, local businesses, and even faith-based organizations. These groups often have members looking for meaningful ways to give back. Contact your local rotary club, see if there are community volunteer fairs, or look at the biggest employers in your town and see if they have a company-wide community service day or give benefits to their employees in exchange for volunteering. 

👉 Explore the top 7 volunteer platforms to streamline recruitment and retention!

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Tech You Should Know

What:

‍POINT is a volunteer management software that simplifies the process of recruitment, tracking hours, and recognizing contributions.

How Nonprofits Can Use It:

• Recruitment: Create volunteer opportunities and easily share them across social media platforms.
• Scheduling: Simplify the coordination of shifts and roles with an intuitive calendar.
• Tracking: Monitor volunteer hours, skills, and impact to make data-driven decisions.
• Recognition: Automatically generate thank-you notes and awards to show appreciation for your volunteers.

Keep in Mind:

• Integration: POINT integrates with other nonprofit management tools, making it easier to streamline your operations. You can add a volunteer portal to your website, conduct background checks on potential volunteers, and share volunteer opportunities to Facebook quickly and seamlessly. 
• Customization: Tailor the platform to your specific needs, from small events to large-scale volunteer programs.

Ready to take your volunteer management to the next level?

🌟 Sign up for POINT’s powerful and free tools here!

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Expert Perspectives

🏆 Geng Wang on Supercharging Your Grants With Volunteer Metrics

Volunteers can do more than just support your operations—they can be a key factor in securing grants.

By effectively tracking and showcasing volunteer contributions, you can demonstrate community engagement and in-kind support that funders love to see. Geng Weng, CEO and co-founder at Civic Champs, shared with us how to effectively leverage volunteer metrics in your grant proposals, showcasing the impact and value your volunteers bring to your organization.

Here are his four expert tips:

1. Quantify Volunteer Contributions: Assign a monetary value to volunteer hours based on their skills and contributions. This not only highlights the financial impact but also shows grantmakers the tangible value volunteers bring to your projects.
2. Demonstrate Community Engagement: Use volunteer metrics to illustrate your organization’s strong community ties. Funders are often looking for evidence that your work resonates with and is supported by the community. High volunteer participation can signal strong local support.
3. Track and Align Metrics With Grant Objectives: Ensure that the volunteer data you collect aligns with the specific goals of the grant you’re applying for. Whether it's the number of hours volunteered, specific skill sets, or the diversity of your volunteer base, aligning these metrics with the funder's priorities can strengthen your proposal.
4. Use Data to Tell a Story: Beyond just numbers, use volunteer metrics to tell a compelling story of impact. Showcase how volunteer efforts have directly contributed to successful outcomes in your programs, and how future volunteer involvement will be critical to achieving the goals of the grant.

These strategies not only make your grant applications more compelling but also reflect a well-organized and community-focused approach that funders appreciate​.

📊 Check out the full conversation here for more detailed insights!

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Fundraising Inspiration

Your volunteers aren’t just helpers—they can be ambassadors for your cause. Engage them in grassroots fundraising strategies like peer-to-peer campaigns. Equip your volunteers with the tools they need to tell your organization’s story and encourage their networks to contribute.

Community Garage Sale

• Involve: Ask volunteers to donate items or help organize a community garage sale. Consider partnering with another community organization with a complementary mission to put on a bigger event with more resources!
• Promote: Use social media and local community boards to spread the word.
• Earn: Funds raised go directly to your organization, and the event itself raises awareness in the community.

This kind of event not only raises money but also strengthens the bond between your volunteers and the cause they support.

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Opportunities Spotlight

💡 Sparkplug Foundation Grant

Who It’s For: Organizations focused on education, community organizing, and music as a way of building collective creativity

Next Deadline: Letter of Inquiry due November 1, 2024

Grant Amount: $1,000 -$20,000

The Details:

The Sparkplug Foundation is a family foundation guided by community voices and prioritizing grassroots organizing and innovation as a key for promoting change.

👉 Apply Here!

🐔 Tyson Foods Community Giving Grants

Who It’s For: Organizations who operate in underserved or minority communities and rural areas.

Next Deadline: October 25, 2024

Grant Amount: $5,000 - $50,000

The Details:

Tyson Foods is committed to helping the communities it serves by strengthening relationships between their operating locations and the locations where their team members and families live. Through Community Giving Grants, Tyson looks to scale existing programs in the areas of food access and nutrition as well as immigrant and refugee support and resettlement.

👉 Apply Here!

Want to streamline the grant research process? 

🔍 Explore thousands of other grant opportunities now!

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Networking Nook

The opportunities that were originally shared in this issue of The Impact have since passed. To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.

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In Case You Missed It

📑 Article: Grant Management Software: How 4 Nonprofits Started Winning More Grants With Instrumentl

Get real life examples of organizations who have leveraged Instrumentl to increase their grant success, including doubling their grant revenue, scaling submissions by 150%, and increasing their win rates.

👉 Get the Full Story!

📩 Free Resource: 10 Ready-to-Use Cold Email Templates That Break the Ice With Funders

Whether you’re looking to make a direct impact, establish common ground, or foster curiosity, these expertly-crafted cold email templates are designed to help you get the conversation started.

👉 Get the Free Download Here!

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Ready to Take Your Organization to the Next Level?

If you're looking to strengthen your organization across all phases of the grant cycle, we've got the tools and insights you need.

Unlock the full potential of your organization with Instrumentl and see how you can make a bigger impact today!

👉 Try Instrumentl free for 14 days today!