Volunteer Screening Blog

How do you know if your donors and supporters are getting what they need from their relationship with your organization? After all, you are competing for their support with every other organization in your community—and many around the world, as well.

Once you lose a supporter, you may never get them back. So it’s vitally important for non-profits to stay close with their supporters, ask their opinions, their advice, their preferences and more.

Determining if people are happy with the services you provide, your organization’s mission, and the value they feel they are receiving for their investment (donation) doesn’t have to be difficult. If you’re keeping good databases, you have several ways to reach each of your supporters.

Some people prefer face-to-face interactions. For these folks, an invitation to an open house would be a good way to get started. Once they’re in the door, ask them to fill out a short survey. Some supporters need a more personal approach, such as a one-on-one coffee or lunch. Your invitation could clearly state the reason for the meeting: “We need your feedback. Would you be willing to share your opinions about how we’re doing?”

Other supporters have no time for parties or lunches. Send an email. Still others want to do all of their interactions through social media sites, like Facebook. You could also lure these folks to your website by engaging them through Twitter. Once you have their attention, give them a short survey to fill out.

You can leave it to just a few questions:
1. Would you recommend that your friends donate to our organization?
2. Why or why not?
3. What suggestions for improvement can you offer?

That’s it. Ask your supporters if they’re happy, and they will most likely tell you!

A study we wrote about a couple of weeks back indicated that nonprofit revenues were up in 2010. It’s no surprise that demand for services is on the increase, as well.

Bridgespan Group conducted a survey of nonprofit leaders and found that a whopping 84 percent of respondents say they are experiencing increased demand for their services. The 2009 survey indicated 58 percent increase and 2008 reported a seemingly-small 30 percent figure.

The percentage of nonprofits reporting increase demand for services in 2010:

• Health Services 100%
• Multi-Service Providers 95%
• Education and Youth Services 88%
• Other 81%
• Housing and Elderly Services 80%
• Job Training 80%
• Arts and Culture 25%

It makes sense that economic hardship would force formerly financially-stable individuals and families to seek help. As state budgets are slashed, services for the poor and struggling are closing down across the nation, often leading assistance-seekers to private, nonprofit service providers. Family service organizations see many more families struggling to survive. Job training programs are at or over capacity due to unrelenting unemployment and food pantries are seeing longer lines than ever.

How are nonprofits taking care of their clientele with fewer resources? The survey and follow-up interviews reveal some interesting insights:

• Collaborating with other organizations 61%
• Created a communications plan 36%
• Enacted a contingency plan 23%

Nonprofits must continue to be diligent in watching economic forecasts, communicating with supporters and creating new management strategies as demands for their services will continue to increase.

As a follow-up on last week’s post—and in case you haven’t yet contacted your insurance provider to review your coverage—we offer the following scenarios. Just a reminder that non-profit organizations really do need proper insurance coverage for your volunteers!

What’s the worst that could happen?

• A van accident. Here’s the scenario: one of your most loyal, long-term volunteers is driving clients to the zoo in her mini van. She is a careful, accident-free driver. Still, she is hit from behind at a stop light by an under-insured driver. Two clients and the volunteer suffer injuries. After checking on the status of everyone in the van, your first thought is, “Will the NPO be sued?” Of course you’re concerned about litigation. That’s why you have insurance coverage for all volunteers, volunteer property, liability and un- or under-insured drivers. You also encourage volunteers to check with their insurance companies about additional coverage on their auto policies—for extra protection. And this one did. You’ll sleep tonight, knowing that insurance will cover everything.
• Charges of sexual misconduct against a volunteer. This is one of the most frightening scenarios a volunteer manager can face. That’s why two types of prevention are important to protect your NPO against it. First, proper volunteer screening is absolutely necessary. When you conduct reasonable background checks on all volunteers, the NPO and its board are less likely to be found liable for damages due to a volunteer’s misconduct. Second, liability coverage is required to cover instances that cannot be predicted. Whether or not the volunteer is guilty of a crime, putting your NPO at risk of financial loss is unacceptable. But be careful—be sure that your liability coverage does not exclude this type of behavior. You don’t want your organization and its directors to be personally liable for negligence!

Insurance regulations vary by state. Check with your insurance provider about whether or not your organization needs any additional coverage. You’ll be glad you’re insured when and if you ever need to be!

Risk management is an important responsibility of non-profit organization (NPO) directors. It can range from avoiding financial risk through proper planning and investing, screening potential volunteers to keep staff and served clientele safe, and holding sufficient insurance coverage.

While most NPO executives will consult their professional insurance provider for details on their particular needs, here we offer some general information on what to consider to be safe—and smart—about insurance coverage.

Insurance is not perfect and won’t cover every situation a charitable organization is likely to run into. It can also be expensive—especially when an overzealous salesperson recommends coverage you either don’t need or don’t want. But insurance is useful and in most cases, necessary to protect an organization from financial risk.

General Liability Insurance: This usually covers a long list of claims that could be filed against an NPO. Check for lists of exclusions and if necessary, purchase separate riders or endorsements that will cover items your organization’s activities warrant.

Auto Liability Insurance: If your NPO’s volunteers drive on behalf of the organization in either their own or company-owned vehicles, you’ll need insurance to cover them. Generally, auto accidents are not covered by a general liability policy, which offers coverage for the driver, property damage, the vehicle and injuries to others, as well as the possibility that the other motorist involved in the incident is uninsured.

Casualty Insurance: In generally, casualty insurance covers damage done by third parties, vandals, floods, fires,earthquakes and building failures. Consider whether volunteers use their own property, such as laptops and tools, in the course of their work for your organization.

Professional Liability Insurance: This coverage could be needed in cases of claims made by clients against professional or licensed services.

Director’s and Officer’s Insurance: In cases where a volunteer director’s or officer’s actions cause a claim to be filed against the organization, this coverage would be very valuable. It can also help attract board members, since they’ll have the peace of mind of knowing theiy won’t be personally responsible.

Again, insurance regulations vary by state. Checking with your insurance provider about whether or not your organization needs the above coverages is something you should consider doing sooner, rather than later—to reduce the risk of loss to your non-profit organization.

Most salespeople know that it’s easier to sell more to an existing customer than to get a new customer. The same goes with fundraising for nonprofits. It’s easier to ask established supporters to give more than to sell a completely new individual on your organization—and get them to give.

Establishing long-term relationships with donors and supporters is one of the keys to successful fundraising. And like anything worth keeping, they take time to build. Each interaction with a potential donor is a chance to grow that relationship.

Potential Donors

• Event attendees
• Volunteers
• Friends of volunteers
• Community members
• Co-workers
• Board member friends and families

How to Grow the Relationship:
Ask questions. Ask volunteers why they’re there; what drew them to the organization. At events, ask attendees why it was important to them. You may hear that the cause wasn’t important, but they were there for the silent auction; or the food; or because they were coerced. Whatever the reason, you can build upon it. The idea is to get to know your donor base better—what they like; what’s important to them. And asking questions makes people feel valued, too.

Tell your story. At every opportunity, repeat the story of your organization, its mission and its accomplishments. And find new ways to do it. Keep the story short, and make sure it is meaningful. Give examples of real people that have been helped by your organization.

Make the ask—it’s as simple as that. If you don’t ask for donations, it’s not likely that donors will just send you money—but they will respond if they believe in the cause and know that you need support. And make it easy for donors to give. Include self-addressed envelopes with fundraising letters. Add a “donate now” widget to your website or blog.

Building real relationships with donors isn’t difficult—it takes time, but it’s vitally important to your fundraising efforts. And, it can be one investment of your time that really pays off!

Every non profit organization (NPO) needs a volunteer strategy. Whether it’s for recruiting board members or office helpers, a plan is essential to finding, retaining, and training volunteers. And, it can make the volunteer manager or executive director’s job much easier!

Why should NPOs have a volunteer strategy?

Volunteer strategies allow volunteer programs to run more smoothly. Planning is the first step to any successful endeavor. If your NPO is embarking on a volunteer program without a plan, it could fail, putting the entire organization further behind on its goals.

• They make recruiting volunteers much easier. A volunteer strategy should identify the best-fit volunteers for the organization, including demographic information (age, gender, occupation, residence, etc.), level of involvement and needed skills. Once the various groups of potential volunteers are identified, it is much easier to find them, reach them, and recruit them.
• To help focus orientation and training efforts: A well-trained volunteer is a better volunteer. Defining roles, supplying job descriptions, and identifying staff or volunteer trainers is essential to properly orienting and training volunteers. How can training be accomplished correctly—and replicated—without planning?
• To keep volunteers engaged and help avoid burnout. Another important aspect to volunteer strategy is retention. It’s usually not a good idea to recruit volunteers and then ignore them. Keeping them interested in the mission of the NPO, demonstrating appreciation, and soliciting their feedback are all vital pieces to the retention puzzle. And there are many more—which should be explored when creating a volunteer strategy.
• To enable NPOs to develop leaders out of volunteers. If an NPO’s executive or volunteer director is not focused on the volunteer strategy, there is a huge potential for loss, both in the simple numbers of volunteers (who are not being successfully retained) and in the loss of potential leadership. When a strategy has been established, everyone is more focused. Seeing the leadership qualities in volunteers becomes an everyday thing. And those who could help take the NPO closer to its goals will not fall by the wayside, unnoticed and underappreciated.

Every businessperson knows the importance of planning for the future and strategizing on how to get there. The non profit sector can take this page out of the business playbook and use it to successfully run volunteer programs!

The unemployment rate is still around 10% in the U.S. As more people lose motivation to look for work, they are turning to volunteerism to keep busy, update skills, or find new interests.

In fact, the demand for volunteer opportunities has inspired the HandsOn Network, the largest nonprofit volunteer network in the country, to participate in large job fairs. The job fairs are a partnership with Monster.com, the online job board.

As local job seekers tour the displays and learn about job openings, they are also introduced to non profit organizations that need volunteers. Job seekers can gain from volunteering in many ways, including:

• Networking opportunities: meeting new people can lead to job opportunities
• Showcasing their abilities: volunteer managers and nonprofit directors tend to notice the talent and skills of every volunteer—which is good thing, when you’re out of work
• Keeping skills current: it’s important to keep your mind sharp, your computer skills current, and your communication skills intact—and that’s hard to do when you’re home watching daytime television
• Learning new, marketable job skills: volunteering is a great way to try new tasks, software, or job skills—which can even lead to a job using them
• Having the satisfaction of putting their skills to good use in their community—feeling useful again is priceless

Out-of-work individuals don’t usually remain so forever; when they do find work, they often maintain their volunteer duties, as well as spread the word to their new co-workers about their experience. This is a great thing for nonprofit organizations; the more skilled volunteers that know about your mission and needs, the better.

And out-of-work volunteers often have more time, passion, and desire to have a purpose than employed volunteers. A mix of all kinds of volunteers—employed, retired, unemployed—is a great thing for any non profit organization!

If you’re strapped for volunteers, let your network know that you are looking. Now is a great time to gain the skills of the highly-educated, skilled workforce that is now out of work—but they won’t be forever. Whether you need help with fund-raising, marketing, grant writing or strategic planning—there is a wealth of talent in your community that you can tap into.

Executive Directors of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) wear many hats—especially these days, when budgets are tight and staff is scarcer than ever.

One thing you might not take time to consider often is risk and litigation avoidance—but doing so is vital to the health and well-being of every NPO. Lawsuits stemming from a non profit’s every day activities have the potential to hit hard, with damages and legal fees amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Employment practices are probably the largest source of potential trouble for nonprofits. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that employment practices complaints rose sharply in the early 90s and held steady around 80,000 cases reported annually, until 2008, when the number jumped to 95,000!

Claims are highest for race discrimination, followed by sex, national origin, religion, retaliation, age and disability discrimination. Non profits must be highly cautious around hiring practices—for both paid employees and volunteers. Proper hiring, interviewing, training, and record-keeping are constant challenges. Good practices must be established and diligently enforced, and NPO executives must be up on all applicable employment laws.

A newer trend is donors suing nonprofits over use of their funds. When private donations make up a significant part of your revenue, it’s especially important to practice transparency and keep meticulous records. Unfortunately, nonprofits are accused of fraud at increasing rates, and donors are more sensitive than ever about how their money is spent on administrative expenses.

Government enforcement and regulatory agencies are keeping a close watch on nonprofits to ensure that public grant money is used judiciously. Improper transactions can be deemed illegal, and the IRS can revoke a non profit’s tax-exempt status, impose a penalty, or both.

Nonprofits, like any business, must monitor liability insurance coverage, and update when needed. Protecting staff, volunteers, and clients from harm is absolutely vital to keeping your nonprofit organization functioning and fulfilling its mission.

Courtesy of Houston Zoo

A non profit website that caught our eye recently is the Houston Zoo. Take a look and you’ll see why! The site is colorful, but not cluttered, organized perfectly and highly interactive.

Visitors to the site can easily find upcoming events for adults and kids, all the latest zoo news (including updates on soon-to-be-born baby elephants!), videos and activities. The site is updated daily, plus features a live Twitter stream. Following the zoo on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and connecting to the Zoo’s Flicker photostream and You Tube Channel are as easy as clicking your mouse on the home page buttons.

Interested in supporting or volunteering at the Houston Zoo? They make it any easy. Of the seven main navigation tabs, one is “Make a Donation.” You can see how important fundraising outreach is to the zoo. From that tab, one can choose from a variety of options:

• Donor Clubs: the zoo offers several tiers of support level, from the Flock, aimed at young professionals, to the Asante Society for higher-level givers. All supporters receive special perks and invitations to private tours and parties.
• The African Forest: This special project gets its own area of the site, fully explaining the vision and soliciting support to make it a reality.
• Fundraisers: Large-scale events and smaller family-oriented parties are highlighted, with photos from past years and “mark your calendars” information about this year’s dates.
• Corporate Support: Clear details on how corporations and businesses can sponsor events and volunteer at the zoo make getting involved a no-brainer. Plus, the content is obviously written with the reader’s motivation in mind, answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” Answer: visibility, brand enhancement, exposure, and wide appeal.
• Corporate Volunteer Program: this area of the site is well-writeen and appealing, outlining the ways business gourps can become involved, the commitment required, and how to get started with becoming a volunteer.

Finally, the zoo’s Annual Fund Drive and Other Ways to Give tabs make it easy to do just that.

Other ways this site is a winner:

• The site creates instant credibility by featuring the Zoo’s accreditations at the bottom of the home page, along with a Better Business Bureau seal;
• Hours, prices, directions, zoo maps and newsletter sign-up are at the top of each page;
• An interactive “Ask us a question” form and the event calendar appear on all 2nd- and 3rd-tier pages; and
• A big “Donate Now” button shows up on most 2nd and 3rd tier pages.

Non profits can learn a few tricks from Houston Zoo’s website. Even if your non profit cannot manage the high-level programming and graphics that this site has, you can still borrow most of the outreach ideas. Clear content that answers visitors’ questions and keeps them coming back are easily achievable website goals!

As if charities needed another one, a change in the estate tax could prove to be a possible roadblock to fundraising.

Here’s why: the estate tax meant that wealthy Americans, upon their demise, could leave their money to their children or to charity. When left to their heirs, the US Government took 45% and the heirs got 55%. If left to charity, the full amount of their pretax estate could be donated.

As of January 1, 2010, the estate tax is repealed for a full year. Now, that giving to heirs choice looks better—because the 45% tax has vanished—disappeared—poof!  Whether or not wealthy will continue to give, it’s clear that a reason for them to do so has been eliminated.

The impact on nonprofit organizations might depend on a philosophical question: is philanthropy based in goodness, or in tax savings?

The opportunity for charities is to make a real connection with their donors—all of them, but especially the wealthy. Give donors a reason to feel that the money is secondary to the benefits they will receive. Help them feel a part of your organization, of something bigger than themselves.

But how?

• Stay in touch with well-written newsletters.
• Produce a simple video and post in on your website. Feature clients if possible. Show, rather than tell, what good your organization is doing.
• Show the video at your next fundraising event.
• Introduce donors to the people your organization serves, and tell the success stories they are helping to make happen.

Stay tuned for updates on this issue; Congress can decide to reinstate the estate tax and make it retroactive to January 1. We’ll keep you posted!