Category Archives: Volunteers
Is There A More Powerful Verb Than Volunteer?
As National Volunteer Week comes to a close, I find myself wondering if there is any other verb packed with so much power and potential? As a development professional, give and ask come to mind. Yet, in some way, both depend upon volunteer. Volunteer. From the Latin voluntarius. Of one’s free will. Quite, often anonymous [...]
Why Bother?
Lock a few bright, energetic folks in a room, with instructions to devise a strategy for raising money for a charity, and odds are pretty high that they will create a special event, and a short list of potential corporate sponsors. In addition to events being among the least efficient ways to raise money, seasoned [...]
Move The Middle
It’s a concept familiar to those in sales, reminding them to focus on the middle of the client-base, where lies the most potential for future and increased business. It is also, I contend, a notion that translates well to not-for-profit organizations – both in governance and development. The first, and I suspect most obvious application, [...]
Happy National Volunteer Week!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many dedicated volunteers so generously giving of their time, talent, and treasure our the nation’s not-for-profit organizations. While I respectfully submit that it is impossible to place a value on this priceless gift of time, it is nonetheless interesting and impressive to try. Independent Sector [...]
Remembering Charlie
Just before Christmas, 2011, my hometown lost a leader. Charlie Snyder chaired the Frederick Memorial Hospital Development Council from 1987 to 1995. In 1991, his long history of involvement with many community organizations – including United Way, the American Red Cross, and the Community Foundation – prompted the hospital to award him one of the [...]
Giving Thanks
This evening, and again tomorrow night, an organization I know and love will conduct its annual “Thank-a-Thon.” Volunteers and trustees will staff a phone bank, and contact as many of their donors as possible, just to say thanks. A short script will assist the callers in updating contributors on the charity’s progress, but no one [...]
Changing Perspectives: from Fundraising Professional to Volunteer
I find myself in a somewhat unique situation. I am recently retired from a position as Foundation President for a mid-sized hospital, which over the years afforded me the opportunity to work with many community volunteers who supported our philanthropic programs. I now actively volunteer for several community nonprofit organizations. Although not hospital-based, the fundraising [...]
Addressing a Passing Parade
Working with board members and development volunteers can be challenging in any nonprofit setting, but a structured, thoughtful approach to education can make a world of difference. How to make your volunteers more motivated and successful? – Start with recruitment. Be clear what you’re asking them to do. – Provide written expectations, activities and a [...]
Navigating the Health Care Maze
For healthcare nonprofits, a patient navigator or advocate program is a key component of highly effective cultivation, recognition and stewardship. When a donor or prospective donor enters your organization as a patient or family member, it is an ideal opportunity to impress them with your highest level of quality, attention and service. A patient navigator [...]
Let the Birthdays Begin
Last week the first of 78 million baby boomers turned 65. Now, every eight seconds for the next 18 years, more than 10,000 a day, another “boomer is born”. By the time the last of this generation turns 65 on December 31, 2029, the 65-plus population will be nearly double what it is today. By [...]
