Fundraiser's Volunteer Survey

Produced by Alba Fundraising Ltd

Fundraising volunteers

It would be reasonable to say that non-profit organisations benefit enormously from volunteer contributions. Some of these organisations are comprised solely of volunteers and others use volunteers intermittently for a variety of tasks.
The following report focuses on fundraising volunteers with preliminary data collected through questionnaires sent out to known fundraising volunteers.
For definition purposes 'fundraisers' are those who work within the charities.

Why are volunteers important?

They provide a potentially cost effective labour source.

What main difficulties do charity fundraisers face regarding volunteers

Often the cost of managing volunteers can outweigh the benefits, especially when the volunteers chop and change regularly.
Because volunteers are not sometimes paid they may decide 'they know best' and not follow the employees goals within the organisation.

According to the Volunteer Centre (1991) on average a typical volunteer spends only 2.7 hours per week on volunteer activity. While this average undoubtedly conceals wide variations among types of organisations, areas of activity, it does suggest that managers are dealing with large numbers of people spending very little time.

Drucker, an eminent management theorist, suggested that volunteers, precisely because they were not getting paid, needed to get a far greater satisfaction from their accomplishments and contribution. At the other end of the scale some charities feel they are unable to make demands on volunteers precisely because they are not paid.

Once again one is struck by the paradox of the sector. All extremes seem to be true and everything in between too! It's black; it's white and its grey. It therefore seems important to find out if it is possible to categorise volunteers at all with the aim of helping fundraisers think about both their own needs and those of their volunteers.

Alba Fundraising Ltd. devised a questionnaire to find out if this indeed was possible and approximately 100 fundraising volunteers were asked to rate the following questions:

The combined results of the fundraising volunteers are shown below with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important

You want to work for that particular cause
You want to work for that particular charity
You want a clear understanding of what is required from you in terms of hours/jobs, dates when you are needed
You want to join in at the beginning of a project and be part of the project
You only want to be called when it is vital e.g. stuff envelopes, man a stall
You would like some training whilst you are volunteering
You want responsibility within a project

Analysis

The cause rated as the most important factor governing fundraising volunteer's choices of charities.
However from further individual analysis it was obvious that the information had to be broken down further to be of any real use to fundraisers.
It was decided that it was possible to divide volunteers into categories.
Three emerged and the results marked.

The in-out volunteer

This is the volunteer that wants only to give as little time as and when and won't mind doing the mundane stuff (stuffing envelopes, helping at the one off event etc)

The in-out volunteer (23% were categorised as this type of volunteer)

You only want to be called when it is vital e.g. stuff envelopes, man a stall
You want a clear understanding of what is required from you in terms of hours/jobs, dates when you are needed
You want to work for that particular cause
You want to join in at the beginning of a project and be part of the project
You want to work for that particular charity
You would like some training whilst you are volunteering
You want responsibility within a project

Analysis

It appears that for this type of volunteer the most important thing is that they only want to help when there is a specific need and that they want a clear understanding of what is required from them. This in fact appears almost to be more important than the actual charity, although one can assume that this question would not even exist for the commercial sector.

The part time volunteer

This is the volunteer that may have regular time, wants to be a larger part of a project but does not want any responsibility within that role. This person may be happy to do the one off stuff but may also be persuaded to take on a small project.

Part time volunteer (53% were categorised as this type of volunteer)

You want to work for that particular cause
You want to work for that particular charity
You want a clear understanding of what is required from you in terms of hours/jobs, dates when you are needed
You want to join in at the beginning of a project and be part of the project
You would like some training whilst you are volunteering
You only want to be called when it is vital e.g. stuff envelopes, man a stall
You want responsibility within a project

Analysis

This particular category of volunteer seem to a little more interested in being more productive within a charity project as long as they are neither required to just stuff envelopes (for example) nor take full responsibility for fundraising projects.

The committed volunteer

This is the volunteer that can commit regular time to the charity. Includes those running their own fundraising projects for a charity

Committed volunteer (23% were categorised as this type of volunteer)

You want to work for that particular charity
You want to work for that particular cause
You want to join in at the beginning of a project and be part of the project
You want a clear understanding of what is required from you in terms of hours/jobs, dates when you are needed
You want responsibility within a project
You would like some training whilst you are volunteering
You only want to be called when it is vital e.g. stuff envelopes, man a stall

Analysis

The committed volunteer wanted to be have responsibility and be part of something from the beginning. This volunteer did not want to do the menial tasks.
It is interesting to note that this particular volunteer was more interested in the charity than the cause. Perhaps this means that this kind of volunteer is nurtured from within a charity and feels loyal to that charity?

Part II

The fundraising volunteers were asked to write down what they thought charities could do better :
The following were noted as being the most important and most regularly mentioned:

More advice, help, encouragement
Good communication
Updates on where the money raised
Regular meetings of all volunteers (or representatives from groups)
Clear tasks
Show the 'product' of the volunteers labours
A note of thanks
Guidance
Back up form people with similar experiences
Step-by-Step guide
Courses on fundraising
Structured information
Feeling part of an organisation
Funds spent on administration charges
Thanking the contacts made by the volunteers

The main criticism about charities generally was that several of those who answered the questionnaire sometimes felt guilty about not giving enough time and money.
The question fundraisers may therefore have to ask is how does one ask for help without creating guilt?

Conclusion

This questionnaire does not pretend to hold the answers to the fundraising volunteers problems. However it does highlight that looking at volunteers as one particular type could be misguided. It also suggests that fundraisers need to be extremely organised and plan volunteer participation if they are going to get the best out of their volunteer workforce for both themselves and the volunteers.

Further comments

What keeps rearing its head in the charity world is that unlike the commercial sector, supporters (equivalent of commercial clients) of the charity world are so diverse that it is virtually impossible to put them into neat cubby-holes that fundraisers can easily exploit. There is nothing easy about managing volunteers but what this questionnaire does show is that as a fundraiser, you need to be aware of those differences if you are to exploit them to your advantage.

Possible ways to get volunteers:

Current donors and their friends
Your yellow pages under charities should list voluntary bureaus in your area.
National Association of Volunteer Bureaux (0121 633 4555)
Community Service Volunteers (020 7278 6601)
Your local office of Make A Difference (government initiative)

Tip: It may be a good idea to write a job description so you and your volunteer understand what is required from both sides.

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