Written by Kasey Murphy

This week was not extremely interactive on the Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community Facebook group, but we still had some great topics that should be interesting to many volunteer coordinators! 

Promoting Fundraisers 

Fundraising is a large part of many nonprofit organizations. For some, it might be the largest financial source for their organization. Volunteers usually need to be a critical part of the fundraising process - whether it be planning or attending and working at the event. So, how do you promote this? 

Leave advice or similar questions in the post here! 

We think that a great way to promote fundraising is to have either multiple events a year or one large annual fundraising event. On both of these, a fundraising committee can be organized or even just a fundraising volunteer leader. Then, different duties can be delegated, like planning the event, inviting people, working with the community, financial benefits and projections, and staffing the event with volunteers. 

Then, make sure ALL volunteers are aware of the fundraising efforts and how critical they are to the organization. This should be a great way to encourage committed volunteers. Also, allow them to choose which task they will do within the fundraising committee or event! 

We also would love to suggest adding fundraising volunteer activities to your volunteer agreement form, and let volunteers know that they will need to participate in them while they volunteer! 

Volunteer Fundraising Resouces: 

• 5 Ways To Engage Volunteers At Your Next Fundraising Event 

• 5 Ways to Get Volunteers Involved In Fundraising

Volunteer Kindness Policy 

Unfortunately, it is common that in a situation with many different individuals, some people might not be as kind as everyone would like. Because of this, and because you’ll want to showcase your values of kindness and empathy as an organization, it is important to incorporate a volunteer kindness policy in your volunteer handbooks. 

This post had a few comments, one of which included that they loved the term “kindness policy.” Some of you might have a kindness policy and not know it! A kindness policy includes: 

• Bullying policies 

• Harassment statements 

• Inclusion statements 

• Diversity clauses 

• And more! 

Resources For Kindness Policies

• An example.

• Include Them In Volunteer Handbooks 

• Harassment and Bullying Policy Example

National Volunteer Managers Day Theme

And last, but certainly not least - National Volunteer Managers Day! This year the theme is What is Excellence? This is such an interesting question, especially for Volunteer Managers because every volunteer manager probably has a different perspective and answer on this question! 

Keep following posts like these in the group to be reminded of International Volunteer Manager’s Day and to be sure to celebrate your success!