Tag Archives: marketing

It happens to the best of us: You’re talking with friends or family members, and you use a word or phrase that you don’t say outside of work—one that no one else in the room understands.

In the tech industry, that word might be something like “tech stack.” We might use an acronym like CRM without explaining what that stands for or that it’s sometimes used interchangeably with donor database or donor management software. It’s Constituent Relationship Management, by the way.

It’s confusing when you hear or see a word you don’t understand, and the same is true for your nonprofit supporters. They might pause to figure it out, which means they take more time to get to your donation page or wherever else they’re headed. They might even leave your website altogether or click out of your email.

We recommend sitting down with your team and looking at common words and phrases that appear in your marketing and fundraising materials. Would someone who doesn’t work at a nonprofit or in the industry know what that word means? If not, how can you better explain it? Can you replace it with another word? Once you have that list, update those materials as needed.

To get you started, here are seven terms that your supporters may not immediately know.

1) Donation page

Your donation page is a specific area on your website where a supporter can make a donation. In place of that, you might want to say “go here to make a donation” or “to make a donation, visit our donation page or fill out this donation form.”

2) Capital campaign

A capital campaign refers to a wide-scale effort that a nonprofit’s team embarks upon in order to invest a large amount of capital into a project or other area of need.

When you introduce your capital campaign, think about why your supporters need to know this term. What makes it different from a normal fundraising campaign?

If you want to highlight how important it is, do that. That’s as simple as saying something like this: “We’re hosting a capital campaign, which is our largest fundraising event in the history of our nonprofit. Our ambitious goal is to build a new center to better serve children in our area, and we’ll need a significant amount of funds to do so.”

3) Matching gift

A matching gift is a gift that increases the impact of one donation. Instead of using the term matching gift every time you talk about it, you can just mention what happens when your supporters make their donations.

This can be something like this: When you make a donation in the next 24 hours, it will automatically be doubled, which means you’ll make double the impact!”

You can also use the word match instead of double.

When you do use the term matching gift, you could say: “An anonymous donor offered to match donations up to $1,000. Help us take advantage of this matching gift and make a donation now!”

4) Donation acknowledgement

A donation acknowledgement is whatever you use to thank your supporters or donors. Usually, a donation acknowledgment takes the form of an automated email that includes their name, donation amount, and impact their donation will have on your mission. You could also send a donation acknowledgement letter or make a call that acknowledges the donation.

This is likely a term that doesn’t need to be included in any communications with your donors or on your website. If you’re thinking about using it, this is a good time to find another word instead. Think about ones like donor thank you email or donor thank you call.

5) Peer-to-peer fundraising

Peer-to-peer fundraising is also sometimes called social fundraising. The term refers to the practice in which individuals organize their own fundraising campaigns and collect donations from friends, family, and colleagues.

If your team wants to provide your nonprofit’s supporters with information about peer-to-peer fundraising activities, you can explain what the campaign is each time you mention it. However, if this is a term you’re going to use often and you don’t want to do that every time, include a definition at the start of the campaign and in any resources you send to your fundraisers. You don’t have to include it on every post you share or with people who aren’t fundraising for the campaign.

6) Tribute gifts

A tribute gift is a donation made by an individual that recognizes someone else; it’s called a tribute gift because the gift is in tribute to them. These donations differ from typical donations because they’re usually made to honor someone who has passed away.

You may want to use the term memorial gift, gift in memory of, or gift in honor of instead of tribute gift if you think your donors would more easily understand one of those. No matter what term you use, this is definitely an example of when you want to define what the term means. Reassure the person who is making the gift that you recognize how significant it is and then make sure to thank the donor accordingly.

7) Recurring gift

Recurring gifts are those that donors contribute on a regular basis. If you want to choose another word, we recommend using one that corresponds to when they make the donation. Is it weekly? Is it monthly? Is it yearly? When offering donors the option to make a recurring gift, you can say something like make a monthly gift or give monthly.

You don’t want a donor to accidentally sign up to make a recurring gift when they mean to make a one-time donation so explain what this is on your donation page and in your appeals.

Wrapping up

The easier it is for your supporters to understand what you’re saying, the more likely they are to continue engaging with your nonprofit. Reevaluate your written materials and in-person appeal scripts and see where you can simplify your messaging.

The post Don’t Assume Your Nonprofit Supporters Know These 7 Terms appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

Did you know? Bloomerang recently acquired InitLive to make it easy for you to create a volunteer experience that inspires and maximizes the impact of your programs. Learn more here →.

This is a new series from Bloomerang called Why I Volunteered. In each post, one volunteer will share what inspired them to volunteer their time and why they volunteered for that specific nonprofit. Our hope is that this series will provide your team with an even better understanding of what motivates people to volunteer for the causes they care about.

The Volunteer: She is a woman in her thirties who completed her local CASA’s 36-hour volunteer training program.

The Volunteer Opportunity: She trained to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate.

The Cause: Child Advocacy and Family Justice | See how Bloomerang supports CASAs and organizations serving other causes.

The Nonprofit: CASA | The volunteer requested that we direct people to the national organization’s website so you can learn more about their work and the multiple ways to get involved with their mission.

In general, what inspires you to volunteer your time?

I don’t always have the money to make a donation that feels meaningful to me. If I have the time, I try to do work in person because it’s so rewarding to feel like I’m part of something. I want to feel like I’m making an impact.

It also builds my trust in the organization; I love learning more so I can tell other people about it and have real anecdotes to share.

How did you learn about the nonprofit? What made you want to volunteer for them?

When I moved to a new city, I wanted to volunteer for an organization that supported women and children in crisis situations. I Googled local organizations, reviewed my options, and reached out to CASA. I wasn’t familiar with them before I landed on their website.

I’m still surprised I ended up choosing the volunteer program with the biggest time commitment to reach out to first, but I was so moved by CASA’s mission. I wanted to meet their team. And even if I couldn’t have served as a CASA, I wanted to learn more about other opportunities to support them.

What was the introduction or training process like? How did you become a CASA?

At first, I reached out through their website. They replied with a form to fill out and asked for three references who could speak to characteristics that were important in a volunteer.

The last round was a pretty intense and thorough interview where they asked questions about my life, my previous volunteer experience, my feelings on certain social and political factors affecting the justice system, and more. It was really interesting to be on the other side of that, and it gave me more insight into the work I’d be doing.

I also appreciated that they left time for my questions and answered honestly. I’ll never forget asking about what volunteers struggled with the most, and they told me it was realizing how bad the system was and how hard it was to navigate. I remember laughing and thinking that I already knew that. Guess what I struggled with the most? LOL.

In order to become a CASA, you have to complete a 30-hour education course where you meet twice per week, as well as a court observation where you’d see other CASAs at work.

Can you tell us about that experience?

I’m still amazed by what we learned (the volume) and how confident we were at the end. We asked ten questions at the beginning—ten questions we expected to have the answers to at the end of the program. We did, of course.

That first night, I realized just how important this work is and how big of an emotional commitment it is (in addition to the time commitment). I’m so glad I stayed through training, but I was really intimidated. Our trainer was fantastic. We had the same woman every week, and she made sure we had every answer to every question we could think of in addition to building our confidence.

My favorite part of the program was meeting the other people applying to be CASAs. I consider this experience one of the most meaningful of my life, and it was because of the time I spent with those women and what they taught me about the issues we covered. We watched, read, and listened to material that was objectively hard to take in. It also often touched on a personal experience one of us had. Navigating that while also applying those lessons to the work we’d be doing was a profound experience.

We completed the 6-hour court observation at the end of the program. Again, I was shocked by how confident I felt that I could be an advocate for a child in need. I was really glad we saw them in action before we got sworn in.

We also were each assigned a current CASA volunteer who we could talk to. I went on a home visit with my mentor, and it was an invaluable experience that complemented the information we learned during those 30 hours.

How did the nonprofit team members communicate with you and other volunteers?

We communicated over email. They sent regular emails to all CASAs and separate ones to our group.

Is there anything that would have made your experience as a volunteer better?

I really don’t think there was. We were all sad when the classroom portion of the program ended because we wouldn’t see each other each week or learn more in that setting.

Will you volunteer with a local CASA again?

Yes, I’d love to do so in the future. I wasn’t able to work as one in my county because I unexpectedly had to move, but I’m excited to go through the training again one day and do that work.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

One thing I was really impressed with was how CASA supported the requirement to achieve continuing education hours (a certain number per year that you managed at your convenience). We had a lot of freedom. The coolest thing to me was that they had a page on their website with tons of resources we could explore and count toward those hours with descriptions and links. They made it as easy as possible for us, and it was more proof how much they cared about making sure we would be informed advocates.

The post Why I Volunteered: Why I Volunteered for My Local CASA Organization appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

Volunteers are integral to nonprofit organizations’ day-to-day operations. Without these dedicated supporters, many nonprofits would struggle to reach their annual goals.

However, successful volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention are no easy feat. That’s where volunteer management software comes in.

Volunteer management software is a tool that nonprofits can use to better organize their volunteers by handling everything from scheduling to ongoing communication. In this guide, we’ll review what you need to know about volunteer management software and the top solutions to be aware of.

There are many moving parts involved in the volunteer management process, and volunteer management software brings these activities under one roof. Before you can evaluate your options, you first need to establish your organization’s needs and top features to look out for in a solution. Let’s dive in!

Volunteer management software FAQs

Proper volunteer management ensures the overall health and sustainability of programs and events that rely on volunteers. A successful volunteer management process ensures that volunteers are informed, engaged, and motivated, which in turn increases long-term volunteer retention.

Your volunteer management system can facilitate more streamlined volunteer engagement and communication. Let’s answer a few frequently asked questions about how this process works:

What are the steps of the volunteer management process?

There are hundreds of ways to run a volunteer program, and your team’s approach all depends on your organization’s unique goals and needs.

The volunteer management life cycle outlines the basic elements of properly managing a volunteer program. From defining your staffing needs to recruiting and scheduling volunteers and supporting them to do their best work, a lot goes into running a successful volunteer program.

Here are the key steps in the volunteer management lifecycle:

• Planning: Planning your volunteer program involves setting goals and creating role descriptions.
• Recruitment: You can recruit volunteers by reaching out to past volunteers, connecting with corporate volunteers, and advertising your open roles on social media and your website.
• Scheduling: Scheduling involves creating volunteer shifts and matching the right volunteers to the right roles.
• Training: A thorough training and onboarding process prepares volunteers to fulfill their roles effectively.
• Engagement: To boost volunteer retention, you’ll need to manage and empower volunteers to do their best work through ongoing appreciation and investment in their personal growth.
• Evaluation: Evaluating your programming and surveying your volunteers for feedback

Volunteer management software allows you to manage each of these steps in a centralized platform.

What is a volunteer management system?

A volunteer management system, or volunteer management software, is a platform with features designed to help organizations administer volunteer programs, events, and initiatives.

This software often includes tools for volunteer recruitment, scheduling, management, and communication and acts as a database for all of an organization’s volunteer information. Some volunteer management systems integrate with donor management software, allowing nonprofits to gain a 360-view of all supporters from one convenient dashboard.

What features should you look for in volunteer management software?

There are dozens of volunteer management solutions available, but not all of them will meet your specific needs. To find the right solution for your nonprofit, you first need to establish your organization’s long-term volunteer management needs and goals. What you need today may not be enough tomorrow.

With that in mind, here is a list of core features to look out for in a solution that can accommodate basic and more complex needs for the future:

Volunteer Database Features

• A secure database that stores all volunteer profiles and activity information
• Easy data filtering and sorting capabilities

Recruitment Features

• Branded volunteer sign-up pages listing opportunities and available shifts
• Customized online volunteer application workflow
• Accommodation for group sign-ups
• Ability to collect important documents like waivers

Scheduling Features

• Easy schedule building with bulk actions and shift duplication capabilities for ongoing tasks
• Multiple scheduling views (calendar and list)
• Automated matching for volunteers with shifts based on qualifications, roles availability, and conflicts
• Group scheduling
• Mobile schedule management

Communication and Engagement Features

• Volunteer mobile app with a communication hub, personal schedules, and access to relevant documents
• Self-check-in and attendance tracking for volunteers in the mobile app
• Multiple-channel communication options (email, SMS, and in-app messaging)
• Ability to send personalized thank you messages through email or the mobile app

Tracking and Reporting Features

• Volunteer tracking and hours tracking with a summary of check-in/out timestamps
• Custom exports reporting on volunteer program data

17 top volunteer management software solutions for nonprofits

Quality volunteer management software should provide the flexibility to choose how you want to manage your programs and events within the system. The software should also be up-to-date and easy for you and your volunteers to use.

With that in mind, here are 17 top solutions to consider when searching for the right software for your volunteer program. Feel free to skip to a solution that catches your eye or browse the full list for a complete overview of what’s available:

1. Bloomerang
2. SignUpGenius
3. POINT
4. VolunteerMark
5. Golden
6. Signup Zone
7. Giveffect
8. Better Impact
9. Helper Helper
10. Get Connected
11. YourVolunteers
12. Timecounts
13. VolunteerSchedulerPro
14. CERVIS
15. Mobilize
16. isolved Giving & Volunteering
17. ClickTime

1. Bloomerang

Bloomerang combines volunteer and donor management into one unified system. Instead of having to learn two separate systems, your nonprofit’s staff has access to everything they need in one convenient place.

Plus, managing volunteers and donors together lets you discover hidden fundraising opportunities for volunteers and potential new volunteers within your donor pool. You can maximize the potential of both groups, providing sustainable support for your fundraising and volunteer initiatives.

Here’s what we love about Bloomerang’s system:

• Easy use for both staff and volunteers. The interface is intuitive and user-friendly. It’s also easy to customize settings to create flexible views tailored to your nonprofit’s top priorities.
• Makes recruitment and scheduling a breeze. Flexible recruitment workflows make it easy for volunteers to input their qualifications, preferred roles, and availability and sign up for shifts. Self-serve options give volunteers the independence to sign up for the roles that interest them most.
• Improves volunteer engagement and retention. Send timely, personalized thank you messages to volunteers recognizing them for their hard work. Use data to highlight volunteers’ impact on your mission. Grow relationships with volunteers by encouraging them to join your donor programs as well.

Bloomerang also offers a mobile app to streamline staff and volunteer communications.

2. SignUpGenius

SignUpGenius simplifies the process of coordinating events and volunteers by providing online sign-ups for all sorts of nonprofit events.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Establish an easy sign-up process.
• Send automatic emails or text reminders.
• Run volunteer hours reports for easy tracking and exports.

This is a simple tool that’s great for organizations looking for a way to recruit volunteers online quickly.

3. POINT

POINT offers free volunteer management tools to nonprofits, allowing up-and-coming organizations on a budget to connect with volunteers.

Here are the features that make the POINT app stand out:

• Manage data in a cloud-based dashboard and coordination platform
• Integrate your volunteer sign-ups with your website for easy access
• Stay connected to volunteers with the POINT app on iOS, Android, or the web.

You can also create a POINT page, an online volunteer hub that includes your nonprofit’s profile information, event signups, donation link, and needs registry. You can easily share this link across your social media pages, website, and email newsletters to boost recruitment.

4. VolunteerMark

Volunteer Mark offers comprehensive volunteer management software that includes scheduling, communication, and reporting. Plus, their mobile app gives volunteers an easy way to keep track of their duties and schedules.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Invite both groups and individuals to volunteer opportunities, meaning that vetted volunteers can bring along family members or friends to work alongside them. This is a great option for nonprofits looking to recruit large groups of volunteers that don’t need to be thoroughly screened.
• Create fixed, flexible, and one-time volunteer shifts depending on your needs.
• Allow volunteers to create their own profiles and update their availability, skills, and interests, giving your nonprofit greater insight into their motivations.

Volunteer Mark’s software was designed to be very user-friendly, allowing volunteer managers to get up and running with the system quickly and easily.

5. Golden

Golden makes getting involved in volunteer opportunities easy for passionate supporters. With a mobile app for iOS and Android, volunteer managers can easily organize volunteer information and scheduling, even when out in the field.

This volunteer management system offers features like:

• Instant background checks to facilitate a speedy volunteer onboarding process and get volunteers up and running faster.
• The ability to make top volunteers eligible to win raffles (supported by Golden) for valuable prizes.
• Global support for operations in different countries.

Nonprofits looking to get started with volunteer management software for the first time can begin on the free plan and scale up their involvement as needed.

6. Signup Zone

Signup Zone is an online tool for coordinating volunteers. It is as easy to use as a paper signup but with all the convenience of being online. This solution is a good option for those simply looking to collect a list of contacts quickly.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Create volunteer sign up pages
• Require sign-ins for extra security if needed
• Create and share schedules
• Build a volunteer roster

Signup Zone offers a simple solution for organizations like schools to quickly collect parent and volunteer information online.

7. Giveffect

Giveffect is an all-in-one nonprofit software that provides robust volunteer management functionality. Volunteer shifts, hours, and contact information seamlessly integrate into the Giveffect CRM system, providing a comprehensive overview of your supporters.

Giveffect’s volunteer management features include:

• The ability to use your mobile device as a volunteer check-in kiosk, allowing you to facilitate faster check-ins and automatically track volunteer hours
• Simple shift management and the ability to create public or private calendars.
• Robust reporting and data analytics, providing insight into everything from volunteer recruitment to the success of your volunteer newsletter.

With volunteer scheduling and tracking, a mobile volunteer check-in kiosk, and volunteer-to-donor conversion tracking, Giveffect consolidates your nonprofit operations and eliminates manual data entry.

8. Better Impact

Better Impact offers supporter management features—from donor and client stewardship to volunteer and member management—for nonprofits and other organizations as well.

Here are the top volunteer management features of the Better Impact platform:

• The ability to create robust volunteer profiles and run search queries to easily look up volunteer data
• Individual and mass-targeted email and text communications that are personalized with volunteers’ names
• Self-scheduling for pre-qualified volunteers to provide more flexibility and control for supporters

This volunteer management solution offers customizable profiles, database management, volunteer recruitment, flexible scheduling tool capabilities, and reporting to help manage your volunteer team efficiently.

9. Helper Helper

Helper Helper’s software platform and mobile app help you easily coordinate and track service hours across your entire organization. Nonprofits, businesses, colleges, high schools, and Greek life organizations turn to this solution to manage their ongoing volunteer opportunities.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Send automated service reminders and push notifications to boost attendance.
• Brand your volunteer platform with your nonprofit’s logo and colors to promote brand recognition.
• Access an automated list of top volunteers and donors to ensure that you don’t forget to show appreciation to them.

This solution offers a centralized data source for your volunteer program that includes sign-ups, reminders, kiosk check-ins, and reporting.

10. Get Connected

Galaxy Digital offers an easy-to-use volunteer management system called Get Connected. This product makes it simple for volunteers to find and select the opportunities they are passionate about.

This volunteer management system allows nonprofits to:

• Find skilled volunteers by restricting access until volunteers have been screened for qualifications and approved.
• Create and promote compelling event landing pages with essential event day logistics.
• Integrate with your social media accounts for easy promotion and allow volunteers to share your content directly with their networks.

Ideal for everyday use, Get Connected can help increase volunteer engagement, develop long-term relationships, and track involvement.

11. YourVolunteers

YourVolunteers is a free volunteer management tool that supports registration management, scheduling, and volunteer profile creation.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Create notes about volunteers and easily share them with your volunteer managers.
• Let volunteers view all available shifts and add shifts to their schedules.
• Use the application on your mobile device, tablet, or computer depending on your needs.

This cloud-based tool provides an easy way to create and assign volunteer shifts and collect information from volunteers.

12. Timecounts

Timecounts’ solution provides organizations with user-friendly, scalable tools to grow their volunteer programs.

This volunteer management software offers features like:

• Track applications, background checks, and volunteers’ skills and interests to streamline the onboarding process.
• Track volunteer information by importing unlimited contacts and attaching relevant documents to profiles.
• Easily schedule ongoing shifts to give volunteers a clear weekly or monthly schedule.

This solution removes friction between you and your passionate volunteers by providing a way to publish opportunities online, collect volunteer information, maintain a directory of volunteers, and maintain ongoing communication.

13. Volunteer Scheduler Pro

Volunteer Scheduler Pro is a specialized volunteer scheduler that can also help you manage and communicate with volunteers as well.

This volunteer management system allows nonprofits to:

• Easily create schedules using a drag-and-drop editor.
• Effectively communicate with volunteers by sending personalized emails, texts, and even polls.
• Limit no-shows by allowing volunteers to find substitutes or cancel an assignment.

This solution is ideal for small organizations that need a simple upgrade from general office tools.

14. CERVIS

CERVIS empowers nonprofits with volunteer management software that offers simple features for coordinating volunteers. Their solution includes tools for scheduling, communication, reporting, and more.

Here’s what you can do with this volunteer management software:

• Easily create online schedules and allow volunteers to quickly register online.
• Send out automatic shift reminders and thank you messages.
• Allow volunteers to create their own accounts to track their involvement and update their profiles.

They also offer impactful training resources for you and your team to get up to speed on effective volunteer management and software.

15. Mobilize

Bonterra’s Mobilize offers a solution for mission-driven organizations to help manage events and recruit volunteers. This solution is used by nonprofits, progressive campaigns, advocacy organizations, labor unions, and more.

Mobilize’s volunteer management software allows organizations to:

• Set up recurring and multiple-shift events
• Automate email and text messages
• Ensure straightforward approval processes and permission levels

This solution makes sure volunteers sign up, show up, bring friends, and come back through its powerful and engaging platform.

16. isolved Giving & Volunteering

isolved Giving & Volunteering is a corporate philanthropy platform that makes it easy for employers to facilitate giving and volunteering opportunities for their employees.

This volunteer management software offers features like:

• The ability to let employees choose where to direct their charitable giving and make the greatest impact possible.
• Automatic donation and volunteer hours tracking to document your program’s impact.
• The ability to spotlight top volunteers and communicate program milestones.

This platform is best for professional businesses and healthcare services looking to better track their philanthropic activities.

17. ClickTime

ClickTime makes it easy to track, plan, and manage employee and volunteer time. This solution is great for organizations looking to report on impact for funding purposes.

ClickTime’s volunteer tracking system makes it easy to:

• Track the cost of your program to ensure you’re staying within your budget.
• Stay compliant with grant requirements regarding volunteer hour tracking.
• Understand your program’s impact and clearly convey it to prospective new volunteers, boosting your recruitment efforts.

With ClickTime, you can improve operations and increase team-wide employee productivity through easy-to-use timesheets you can access anywhere, anytime.

Wrapping up

Volunteer management software provides the tools you need to manage your volunteer program and empower your volunteers to do their best work.

There are so many options available on the market that it’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices. We recommend taking your time to define what you need from your volunteer software before committing to any one solution. Remember, investing in a solution that offers everything you need to succeed instead of using multiple, disconnected solutions will serve you better in the long run.

The post 17 Top Volunteer Management Software Options for Nonprofits appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.