The Final Information to Advertising and marketing Volunteer Grants [For Nonprofits]

Within the dynamic panorama of nonprofit operations, fundraisers consistently face the challenges of sourcing adequate funds and sustaining excessive ranges of volunteer engagement. Numerous methods have been devised to beat these challenges, however one alternative stands out as a potent but typically underutilized useful resource: company volunteer grants.

What are Volunteer Grants?

Volunteer grants, that are often known as “{Dollars} for Doers” or employer-sponsored volunteer packages, are company giving initiatives wherein corporations present financial donations to nonprofits the place their workers volunteer. These grants can considerably improve a nonprofit’s funding whereas additionally fostering a tradition of collaboration between companies, nonprofits, and their shared groups.

Because of this, the method you are taking to advertising volunteer grants to supporters is essential. With a purpose to drive one of the best outcomes, the advertising course of usually consists of the next steps:

On this information, we’ll stroll you thru every merchandise so you may guarantee your workforce is advertising volunteer grants successfully. Plus, create the best optimistic influence to your trigger.

Let’s start!

Understanding your nonprofit’s viewers

Within the realm of nonprofit fundraising, a one-size-fits-all method not often yields optimum outcomes. Advertising and marketing volunteer grants isn’t any totally different.

Due to this fact, understanding your nonprofit’s viewers is essential for successfully selling the alternatives to your supporter base. By tailoring your communications with a data-driven technique, you may enhance engagement, consciousness, and participation within the packages.

For instance, present volunteers may obtain one piece of content material asking them to see if their employer will match their time. In the meantime, volunteer prospects may obtain one other message informing them concerning the alternative and inspiring them to enroll in a volunteer shift to get began.

If you already know the corporate, you can too phase your advertising primarily based on a recipient’s probably eligibility for a grant. And, if there’s a historical past of eligibility for⁠—or participation in⁠—different types of office giving packages (equivalent to matching presents or volunteer day without work), this will also be useful data to know.

Creating and sharing helpful volunteer grant advertising content material

Creating and sharing volunteer grant-related content material via your advertising efforts is pivotal for nonprofits aiming to advertise matching presents to their supporters. By offering clear, informative, and interesting supplies, you may educate volunteers concerning the packages, demystify the method, and invite supporters to get entangled.

When executed effectively, your content material ought to strengthen the reference to volunteers by highlighting the twin worth of their time alongside monetary help from their employers. This focused method not solely raises consciousness but additionally empowers volunteers to take motion, resulting in elevated participation within the packages.

Try the next content material matters and concepts for advertising volunteer grants to your viewers:

• Spotlight examples of high corporations with matching present packages, together with Disney, Allstate, Dell, Aetna, and extra. Then, encourage supporters to look into their employers’ participation.
• Supply an interactive volunteer grant database like 360MatchPro in your nonprofit web site, and direct your viewers to interact with the instrument to find their matching present eligibility.
• Share testimonials that reveal the optimistic influence volunteer grants have had in your trigger previously. Invite actual volunteers to share their experiences with the packages, too!
• Complement textual content with multimedia ⁠content material equivalent to photographs, movies, infographics, and extra to draw and retain your viewers’s consideration.

💡 Prime tip: Seeking to up your volunteer grant advertising? Double the Donation provides its customers with pre-made, customizable graphic templates inside 360MatchPro.

Simply log into the platform → navigate to the Sources tab → choose Advertising and marketing Property → browse our library of free supplies for purchasers to make the most of → personalize your chosen template to match your group’s distinctive branding model, targets, and extra.

Right here’s an instance of an electronic mail header graphic:

Not but a 360MatchPro consumer? Get began with a demo of our full volunteer grant and matching present automation instrument right here.

Advertising and marketing volunteer grants with multi-channel promotions

There’s nobody good platform via which your group can market volunteer grants to succeed in 100% of your viewers. That’s why we advocate taking a multichannel method, guaranteeing your message is uncovered to a broader attain.

Whereas the particular means you utilize will differ in keeping with your present promotional plans and assets, we advocate advertising volunteer grants throughout the next channels:

1) Your web site

Your web site can function a central hub for offering detailed details about volunteer grants to your supporters. We advocate establishing a devoted web page to clarify what these are, how supporters can apply for them, and the influence they’ve in your mission⁠.

Plus, add a piece concerning the alternative in your web site’s Methods to Give hub. Nevertheless, you might resolve to mix your Match Web page and Volunteer Grants Web page, creating a whole office giving useful resource as a substitute.

2) Social media

Social media platforms are glorious for elevating consciousness and driving site visitors to your web site. Common posts, tales, and updates about grant alternatives, testimonials, and submission ideas can attain a large viewers and encourage eligible volunteers to get entangled. In the meantime, interactive content material like polls and Q&A classes may also increase engagement and get supporters excited concerning the alternative.

3) E-mail

E-mail campaigns can ship customized and focused data on to your supporters’ inboxes. Digital newsletters can function detailed step-by-step walkthroughs, reminders about submission deadlines, and success tales to encourage participation.

On the similar time, extra segmented emails can guarantee every volunteer receives focused content material related to them, their engagement historical past, and their using firm.

4) Textual content messages

Textual content advertising affords a robust alternative for sharing brief, candy, and to-the-point messages along with your viewers. In relation to advertising volunteer grants, it’s a direct, fast, and simple approach to remind supporters about volunteer grant alternatives.

For one of the best outcomes, we advocate prioritizing transient, concise messages linking out to extra data to immediate fast and tangible subsequent steps from supporters.

5) Volunteer sign-up kinds

Integrating details about volunteer grants into your group’s volunteer sign-up kinds ensures that new and present volunteers are uncovered to the packages.

Even higher, volunteers anticipate to share quantity of details about themselves after they signal as much as donate their time to your trigger. As every volunteer completes a web based sign-up type, your workforce has a novel alternative to advertise volunteer grant alternatives and supply information that may assist uncover funding in your community.

💡 Prime tip: Embed a firm database instrument like 360MatchPro into your volunteer registration kinds! Make it straightforward for supporters to study concerning the alternative and supply invaluable employment insights.

6) Paid promoting

Our last advice is what’s also known as paid promoting. Nevertheless, don’t let the “paid” half maintain you again. Websites like Google and Microsoft every supply registered nonprofits free entry to their platforms, which means you’ll profit from sponsored search listings without charge.

In doing so, you may successfully goal particular demographics prone to be fascinated by volunteer grants. Plus, drive new certified site visitors to your web site, elevate consciousness amongst a broader viewers, and appeal to new supporters to your trigger.

💡 Prime tip: Request a free session with our beneficial paid promoting advisor, Getting Consideration, to provoke the Google Grant utility course of at present.

Advertising and marketing volunteer grants with one-off company partnerships

Greater than probably, a number of your supporters already work for corporations with volunteer grant packages. For individuals who don’t, nevertheless, customized or “one-off” partnerships can supply a wonderful approach to start facilitating relationships with employers in your community.

This focused method permits nonprofits to construct a robust, mutually useful relationship with a selected firm, fostering a way of exclusivity and devoted help. It may even result in elevated volunteer engagement from the corporate’s workers, who could really feel extra related and dedicated to the trigger as a result of their employer’s direct involvement.

Try this instance of selling a customized volunteer grant partnership in motion:

The Central Texas Meals Financial institution is the Largest starvation aid company within the area, serving practically 46,000 people throughout 21 counties every week. With a purpose to meet the immense wants of its communities, tech big Oracle has supported the group for practically three many years, encouraging its workers to help the trigger since 2007.

Lately, the corporate awarded the Meals Financial institution a $35,000 grant in response to just about 3,000 volunteer hours its workers contributed towards the inspection, packing, and distribution of meals gadgets. An article relating to the partnership even describes the corporate’s workforce as a standard and welcome sight on the group, additional demonstrating the deep and ongoing influence it has on the trigger.