Volunteers – do you fully appreciate them?

August 17, 2011 By 2 Comments

I wrote a piece recently for Huffington Post (AOL’s online journal) discussing whether we had access to enough volunteers to deliver The Big Society (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/keith-grinsted/does-uk-have-enough-volun_b_924635.html).

Chris Pampling responded with a comment that for a recent charity event he ran he was inundated with volunteers! The fact he was running a The Great British Beer Festival would perhaps have had something to do with that!  He does also say that there were tangible benefits for the volunteers.

I don’t want to let go of this.

Leaving aside the issue of tangible benefits, I have advocated for many years that charities, and voluntary groups for that matter, need to engage more with their volunteers.

It is so easy to welcome new volunteers aboard, assign them to whatever duties, shifts or rotas are deemed necessary to keep the organisation functioning,  or to make an event go like clockwork, or to keep a shop fully staffed and ‘open all hours’.

But do you thank them?  Do you keep them updated with how the organisation is doing, and what the organisation is doing?  Some do, but the majority do not I am afraid!

And yet it does not take much to keep your volunteers enthusiastic and dedicated to your cause long term.  It takes three steps…

1                    Thank them for what they are doing for you!

2                    Keep them informed on what the organisation is doing and what its future goals are!

3                    Tell them exactly how their contribution impacts on the organisation!

These three simple steps will help to keep your volunteers happy and fulfilled.

How you do it is up to you and will depend on your resource.  You could tell them in person, over the phone, send them a newsletter, organise a tea party, or a barbecue.  Perhaps use social media to get the message out.

However you do it please ensure it is regular and appropriate.

But remember, there is no real alternative to the personal touch!

 

But what do you think?

Finally, let me know how you engage with your volunteers!  Let’s hear some success stories and some ‘best practice’ we can all share.

Filed Under: Charity Matters, Here to make a positive difference...

Going, Going, Gone………

July 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

Have you been using eBay as one of your fundraising tools?

I thought I’d share here a short article I wrote for the BDVSA Newsletter (Braintree District Voluntary Support Agency).

Why not?

You cannot afford to leave any options unused if you are to survive and thrive.

According to the eBay UK web site on 14th April a total of 5,319 charities have benefited from money raised on eBay since 2006.

In fact, a total of over £24,809,000 had been raised at that point – though the online counter is constantly running!!

If you visit http://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebayforcharity/charities.html you will not only find the up to date figure but also a great deal of help on how to use the site.

There are a number of ways in which your organisation can benefit from eBay, but the two key ones are as follows:

1. eBay sellers can elect to donate a percentage of the money they generate through selling goods to a charity of their choice. eBay’s charity arm Missionfish is a charity in its own right and collects both the donation and the gift aid (where applicable) and then passes it on to the nominated charity (minus a small admin fee).

All the work is done for you, but you do have to register your charity on eBay in order for sellers to be able to select you!

2. The other main option is for you to set up your own charity seller account on eBay after first registering with Missionfish.

You then go ahead and list your item(s) for sale and choose yourself as the benefitting charity to receive 100% of the donation.

The item(s) sells, you receive payment from the buyer and a fee credit from eBay.

It really is as easy as that!!

eBay Customer Support will even talk you through the process if it all seems too complicated for you. And, of course, even if you are not a registered charity your organisation can still set up an ordinary seller account and sell goods on eBay. You just will not have access to the charity benefits. It is still a good option for you.

If you have surplus equipment for sale, or some good quality donated goods then you really cannot afford to ignore eBay. For larger goods you can stipulate that the buyer must collect, therefore doing away with packaging and postage costs.

I know of one local charity that last year raised over £700 in 4 weeks just selling unwanted goods their supporters brought in! That could be you!!

“Registering with MissionFish and selling through eBay for Charity has allowed Sense Trading to increase profits with minimal expense. It’s like having extra shops but without the overheads!” Jane Williams, Online Retail Manager, Sense.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: ,

Here to make a positive difference…

July 6, 2011 By 1 Comment

Yes, here to make a positive difference…. is my personal guiding principle, my tag line, whatever you want to call it.

And that is what this new home for me is going to be about.  I aim to make a positive difference in every thing I do, in every interaction I have, and to everyone I meet.

So, welcome one and all to my brand new web site!  I hope that in connecting with you I can make a positive difference.

And in welcoming you I must also thank Sarah Arrow for creating this site for me.

 

It’s strange how, no matter how vocal you may be, when it comes to starting with a blank sheet of paper, or a blank page on the screen, we struggle to put pen to paper or finger to key!

That blank sheet seems so precious that whatever you put on it has to be exceptionally good in turn!

I’m sure it is just a matter of the mind because as soon as the first sentence is over it all starts to flow!

Well, I’ve managed to get over that first hurdle and now I can really set about helping to make a positive difference to your world.

Filed Under: General