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The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently concluded something close to my heart - that nonprofit organizations need to do a better job of recruiting and training volunteers, and keeping them engaged. We have all been there, personally and professionally, no doubt... asked to join a nebulous committee, perform volunteer feats that no mere mortal could be expected to achieve, pester and bully our family and friends into donating their time and money, and stuff envelopes too.

This is not a recipe for long term success. Instead:

• Recruit and orient your volunteers, and staff, carefully and with consideration for the skills and attributes you need. A live body or bum in the chair is not a recruitment goal! A volunteer or staff mismatch only leads to dissatisfaction.
• Once you have the right people on the bus, give them what they need to work and feel great -- tools, information and leadership!
• Keep them informed and engaged, making sure they know how they fit and how their efforts are appreciated.
• And last but not least, listen to them...communication is intended to be two-way!

What can a small handful of volunteers do to raise money for crumbling infrastructure and un-sexy needs as appealing as bags of concrete? Answer: work with what you've got.

Cooks Creek Ukrainian Catholic Church in a rural area of Manitoba enjoys a historical legacy of volunteer support, generations of loyal parishioners and a wondrous grotto built decades ago to recreate the famous site at Lourdes, France. Located in a sparsely populated area, it is an ongoing challenge to maintain. As a religious organization, the parish is not eligible for many of the corporate and foundation giving programs.

Someone had an "outside of the box" idea - to take advantage of the unique site, rural area considered horse country, and build an event around it. The parish has held three medieval festivals with one year breaks in between. Complete with costumes, childrens' activites, equestrian and traditional combat events, it attracts people who would not otherwise donate. The organizers are also smart about upsizing, offering graduated levels of tickets which come with added benefits. Bravo.

A recent book by two esteemed business consultants offers more lessons from business for nonprofit organizations. This time, in an accompanying article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review they have teamed up with a nonprofit leader to analyze common practices of highly successful organizations, private and not-for-profit sector alike. I haven’t yet completed the book, but offer the following four principles they say that all interviewed leaders followed. After each one I include my comment.

The cost of service should always decline over time – in other words, it should cost you less over time to do the things you do, well. You should not have to reinvent the wheel – your routine activity should be like a fine tuned and efficient, precision machine! This allows you to do more with your existing resources.

Your market position defines your options – if you’re a big fish in a small pond, you will make the biggest splash. But if you’re a minnow swimming with sharks, you’ll get swallowed. In other words, focus on your strengths, and find yourself a pond that fits you if your efforts are falling flat.

Your client and funding pool does not stand still – recognize that your donors, as well  as the people who benefit from your services, have needs and interests that change over time. As a nonprofit, you are wise to be ahead of both. For example, if demographics are changing the face of your organization’s clientele, you either have to bring along your existing donors whose priorities may remain elsewhere, or find new donors who are interested in your emerging areas.

Simplicity gets results – once again, simplicity rules – trying to be all things to all people never works!

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The biggest obstacle many of us involved in fundraising have to overcome is our own mindset. Since our ultimate objective is to GET THE MONEY we set ourselves up to communicate the exact opposite of what we should. So starting now, think of your job as giving people what they want and need rather than raising money...because starting with the “go get the money” mindset is a trap! You are a “go-giver” -- you give people meaningful opportunities to give time or money to something that reflects their most personal values and interests.

There are many simple things you can do, right now, without any formal training, strategy or large output of resources to adopt this mindset and put it into action:

o Be a leader - your job is to facilitate and inspire matches

o Sell to the “right” people - focus your attention on the people whose interests and values fit your organization

o Make it easy for others to spread the word - explain what you offer and how to get involved, clearly!

o Have a clear “ask” - be specific - what and how

o Invite feedback and use it!

o Say thank you!

These simple tips are do-able; use them as checkpoints to guide you.