Happy National Volunteer Month! April is a month focused on celebrating a very important group of people—those who give their time to make our communities better.
Every two years AmeriCorps conducts a survey about volunteerism in the U.S. The most recent report examined behaviors from Sept 2020-2021. Even during the height of COVID-19, people showed up for each other and the causes they care about:
- 60.7 million people volunteered
- Serving 4.1 billion hours
- With an economic value of $122.9 billion
More than simply appreciating the vital role volunteers play at their nonprofits, fundraisers need to lead the charge when it comes to paying attention to this group, forming relationships with them and celebrating the impact that they make.
3 Reasons Fundraisers Need to Celebrate Volunteers
1. Volunteers Donate at Twice the Rate
Did you know volunteers donate to charity at twice the rate of people who don’t volunteer? The Corporation for National and Community Service 2018 Volunteering in America report found that nearly 80 percent of volunteers donated to charity compared to 40 percent of non-volunteers.
2. A Majority of Your Donors Are Volunteers
In their 2020 research report, The Role of Volunteering in Philanthropy, Fidelity Charitable found that 62% of charitable donors were also recent volunteers.
3. Personal Experience With Your Nonprofit Is a Big Influence on Giving Decisions
Stelter research shows that personal experience with a charity is the most influential determinant in motivating donors to give.
Start Celebrating Today
There’s no better day than today to get started! We’ll help with some free images you can download and share on your social media platforms.
To save the images: Click on an image to enlarge, then right-click on the image and choose Save Image As. To move to the next image, click the arrow to the right of the enlarged image.
For Instagram:
For Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter:
More Days and Ways to Celebrate
In addition to the entire month of April dedicated to celebrating volunteers, there is a week dedicated—National Volunteer Week, April 16-22—and a day dedicated—Volunteer Recognition Day, April 20. We shared examples of how nonprofits connected with their volunteers on Volunteer Recognition Day in our recent blog. Check them out to spark some of your own ideas.