Diversify Your Corporate Contributions with Volunteer Support

May 2009

The 2009 Volunteer IMPACT Survey released this month by Deloitte suggests that resources are being left on the table when nonprofits seek only cash from corporate partners; pro bono and skilled volunteer services can make a significant contribution to nonprofits in these cash-strapped times. Particularly with the Obama administration’s new national call for service, the study’s authors say, now is the time for nonprofits and corporations to explore volunteerism in addition to financial support.

By engaging employees in the work of your organization, you can build a company’s affinity for your mission. You may even be able to capture individual employees as members and donors, visitors or clients. If you can use committed and skilled volunteers to offset real personnel costs, you can enhance your bottom line. You may even be able to tap expertise not available in the nonprofit workforce.

Here are some tips for how your organization can make the most out of working with corporate partners in new ways:

• Identify tasks that require manpower, and business skills needed for discrete projects to achieve your organization’s strategic goals; set a timeline and milestones for long-term projects.
• Assign a staff member to oversee corporate volunteer contributions – and define what level of in-kind service is manageable, particularly if your organization does not have an established volunteer program.
• Reach out to your corporate donors to identify the executives in charge of corporate volunteer efforts, and begin a dialogue about whether their resources are a match for your organization’s needs.
• Develop a written agreement for skilled service engagements to ensure that expectations are clear from the start.
• Be sure to recognize a corporate supporter for in-kind services as you would for a financial contribution, particularly through public relations and benefits that target their employees.
• Encourage your development committee to engage the leaders of corporations providing volunteer support as ambassadors in your corporate relations efforts.

Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.