Developing Sustainable Income Streams for Volunteer Programs

Nathan Truitt

The Izaak Walton

League of America

Strengths and Weaknesses of Volunteer Programs in Fundraising

Strengths•Community-based, clear value proposition•Connections to community members, businesses•Low administrative costs, “know where the money is going”•Volunteers are “natural” fundraisers

Weaknesses•Limited fundraising experience, equipment•Competing with large organizations for funding•Dependent upon free time of volunteers

What is needed

An approach that is . . .

•Simple

•Can be implemented by volunteers

•Requires no specialized techniques or equipment

•Leverages community connections of volunteers

“But fundraising is . . . . . . complicated.”

. . . difficult.”. . . requires special knowledge

or training.”. . . something you can do only

if you know a lot of rich people.”

Fundraising is the act of establishing, developing, and maintaining relationships with individuals who can help you

achieve your goals.

You already do this:

•Recruiting volunteers

•Working with the media

•Advocating for changes in stream management

In principle, it is no different.

Four steps:

1) Identify potential relationships

2) Qualify relationships

3) Advance relationships

4) Maintain relationships

IDENTIFY:

• Who can you talk to? The most important part is getting an appointment.

• Start with those people you know.• Don’t worry about how much money

they have. In the beginning, passion is most important.

• Think BROADLY.• Absolutely, without a doubt,

immediately, as your very first priority, TALK TO VOLUNTEERS!!!

QUALIFY:Through conversations, you should learn:• What is important to the person?

Recognition? Low overhead? Social impact?

• What resources does the person have? Money? Contacts? Time? All three?

• DO NOT think only about $$$.

ADVANCE:In a subsequent conversation, you should

propose:• A specific step or steps the individual

could take to advance your mission.• A follow-up process that allows them

some time to think about it if need be.

MAINTAIN:Regardless of the outcome of previous

steps, you should:• Regularly update the individual about

your work (in person if possible)• Let them know how important their

support has been to your success.

IMPLEMENTATION1) Volunteer leaders get together to

brainstorm a list of people they could talk to. A volunteer should only suggest someone that they themselves can speak to (the Warren Buffet Rule).

2) One person agrees to keep track of the effort.

3) That person compiles a list of contacts for each individual.

4) Everyone agrees to speak to their list by a certain date.

IMPLEMENTATION5) After that date, everyone gets back

together and reports.6) Together, volunteers determine what to

ask for from each individual, if anything.

7) New deadlines are set for each volunteer.

8) The process is repeated, with new names and new volunteers added as necessary.

IT TAKES TIME!!!

DO NOT DELAY• There will always be some reason you

are not “ready.”• You do not need fancy materials.• The core of this activity is having

conversations. The more people you talk to, the better the results, and there is no reason not to start today.

ONE FINAL THING TO KEEP IN MIND:

• According to the Independent Sector, 55% of donors gave because they were asked.

Contact:

Nathan Truitt

ntruitt@iwla.org