The foundation of a successful fundraising initiative lies with the volunteers behind the project.    The better connected and informed the volunteers are, the better it is for your fundraising in the long term.

In the past coordinators have relied on meeting in person and telephone calls to connect to their volunteers.  The telephone may have been a quick way to grab someone’s attention and give out information, but we now live in a day and age where people have busy lives and prefer our information at our own pace and on our own time.   Online and mobile phone technology has made it easier for all involved to be updated and stay connected to fundraising programs.

Facebook, a social networking web site, is a free service that you can utilise to keep in touch with your fundraising volunteers.   Facebook allows you to create individual groups that you can invite other members to.    Within the group you can upload photos, share ideas via posting messages on the “wall”, and continue to grow your group as you grow your volunteer base.   You can send out notifications via Facebook, so your members can be kept up to date on relevant information related to your school fundraising, in a non-intrusive way.

Email is another way to connect to fundraising volunteers, and as almost everyone has an email address these days, it’s much faster to send out a bulk email to all at once than to pick up a telephone (remember to ‘Blind Copy’ rather than reveal everyone’s email address!).   With email, you can attach relevant documents and send them out immediately.

SMS texting via mobile phones is becoming a very popular way of staying in touch with people.   Mobile phone texting is a quick way of asking “Are you available to come into the school today for an hour?” and instantly get an answer.    Most parents carry mobile phones, and it’s an easy, non-intrusive way to get in touch with your volunteers.

The key to maintaining happy, motivated volunteers is to keep them informed.  Utilizing platforms such as Facebook, email, and SMS makes it easier for a volunteer to gain information on their own terms and at their own pace.  A happy volunteer is what creates a successful fundraiser!

(c) 2008 Direct Digital

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