Charities rely on two important groups of supporters to help amplify their work. No, not saints and angels, but volunteers and fundraisers. Integral to day-to-day operations, awareness-raising efforts and fundraising campaigns, these two groups form an important part of the activities of many nonprofits and charities.

Volunteers and fundraisers often go hand in hand, yet most charities and nonprofits manage them separately. Recognising this, a new partnership between volunteer and workforce management leaders Rosterfy and nonprofit crowdfunding platform GivenGain is making it easier to empower volunteers to try out fundraising – and vice versa.

How volunteers are like fundraisers

“A typical fundraiser is a lot like a typical volunteer,” says Robyn Andrews, GivenGain regional manager for the UK and Ireland. “They’re both passionate supporters of a charity who are willing to put time and effort into a cause.”

Phillip Gbormittah, Head of Sales for Rosterfy in the United Kingdom, echoes Andrews’ thoughts. “Time and time again, we see the value of volunteers transcending their time. In addition to their time given, volunteers also play the role of fundraisers and brand ambassadors, often even becoming donors themselves. With 50% of volunteers more likely to donate to charities they volunteer with, there is a huge opportunity to bring volunteers and fundraisers together, and Rosterfy and GivenGain’s partnership does just that.”

How volunteers can become fundraisers

Serving at the heart of the organisation, volunteers often see first-hand the positive impact a charity or nonprofit can have on individuals or a community, which as a result sees them become more invested.

Sebastian Hoornweg, for example, couldn’t volunteer as a surf coach in the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead decided to run a distance of 10km 10 times to raise almost £4,000 GBP for Waves for Change – a South African charity that uses surfing as therapy for vulnerable children. Ben Waber volunteered with suicide prevention charity Samaritans for 13 years, and is now fundraising for them in this year’s Boston Marathon – having already raised more than $2,600 US on GivenGain.

“When you promote fundraising opportunities to your volunteers, you’re pushing at an open door, and charities that recognise this can massively expand their fundraising reach,” says Andrews.

Empowering volunteers to fundraise is not just a massive opportunity for charities – it is now easier than ever, she adds.

Enabling the synergy

Thanks to a smart integration between GivenGain and Rosterfy, charity professionals and event organisers with a Rosterfy Core or Enterprise subscription can now add GivenGain functionality directly to their volunteers’ Rosterfy portals.

With the GivenGain integration enabled, volunteers receive a prompt to start a fundraising project on their Rosterfy portals. They can then start their GivenGain project in just two clicks without ever leaving the portal, as well as checking in on their fundraising progress through Rosterfy at any time – making it extremely easy to get a project up and running.

“With a mission to connect communities to events and causes that individuals are passionate about, Rosterfy is excited to take this one step further through our integration with GivenGain. Now volunteers will have the ability to apply for shifts, access communications, complete training and fundraise all from one central portal creating great opportunities for added engagement,” says Gbormittah.

Volunteers are super engaged

“Charities often have super-engaged volunteers,” explains Robyn Andrews. “They are your best advocates with a deep connection to your charity’s mission. It’s these volunteers who are happy to do even more to meet the needs of your organisation. The easier you make it for them to do so, the more likely they are to start a fundraising project in your name.”

Once a volunteer starts a fundraising project, the benefits can be massive. The average fundraiser on GivenGain raises around £800 for their chosen charity – and the people dedicated enough to volunteer are anything but average.

Minimum effort, maximum impact

The extra income that fundraising brings isn’t the only benefit for charities. Running a charity can come with enormous admin overheads. Putting in place measures to automate and streamline the administrative side of your operations allows more time dedicated to service delivery, outreach and fundraising.

Both Rosterfy and GivenGain relieve different types of pressure on charity professionals. Rosterfy streamlines management of both paid and volunteer staff with integrated background checking, automated shift allocation and gamified incentive schemes.

Meanwhile, GivenGain allows charities to receive donations through unlimited campaigns, gives access to advanced analytics and real-time reports, and allows donors to give from anywhere in the world using a variety of international payment methods – all at no cost for using the platform.

“We are thrilled to work with Rosterfy to help any organisation better engage their volunteers and boost their fundraising income,” says Andrews. “There are a lot of things to juggle when running a charity. Rosterfy streamlines all your staffing needs in one platform, while GivenGain manages all of the fundraising admin so you can focus on making a difference!”

To find out more about how GivenGain can help your charity to promote fundraising and win more donations, contact Robyn Andrews (robyn@givengain.com).

For more information about how Rosterfy can help you simplify and streamline your volunteer management, please contact Phillip Gbormittah (phillip@rosterfy.com).