How is the third sector tackling the volunteer shortage?

New research has revealed that volunteering has fallen to a historic low in England post-Covid.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) surveyed 7,000 adults for its Time Well Spent report and found that those raising money or taking part in sponsored events was down from 11% to 6% since 2018. Meanwhile, the Charities Aid Foundation's UK Giving report found there were 1.6 million fewer people volunteering compared to five years ago.

The decline is also evident from the government’s latest annual Community Life survey.

The survey found that in 2021/22, around seven million people volunteered for a charity or local group at least once a month, down from 11 million in 2019/20.

The figures mark the lowest ever participation recorded by the survey, which has been running for a decade.

What’s caused the decrease?

The pandemic is a major factor. People who were lifelong volunteers broke their habit during the pandemic and haven’t gone back to it.

Since the end of lockdown, enthusiasm among volunteers – particularly professionals – has plummeted, while the cost-of-living crisis has made it harder for people on lower incomes to help.

Some of the drop off can also be attributed to spending cuts on voluntary infrastructure.

Impact

Charities are suffering as a result. For example, the Scouts has 90,000 young people on their waiting list, but they’re struggling to recruit volunteers to run the groups.

Meanwhile, the Charity Retail Association, (which represents charity shops), said its volunteer numbers have dropped from 230,000 to 186,000 since the pandemic.

Some charities are being forced to pause operations due to the double whammy of the recruitment crisis and volunteer shortage.

How is the volunteer shortage being addressed?

Over the past year-18 months, various initiatives have been developed by voluntary sector organisations and the government to address the problem:

Vision for Volunteering

Last December, the government committed to investing £600,000 into Vision for Volunteering - a ten-year strategic plan to create a better future for volunteering.

Led by a coalition of voluntary organisations including NAVCA, NCVO, Volunteering Matters, and the Association of Volunteer Managers, the Vision for Volunteering launched in May 2022.

More than 350 people from over 300 organisations - both big and small - contributed to its first phase in a year-long engagement exercise.

Five key areas were identified from the exercise, in which volunteering needs to evolve over the next decade:

• Awareness and appreciation

• Power

• Equity and inclusion

• Collaboration

• Experimentation

You can read more about the five themes here.

The next phase of the project will focus on turning the vision into reality.

Over the next 18 months, a newly established Vision for Volunteering team will engage with partners and stakeholders to raise awareness of the Vision, build a community to champion the Vision, share stories of positive change, collect evidence, and share learnings.

The ultimate aim of the Vision is to see volunteering ingrained in our national psyche, and to be accessible and welcoming to everyone everywhere, so the benefits of volunteering are equally distributed.

The Big Help Out

To inspire people to start volunteering, the Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and the Together Coalition, teamed up to organise the Big Help Out on Monday 8 May.

Promoted as a National Day of Volunteering, the aim of the initiative was to bring communities together and create a lasting volunteering legacy from the Coronation weekend.

Over 30,000 charities seized the opportunity to issue a call for support, and an estimated 6.5 million people answered.

Following the event, 7.81 million people said they’re more likely to volunteer after taking part.

While the public response is encouraging, as Matt Hyde, chief executive of the Scouts, pointed out: “we don’t want this to stop just because the coronation is over. It cannot be a one-off. We need to build on today’s momentum to keep inspiring the next generation of volunteers.”

The organisers are planning to make the Big Help Out an annual event, and they’ll be drawing on its success to promote volunteering during Volunteers’ Week, which is taking place from 1-7 June.

Final Word

The voluntary sector contributes around £20bn to the UK's economy each year. Given how important volunteering is to our social fabric, re-engaging lapsed volunteers and attracting new ones needs to be high on the third sector (and the Government’s) agenda.

Charities can play their part by reviewing and re-working their volunteer strategies to make their proposition more appealing and addressing the areas of focus outlined in the Vision for Volunteering strategy.

Looking for a talented fundraiser to focus on volunteer engagement? We can help. Call us on 020 3750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk for an informal chat.

The lowdown on CRM systems

Let's kick things off with a question. How do you manage your donor data? Excel spreadsheets? Word documents? Post-it notes strewn across your desk?

If you answered yes to any of the above, it’s time for an upgrade.

Enter the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

What’s a CRM system?

 A CRM system is a software solution that enables charities to store and manage information relating to current and prospective donors, volunteers, suppliers, and other charity stakeholders in a single, centralised database. Think of it as a sophisticated, modern-day Rolodex.

What are the benefits of a charity CRM system?

There are loads of reasons to swap your Excel sheets for a CRM. Namely:

Speed: The beauty of a centralised database is donor information can be quickly accessed and updated by any member of staff. 

Say, for example, a donor calls and asks to be removed from your mailing list. Rather than scribbling a reminder on your hand to wade through your spreadsheets later, you can retrieve and amend their donor record during the call, at the click of a button.

Eliminates manual admin: Excel is labour intensive. It requires a lot of manual input and editing. CRM systems can automate much of the admin for you, from data entry and donation processing to donor communication (i.e., thank you letters) and your fundraising campaigns.

Makes GDPR compliance easier: CRM systems have built-in features to help you adhere to GDPR regulations. For example:

Consent: Fields can be set up to provide granular opt-in options based on communication type (newsletters, appeal letters) and communication channel (phone, email, SMS, post).

Security: Excel offers very little in terms of security. Access can be easily granted, and files can be saved to personal computers and shared outside of your organisation.

However, CRM systems come equipped with robust security features such as data encryption, multilevel security, and anti-hacking tools, to keep your data safe.

Reporting: Most CRM systems have inbuilt reporting features, which you can use to track everything from donor acquisition rates, to fundraising income (by campaign).

This can help you identify what’s working/not working and easily pull-out key data for trustees/grant makers/other stakeholders.

CRM picks:

Those are just a few of the benefits of investing in a CRM system.

Now let’s turn our attention to what’s on the market.

Here are our top picks for small, mid-level and large charities: 

Small charities

Donorfy is an entry level donation management tool, designed to help small charities automate their fundraising admin and understand donor behaviour.

Easy to learn and simple to use, it’s a great option for non-tech-savvy fundraisers.

The cloud-based system comes with a range of basic features for data import, fundraising, gift entries, prospect tracking, event management, and campaign management. 

On the downside, it lacks the more sophisticated features you’ll find in the likes of Salesforce.

With regards to pricing, there’s a free plan (Donorfy Essentials), for charities with fewer than 500 constituents. This has all the basic features you need to move away from spreadsheets. 

The paid version (Donorfy Professional) enables you to access all the features. It starts at £65 a month for 500 constituents.

You can see a comparison of the features here.

Medium-sized charities

Designed for growing organisations, Blackbaud’s eTapestry helps charities be smarter with their donor data management.

This user-friendly solution comes with a series of tools to help you optimise your donor data, manage your fundraising activities, and manage your communication strategy, so you can engage with supporters more effectively.

The CRM can consolidate payment processing, email automation, social media, and event management. There are also functions for membership management.

You’ll need to contact eTapestry for a customised quote. But, as a rough guide, prices start at $99 per month for up to 1,000 records and 25,000 emails a year.

Note: Some of eTapestry’s features cost extra, so check you’ll get everything you need before diving in.

Large Charities

Salesforce is a major player in the CRM space, with a 19.8% share of the corporate market.

In 2018, they launched a cloud-based version of the software, specifically for charities.

Ideal for charities with a big budget and complex requirements, Salesforce for Nonprofits comes with a wide range of features for retaining and engaging donors, monitoring resources and funding, and campaign tracking.

One of the most sophisticated systems on the market, it’s highly customisable and the technology integrates seamlessly with other Salesforce products and third-party applications.

The best bit? Registered charities can apply for ten free licenses through Salesforce’s Power of Us programme. For additional subscriptions, you’ll need to get a bespoke quote from a Salesforce Account Manager.

Note: Salesforce can be difficult to set up and use, especially for small charities with limited IT resources and expertise.

Final Word

Streamlining donor management is important if you’re looking to scale-up your fundraising efforts. The CRMs covered in this post are designed to help you do just that.

Looking to hire a CRM expert to level up your donor management? We can help. Call us on 020 3750 3111 to find out how.

New platform launched for grantseeker feedback

In 2022, the Charity Commission published a report titled Making it Count: Overcoming the barriers to better grant-making.

The report acknowledges the value of grant-giving foundations but says the way some funders disperse grants creates problems for charities and is holding the sector back from achieving its full potential.

The Commission suggests there are three key issues:

Short-termism: i.e. the length of time for which grants are offered, leads to uncertainty and inefficiency among grant-seekers, alongside a tendency to prioritise narrowly conceived projects in the present over investment in an organisation’s ability to develop and deliver its mission in the longer term.

Sub-optimal processes: these include expensive and cumbersome application and monitoring processes that directly reduce the value of funds, but also more strategic factors such as determining where and how to direct funds, meaning that funding does not always go to where it can have the most impact.

Reproduction of wider social inequalities: meaning that some groups disproportionately suffer the consequences of problems in the system, resulting in funding not always getting to those that most need it.

GrantAdvisor UK

In an attempt to improve the grant-making process, CAST, in partnership with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has rolled out GrantAdvisor UK - a platform that enables grant seekers to share their positive and negative experiences of working with funders.

How does it work?

Charities are invited to leave a review on the platform. It’s free to do and reviews can be left for any UK funder (even if it’s not yet listed), for any period over the past ten years. The review process takes around five minutes to complete, although reviewers can leave more comprehensive feedback if they wish. 

Funders are alerted when a new review is posted and are encouraged to respond. 

Oh, and in case you’re concerned about damaging relationships with your funders, reviews are published anonymously.

The aim of Grant Advisor UK

The free service aims to help funders review and improve their practices, and act as a resource for fundraisers to gain peer-to-peer insights to help with funding applications.

Emily Dyson, Deputy Director of The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) commented:

“One of the biggest challenges funders face is hearing authentic feedback from applicants and grantees. The GrantAdvisor UK platform provides an exciting opportunity for funders to hear regular, honest feedback – where the possibility of receiving funding is not a factor. We look forward to seeing how this opens up conversations about grantseekers’ experiences and needs as they evolve over time, providing important information to grant makers about their practice. We will be sharing the platform with our Open and Trusting funder community and look forward to working with GrantAdvisor UK – and CAST – to make life easier for grantseekers.”

Call to action

CAST is calling on charities to provide feedback and funders to add their organisations to the site, to help refine their systems in line with applicants’ needs.

Final Word

Looking for an experienced Trust Fundraiser to boost your grant income? We’re well connected. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to start the search.

Why you need a fundraiser on your board

One of the key responsibilities of a non-profit board is to ensure that the organisation has enough resources to fulfil its mission. This means supporting them with their fundraising programmes.

Among their responsibilities set out in the Good Governance Code, trustees should regularly review charity’s key policies and procedures (including fundraising), and ensure that the fundraising targets are appropriate, realistic, and measurable.

Despite the important role trustees play, evidence shows that fundraising expertise is lacking on many trustee boards. In fact, according to the Institute of Fundraising’s Get Raising report, 81% of respondents said that fundraising skills and experience were underrepresented on Boards they’d worked with, while 92% said that having a fundraiser on their board would help them with their job.

What are the benefits for charities of having fundraisers as trustees?

Not only can it help charity boards embed an informed and innovative fundraising strategy, manage risk appropriately and ensure compliance, it’s also a great opportunity for fundraisers to develop their management and strategic skills, with the view to progressing into a management role.

So why aren’t more fundraisers stepping up to become trustees?

A report by Peridot Partners and The Social Change Agency found the following concerns:

• Fundraisers often feel that they’re not the ‘right ft’ for charity boards - that they’re unable to live up to the expected image of a traditional trustee. As a result, they’re put off from applying.

• Many fundraisers felt they would be unable to secure the time off work or fit the role in with their other commitments if they weren’t supported by their employers.

• Despite already working in the charity sector, many fundraisers reported that they do not know where to look for trustee roles.

• When recruiting, it was felt that boards look for more traditional skills such as accountancy or legal experience, and do not consider fundraising skills to be as relevant. As a result, they fail to recognise the valuable skills and experience of their own fundraisers.

What can you do to increase fundraising governance skills on your board?

• Consider how you can support your staff to become trustees. Do you offer reasonable flexibility to allow employees to attend Board meetings and fulfil the role? Is it a part of your staff development plans and HR processes?

• Your trustee board should review how they operate to ensure they encourage a diverse range of people to join. The times of meetings, or contribution expected should suit those who have to juggle work and family commitments.

• Encourage your fundraisers to become trustees as part of their personal development plans.

• Your boards should consider creating a fundraising subcommittee as a stepping stone for fundraisers to join the board, to provide better scrutiny and governance around your  fundraising activity.

Final Word

Whether you’re a fundraiser looking to take on a trustee role, or a charity looking to implement a strategy to support trustee-fundraisers, we can help. Call us on 020 3750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk.

How to fundraise on Facebook & Instagram

Facebook needs little introduction. The Meta-owned site is the world’s most popular social media platform, with a whopping 2.96 billion monthly active users. To put it in perspective, that’s roughly 37% of people on the planet.

This alone is reason enough to add Facebook to your digital fundraising arsenal, but over and above that, it appeals to a broad demographic. 25 -34-year-olds make up the lion’s share of its audience, followed by 18- to 24-year-olds.

But it’s also the social media platform of choice for the 50+ market.

It’s also worth noting that over 7 million people in the UK have donated to a good cause via Facebook, through birthday fundraisers, virtual challenge events, tribute fundraisers, and the trusty donate button (more about that later).

Instagram in numbers

The third most popular social media site after Facebook and YouTube, Instagram boasts 2 billion monthly active users.   

As with Facebook, the largest share of users is the 25-34 age group, followed by 18–24-year-olds.  

How can Facebook & Instagram be used for fundraising?

You can generate income in various ways on both platforms, but to do so you need to apply to use Meta’s fundraising tools. Once approved, you’ll be able to use the tools, enable supporters to fundraise on your behalf, and access detailed fundraising analytics.

Bear in mind, applications take 2-3 weeks to be reviewed.

Here’s a step by step guide to applying.

Tip: To use the fundraising tools on Instagram, you need to have an Instagram business account and link it to your Facebook account.

What are the various fundraising tools?

Charity page fundraisers

The ‘fundraiser’ tool enables you to create dedicated fundraising pages which can be promoted and shared to encourage donations.

You can personalise your page with a cover photo, description, and fundraising goal.

The beauty of fundraisers is, every time someone donates, they are prompted to share the page with friends. These shares contain a donate button, making it easy for recipients to donate straight from their news feed.

Once you’re approved to use Meta’s fundraising tools, your supporters can set up fundraisers on your behalf. Birthday fundraisers can be particularly lucrative. Just ask UK based charity, Sands. The stillbirth and neo natal death charity raised £68,000 in one month from Facebook birthday fundraisers alone!

Tip: To enable people to raise money on your behalf, you need to have Facebook Fundraising turned on. Find out how to do this here.

On Instagram, you can add fundraisers to posts and reels (60-second videos), but bear in mind, you can only do the latter on a mobile phone or Ipad. 

Tip: If your Instagram profile is set to public, your fundraiser will be visible to anyone. If it’s private, only people who follow you will be able to see it and donate.

Donate button

This tool does what it says on the tin – it provides a quick and easy way for supporters to contribute to your cause.

On Facebook, you can add a donate button to your profile, posts, paid ads, and Live videos. On Instagram, you can add a button to your profile, but for stories (15-second videos) and reels, you’ll need to create a donation sticker.

Tip: Before you can add a donate button to either app, you'll need to sign up for Meta Pay.

Facebook and Instagram Live

Live video is a powerful way to reach, engage with, and inspire people to donate.

You can use it to (for example), tell stories that explain your mission, raise awareness of your cause, or explain how donors’ money is being spent.

You can even stream live fundraising events, as Facebook Live content can be streamed for up to 8 hours, and Instagram Live up to 4 hours.

Viewers can react, comment, and ask questions during live streams on both platforms, giving you a prime opportunity to engage with them. 

Tip: On Facebook, a recording of the stream will be published to your page automatically once the live stream ends, but you’ll need to share your Instagram streams manually.

Fundraising insights dashboard

Another handy tool in Meta’s fundraising arsenal is the Fundraiser Insights Dashboard. You can use it to measure the progress of your fundraising campaigns and donations made to your organisation. The information is updated in real time.

To access your dashboard, click ‘Fundraisers’, then select ‘Insights.’

You can learn how to use your dashboard here.

Final Word

Facebook and Instagram are behemoths in the social media world. If you’re not taking advantage of their immense influence and reach, use this guide to get started!

If you’re looking for a digital savvy fundraiser to help, give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or info@bamboofundraising.co.uk.