Most small nonprofits handle volunteers at year-end in one of two ways. Some leave them off the appeal entirely because asking people who already give their time feels greedy. Others don’t think about it at all, so volunteers get the same letter as someone who gave $25 at a gala three years ago.
Both approaches miss something. Your volunteers are some of the most committed people connected to your organization. They belong in your year-end fundraising. What matters is whether your ask shows that you know what they already give.
Volunteers are already givers, just not always to you
Federal data on this has been consistent for years. When the Corporation for National and Community Service (now AmeriCorps) released its 2018 Volunteering in America findings, it reported that nearly 80 percent of volunteers donated to charity, compared to 40 percent of non-volunteers. AmeriCorps’ more recent 2023 Civic Engagement and Volunteering report found the same pattern: charitable giving rates are substantially higher among people who formally volunteer.
Notice what that number does and doesn’t say. It says volunteers are generous people. It doesn’t say they’re giving to your organization. Plenty of your volunteers may be writing year-end checks to their church, their alma mater, or the food bank down the street, while the place where they spend every Tuesday morning never asks.
Donor research points the same direction. In survey findings released in 2015, Fidelity Charitable reported that half of the volunteers among its donors said volunteering had inspired them to give more, and two out of five had volunteered with a charity before making a financial gift. Keep in mind that sample was made up of people who already give through a donor-advised fund, so it skews toward generous households. But it fits common sense. People who have seen your work up close have the clearest picture of what a gift would do.
Why the generic appeal is the wrong ask
Leaving volunteers off the list costs you gifts. Sending them the standard letter can cost you something else.
Imagine a volunteer who has spent two years sorting donations at your thrift store. In December she opens a letter that starts, “You may not know about the work we do in our community.” She knows more about your work than most of your board does. That letter tells her nobody connected her name to her service. For some volunteers, the problem isn’t being asked. It’s being asked by an organization that doesn’t seem to know who they are.
Susan J. Ellis, founder of the volunteer management firm Energize, made this point in an article back in 2004. She argued that volunteers can feel invisible when they get the same mass mailing as strangers, and that a well-handled request to volunteers can feel more like a thank-you than a solicitation. That’s the bar to aim for.
Start by finding out who your volunteers are
This is the unglamorous part, and it’s where most small shops get stuck. Volunteer records often live in a spreadsheet, a scheduling app, or the volunteer coordinator’s head. Donor records live in the CRM. The two lists rarely meet.
Before you write anything, match the lists. You’re looking for three groups:
- Volunteers who are also current donors. They gave in the last 12 to 24 months.
- Volunteers who have never given, or haven’t given in years.
- Former volunteers who served in the past couple of years but aren’t active now.
Here’s what that might look like. Imagine a food pantry with 1,100 donors and 140 active volunteers. When the development director matches the lists, she finds 40 volunteers who are current donors and 100 who aren’t. That’s 100 people who show up regularly and have never been asked properly, and they weren’t in this year’s appeal plan at all.
If even 15 of those 100 made a first gift averaging $60, that’s $900. Not a number that will change your year. But it’s 15 new donors who already know your work, and you didn’t pay to acquire any of them. Treat that as the real prize.
Write a version of your appeal just for volunteers
You don’t need a separate campaign. You need a separate version of the letter or email you’re already sending. A few changes do most of the work.
Open with their time, not your need. Thank them first, specifically, for something they’ve done. “Because of the 140 people who stock our shelves every week, we served 2,300 families this fall” lands differently with a volunteer than with a stranger, because they’re one of the 140.
Ask them to fund what their hands can’t do. Volunteers see the gaps. They know the freezer is too small or the van keeps breaking down. Your ask can name the things that time alone can’t cover: “You give us your Saturdays. This December, would you consider helping with the part of the work volunteers can’t do, like keeping the lights on and the trucks running?”
Say plainly that their time counts. Make it clear that a gift is welcome and that not giving changes nothing about how much you value them. One sentence is enough. Without it, some volunteers will wonder whether their shifts depend on their checkbook.
Use different ask amounts for each group. Volunteers who already give should get asks based on their giving history, just like any other donor. For volunteers who have never given, lower and simpler is better. A first gift is the goal. If you need help setting tiers, here’s how to choose ask amounts for your year-end appeal.
Have the right person sign it. If your volunteer coordinator knows these people by name and your executive director doesn’t, consider a short note from the coordinator alongside the letter, or a co-signed letter. The relationship is with the coordinator, so let that show.
What not to do
Don’t run a volunteer-only appeal three times between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. One well-written ask, plus a reminder in December email if they’re on your list, is plenty for people who haven’t given before. Current donors who volunteer can follow your normal schedule, but remember they’re getting an extra layer of contact from you every time they serve.
Don’t ask at the volunteer shift. Handing someone a pledge card at the end of a four-hour shift mixes two relationships in a way that can feel like pressure.
Don’t mention volunteer hours in the thank-you letter as if they were a gift amount. If a volunteer gives, thank them for the gift and for the time, separately and specifically.
And if a volunteer is also a board member or a regular major donor, they’re probably already on a more personal track. Don’t let a segment rule pull them into a form letter. If you’re unsure where those overlaps are, it’s worth reviewing whether donors who just gave should get your year-end appeal at the same time.
What to do this week
Ask your volunteer coordinator for the list of everyone who served at least once this year. Match it against your donor database by name and email. Count how many volunteers have never given. That single number will tell you whether a volunteer version of your appeal is worth building this year.
If it’s 10 people, a handwritten note from the coordinator may be all you need. If it’s 100, write the version. Either way, add a “volunteer” field in your CRM so you don’t have to rebuild this list next October.
When volunteers do make a first gift, the work isn’t over. Those are new donors, and new donors need attention after December. Here’s why year-end donors disappear by March and what to do about it.
If you’re planning the rest of your campaign and want a structure for it, my workbook Finish Strong: The 90-Day Year-End Fundraising Plan walks through planning and running a year-end campaign on a 13-week calendar. The worksheets build into a complete year-end plan, and there are AI prompts throughout to help you draft faster.
