Striving for success during the recession can be daunting, but when you tap into the power of volunteering, everybody – the volunteers, nonprofits and the community – wins.

Nonprofits should know that volunteering is not just advantageous to them, but also to the volunteers themselves.  Here are some tips on how to recruit, manage and retain volunteers:

1.    Define the role
2.    Don’t waste your time on people who aren’t a good fit
3.    Get them motivated
4.    Be flexible
5.    Recognize their important contribution

Learn more about these tips in the full article, found here, by recent casualty of mass layoffs in the media industry and current volunteer Maya Roney Zioboro from Philanthropy Journal.

We’d like to hear from organizations and volunteers alike on our FORUMS.  Organizations, what do you do to retain your volunteers?  Volunteers, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your philanthropy projects?

By Carl Ho, CPA from Blue Avocado

Segregation of duties can be difficult to implement in the organization that has perhaps three or fewer staff members or only a few active board members in an all-volunteer organization.

The following are the five most important, most do-able controls for small groups:

1.    Set the control environment
2.    Define clearly who is responsible for what
3.    Place physical controls
4.    Count all cash together
5.    Reconcile the bank statement

These controls, along with others, can be found in the full article, found here.

Does your organization use additional controls or do you have comments on those found in the article?  Please post your response on the FORUMS.

Here’s a common question: If we hire a director of development (a fundraiser), how long before that position pays for itself?

Certainly, funding is a legitimate concern, but other pertinent matters must be considered when hiring a director of development. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether your organization is truly prepared for this move.

* Are we willing to spend time along with money?
* Is our board engaged in fundraising?
* Do we have a plan?
* Have we considered existing resources?
* Have we reviewed our results?

The full article, found here, offers some great advice about organizational readiness for having a Director of Development on staff. 

Does your organization have a Director of Development?  Tell us about your experience and how your organization made the decision to fill this position at our FORUMS.