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Nonprofit Marketing: Making the Most of Alumni Volunteers by Melanie R. Negrin
How good are you at keeping in touch with your volunteers? Do you stay with them over a lifetime the way that colleges and universities do? Do you engage their support in word-of-mouth advertising and direct mail efforts? Do you ensure that they have the volunteer experience of a lifetime and then engage their ongoing assistance through powerful marketing communications?
I speak from experience when I say that each of these makes a difference. As a youth, I volunteered at Camp Ramapo, a sleep-away camp for special needs and high-risk children. During my four weeks as a bunk and learning counselor, I connected so deeply with the 4-6 year olds I met there and the staff I shared the experience with that I cried the first week from feeling beaten-down by these children with difficult lives and emotional, behavioral, and learning problems, and I cried the last week, knowing how deeply I had made a difference in the lives of these children and how sad it was to send them back to a damaging home environment. The pictures of my time at camp, learning, teaching, and being transformed by the experience, bring back fond memories despite the non-luxurious accommodations and heart-wrenching work.
The experience was so challenging and rewarding that I remember every detail - taking walks in the woods singing songs like "The ants go marching one by one, hoorah, hoorah", helping children get clean, creating individualized lesson plans, helping a child named Cameron work through his pain with the help of a caring ear and a set of colors, doing laundry, and singing songs at the talent show (songs which to this day remind me of camp). The songs and books I fell in love with at camp I now read to my own children.
The skills and knowledge I gained there also stay with me, from disciplining my children (and knowing which type of discipline is best for which type of behavior) to organizing lessons and creatively brainstorming new art projects for them. Camp Ramapo was much more than an extension of my studies in psychology and a way to provide service.
Do you create that kind of volunteer experience?
Always accessible and open to ideas from volunteers and clients was the camp director, Bernie, and even though it has been over 10 years since I volunteered at Camp Ramapo, Bernie keeps me engaged. The camp sends out regular invitations to fundraisers and alumni events as well as a compelling newsletter filled with photos, stories, and poetry of volunteer camp counselors and the children they've helped. More recently, the camp asked its alumni to forward donation requests to friends and family as a new alternative to help the camp raise funds. The inspired and persuasive efforts, coupled with my initial experience at camp, keep me engaged and provide multiple ways to reconnect.
How do you bring alumni support back to your organization? Take some time to think about what experience you offer from end to end. Be sure that it is one that forges a deep bond and allows your volunteers to see (or feel) your organization's direct impact.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Melanie R. Negrin is Managing Director and Lead Copywriter for Merocuné Marketing & Public Relations, a marketing communications firm specializing in building community awareness and support for non profit organizations and entrepreneurial businesses. Contact her at 973.252.2409 or melanie@merocune.com.
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© 2006-2008 Melanie R. Negrin, All Rights Reserved |
