June 26, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
Volunteers of America
How much it raised in 2010: $98-million, a 1.8-percent increase from 2009
What it did: Stepped-up training in fund raising for the charity’s leaders and staff and board members, including a new “boot camp” for staff members around the country to learn how to solicit gifts.
Results: Inspired by ideas presented at the boot camp, Volunteers of America Chesapeake, an affiliate that covers the Baltimore, Virginia Beach, and Washington metropolitan areas, established a new online fund-raising campaign in December called “Courtney’s Quest: 15 Days of Giving.” The group took videos featuring the chapter’s programs and clients and posted them on social networks during the holiday season. Courtney Dunn, the group’s communications director, was the host for the campaign, which raised $75,000 in just one month.
The takeaway lesson: Staff members from across the country are realizing that fund raising is just as important as providing services and pursuing the mission of the organization, “especially in this time of government-funding uncertainty,” says Shelley Goode, vice president of development at Volunteer of America’s headquarters in Alexandria, Va. She adds: “We have shown them, and will continue to demonstrate, that raising money is just as important to their mission of serving the needs of our clients as the direct services themselves.”
Outlook for 2011: The organization’s biggest concern is that donors will be tapped out by giving to the 2012 political campaigns and won’t support charitable causes, and it fears Congressional efforts to limit charitable tax breaks to balance the federal budget. However, it sees new corporate support, including money from the Home Depot Foundation, that pays for housing for homeless veterans, and Scholastic, which helps promote childhood literacy.
