Much of fundraising revolves around getting people motivated to go out and sell something. Whether it's candy bars, advertising in a booklet, or magazine subscriptions, you need to keep those people producing. That's not always easy, especially since you're probably dealing with volunteers who aren't getting paid, and have agreed to help out just because they believe in your cause.

 

How do you keep them producing? The first thing to realize is that burnout is a real thing, and it happens often and very quickly. As such, it's important to have realistic expectations. Your volunteers may enjoy going out for a few hours a week with a group to sell your fundraising product, but if you ask them to put in more hours, it suddenly stops being fun. It starts becoming work, and that's when it all starts to fall apart.   

 

Keeping them motivated also revolves around keeping the sales function social. Simply asking people to sell your fundraising product on their own isn't going to generate a lot of interest. Fundraising efforts, or any type of volunteer work for that matter, is always done best in groups.

When two or more people are working together, it becomes less of a project, and more of a social outing. Whenever possible, organize your sales outings in groups, with two or more people always working together.

 

And while you're trying to keep it social and fun, try to bring together all of your salespeople at least once a week for an event that doesn't involve selling anything. Make it purely fun and social. People like to volunteer often because it's a social thing to do. They're looking to make new friends and acquaintances, or possibly expand their circle of business contacts.

Those are all very legitimate reasons to volunteer, and you have to fulfill that need. When you have a once-a-week social gathering of your sales volunteers, you give them that opportunity, and it doesn't have to cost your organization anything. While it's always great when the organization foots the bill for a night out on the town, even a night out on the town when everybody pays for themselves is still fun.

 

And even though you're working with volunteer salespeople, and they're not expecting to be paid, some sort of reward is always in order. Even small rewards, such as a tee-shirt, cap, or coffee mug, is always appreciated, and makes the work worthwhile.

Spend a few dollars to get some coffee mugs made up at your local specialty print shop, and have the mugs imprinted with the name of your group and slogan, like "World's Best Volunteer" on it. While it may also be a good idea to award things like this for high levels of production, make sure that everyone involved gets something. Even the low producers are still producers, and need to be appreciated.

 

Another way to keep them motivated is simply to keep them "in the loop". Make sure your sales volunteers know exactly how much money is being generated as a result of their own, and the group's cumulative efforts, and make sure they know what that money is going to be used for.

Keep a tote board or some sort of large poster with your goal clearly stated, and show how close you are getting to that goal every day. Make changes to the board every day so everyone can see the progress that is being made.

 

Lastly, you can keep them motivated by finding out what their own reasons are for volunteering. They may be helping out just for altruistic reasons, but often, people have other reasons as well. They may be looking for a social experience, or they may be looking for something they can put on their resume.

It could be that they are seeing it as a learning experience. For example, if your group is involved in an ecological cause, they may be trying to learn more about what you do and what can be done to protect the environment. Perhaps they are finishing a college degree in that field, and want some practical experience. Find out, and try your best to make sure their needs are being met.