How Employment Data Enhances Volunteerism, Increases Revenue

How Employment Data Enhances Volunteerism, Increases Revenue

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Did you know that nonprofits using donor employment data see increased volunteer engagement and new revenue opportunities compared to those relying on traditional outreach? For organizations today, more is expected with fewer resources, and finding new ways to engage volunteers and raise funds is critical. However, the answer may be hidden in your own supporter records.

Many organizations work tirelessly to recruit volunteers, run campaigns, and forge partnerships. Still, they often miss opportunities to strategically leverage the professional connections, skills, and corporate partnerships already present within their own network. For nonprofit professionals responsible for volunteer programs, the challenge is not just recruiting more people; it’s finding those with the right skills, connecting with supportive employers, and creating sustainable revenue streams.

The solution? Using donor employment data to illuminate untapped resources and guide more innovative strategies.

In this post, we’ll show you how to:

Donor employment data is information about where your supporters work, what roles they hold, and the professional networks they bring. By integrating this into your volunteer and donor management, you can identify new recruitment opportunities, tailor messaging, approach employers for strategic partnerships, and maximize revenue from employer sponsorship and giving programs.

This approach isn’t theoretical; it’s a proven way to make your existing efforts more targeted and effective. Let’s dive in and see how you can put donor employment data to work for your mission.

Identify and Engage High-Value Volunteers Using Employment Data

When you know where your supporters work, you can transform your volunteer program from a numbers game into an innovative, skill-based network. After all, employment data helps you discover who in your community has expertise, connections, and potential for greater involvement.

1. Gather and Enrich Donor Employment Data

Start by assessing how much employment information you currently have. Check your CRM for fields such as employer and job title. If your records are incomplete, develop a plan to fill the gaps. This might include:

  • Updating Your Donor Forms: Add optional fields for “Employer” and “Occupation” in all donation and volunteer signup forms. Explain that this information helps connect volunteers to meaningful skill-based projects.
  • Running a Data Audit: Export your current records and identify missing information. Contact supporters with a brief, respectful survey to update their employment details.
  • Leveraging Technology: Use platforms like LinkedIn or specialized enrichment tools to supplement your records. Always ensure you follow data privacy best practices and explain how this data supports the organization’s mission.

2. Segment Supporters by Employer and Skill Set

Once you have reliable data, segment your database by employer and professional expertise. For example, you could:

  • Create Target Lists: Identify supporters working at organizations with a history of philanthropy or companies with existing volunteer grant programs. Then, group volunteers by industry or skill set for future outreach.
  • Map Skills to Your Needs: Cross-reference supporters’ backgrounds with your skill gaps. For example, if you need help with social media, identifying donors in communications or tech can go a long way.
  • Highlight High-Potential Employers: Prioritize outreach to supporters working at large companies or local businesses active in corporate volunteerism.

3. Engage with Personalization and Purpose

By leveraging employer information, you can connect with volunteers who have expertise in areas crucial to your organization’s needs, transforming their participation into lasting, high-value contributions. Here are a few ideas for getting started:

  • Tailored Invitations: Reach out with clear, personalized asks that fit each supporter’s background. For instance, “Your expertise in accounting could help us improve our budgeting for community programs.”
  • Co-create Projects: Involve key prospects in project planning. Their input increases buy-in and can lead to ongoing engagement.
  • Show Impact: Follow up to share the difference their volunteerism makes, using data and stories.

Real-World Example

The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati added an employer lookup feature to its volunteer registration forms using Double the Donation. This integration enabled them to see where volunteers worked, connect them to relevant employer grants, and create tailored opportunities. The result was not only a surge in volunteer grant applications but also improved staff efficiency and more personalized volunteer engagement.

Understanding where your supporters work is the foundation for all subsequent strategy. With the correct data in hand, you can take the next step: building relationships with those employers for maximum impact.

Build Strategic Corporate Volunteer Partnerships

Donor employment data opens the door to mutually beneficial partnerships with local and national businesses. Corporate volunteerism initiatives create new opportunities for skills-based volunteering, sponsorship, and ongoing engagement.

1. Identify Volunteer “Champions” and Target Employers

To effectively engage high-value volunteers, start by identifying clusters within your volunteer and donor data. Look for supporters who work at the same company, prioritizing employers with multiple engaged individuals. These clusters can help you pinpoint potential advocates for your cause.

From there, focus on donors who have shown strong enthusiasm, such as repeat volunteers, workplace campaign contributors, or frequent event attendees. Reach out to these individuals to see if they would be willing to champion your cause within their workplace. By creating internal partnerships with these “champions,” you can tap into a powerful network of influence.

Inviting them to join planning committees or help promote events internally can amplify your message, as their endorsement is often far more persuasive than external outreach.

2. Research and Understand Employer Priorities

Every company has its own approach to philanthropy and volunteering. To build meaningful partnerships, consider the following expert practices:

  • Research Company Programs: Review companies’ corporate social responsibility or community engagement pages. Gather details about their volunteer time off, matching gifts, or volunteer grant policies.
  • Investigate Grant Potential: Use a volunteer grant database to identify employers that offer financial support when their staff volunteers.
  • Align Missions: Craft your proposals around the employer’s philanthropic focus, such as education, community welfare, or sustainability.

3. Pitch and Launch Collaborative Projects

When pitching collaborative projects, it’s important to tailor your approach by leveraging the data you’ve gathered to demonstrate the impact of previous volunteer efforts. For example, you could highlight how “volunteers from your company contributed 100 hours last quarter,” making the case for future involvement.

Present clear and specific opportunities for skill-based group volunteering or project sponsorship, showing how these efforts align with both the company’s and your organization’s goals. Additionally, offer value to the company by bundling benefits such as public recognition, co-branded events, or the opportunity to share stories in the company’s internal communications.

It’s also wise to start small by proposing pilot projects or one-day events to establish a partnership, then build toward larger, ongoing collaborations once mutual value is proven.

4. Maintain and Deepen Partnerships

Once you have corporate relationships at your disposal, make sure you’re putting in the work to maintain and deepen those partnerships over time. This might include:

  • Reporting on Outcomes: Schedule regular feedback and impact reports on corporate volunteer efforts. Thank both the company and the internal champion.
  • Evolving Together: After each collaboration, discuss what worked and how you can grow together. Stay open to new event formats, challenges, or skills-based projects.

Here’s an Example: Imagine discovering that ten of your supporters work at a tech firm known for employee volunteerism. By connecting with these individuals, you set up a recurring “Tech for Good” day. Over three years, you double your volunteer hours and receive sponsorship for a youth STEM program.

The key was starting with data, then building genuine, mutually beneficial relationships.

Personalize Outreach for Greater Impact

Generic emails and mass appeals often go unnoticed. But with donor employment data, you can make every communication relevant, timely, and authentic, thereby building stronger relationships and increasing overall participation.

Check out the following tips and tricks for doing so:

1. Customize Messaging by Employer and Role

  • Reference Specific Employers: Open invitations by naming the supporter’s workplace. For example, “As part of [Company], you have access to volunteering grants that can multiply your impact.”
  • Highlight Professional Expertise: Match volunteer openings to skills (“Our annual event team could benefit from your logistics experience”).
  • Call Out Employer Support: Mention if the company offers volunteer recognition or matches service hours with grants. (“If you volunteer 10 hours with our organization, your company will provide a $200 grant!”)

2. Segment Communication for Better Engagement

  • Create Segmented Lists: Use your CRM or workplace giving tool to send customized messages to supporters by employer, industry, or skill set.
  • Social Media Groups: Form LinkedIn or Facebook groups for volunteers from specific sectors, sharing opportunities that best fit their abilities.
  • Test Engagement Strategies: Try different email subject lines or calls to action to see what resonates, using data to improve results as you go along.

3. Recognize Individual and Employer Contributions

  • Spotlight Stories: Feature volunteer spotlights in newsletters, highlighting individuals from key employers. Include photos and testimonials, with permission, to demonstrate social proof.
  • Acknowledge Employer Participation: Use social media shout-outs and events to recognize companies that support your mission through volunteerism and beyond. Tag the company and encourage staff participation.
  • Follow Up With Results: After events, send impact recaps that show how their involvement contributed to your goals.

Unlock Revenue Through Employer Giving and Match Programs

Most nonprofits underutilize the full potential of employer giving programs. Knowing where your donors and volunteers work allows you to efficiently connect them to matching gifts, volunteer grants, and other corporate support opportunities.

1. Spot Matching Gift and Volunteer Grant Opportunities

  • Cross-Reference Your Data: Identify which supporters work at companies with established volunteer grant programs, as well as other giving initiatives like matching gifts, payroll giving, volunteer time off, and more.
  • Leverage Automation Tools: Implement volunteer grant automation tools like Double the Donation, which identify eligible companies and prompt supporters at the right time.
  • Maintain an Updated List: Regularly refresh your internal database and share current employer opportunities with your team.

2. Educate and Guide Supporters

Awareness remains a significant barrier. Most employees are unaware that their companies offer giving programs tied to volunteering. In order to combat this lack of knowledge, consider these expert-proven tips:

  • Promote Programs Early: Feature information about matching gifts on donation, registration, and thank-you pages.
  • Provide Step-by-Step Instructions: Guide supporters through the process of logging hours or submitting volunteer grant requests, ideally with direct links or screenshots.
  • Host Information Sessions: Organize occasional webinars or Q&A events to demystify employer giving for your community.

3. Automate and Remind

Automation ensures you never miss an opportunity.

  • Set Up Automated Nudges: Use your CRM to send emails after each donation or volunteer event, reminding supporters to check for employer matching or volunteer grants.
  • Integrate Search Tools: Add an easy-to-use volunteer grant database to your site so supporters can instantly see whether they’re eligible and even take next steps to participate.

4. Celebrate Employer Giving Success

Don’t let engagement drop off after the volunteer grant is received! Instead, be sure to maintain involvement by:

  • Sharing Results Publicly: Use newsletters and social media to thank companies and report total funds raised through employer programs, such as volunteer grants and more.
  • Acknowledging Both Volunteer and Employer: Personalized thank-yous are mighty for both individuals and their supporting companies.

Measure, Refine, and Scale Your Volunteer Impact

Sustainable success relies on continuous improvement. Tracking, analyzing, and acting on your donor employment data helps you identify what’s working while staying agile enough to pivot strategies as needs change.

1. Set and Track Measurable Metrics

  • Choose Your KPIs: Common benchmarks include the number of volunteers recruited via employment outreach, hours served by supporters from key employers, employer grants secured, and volunteer retention rates.
  • Build Robust Dashboards: Use your CRM, business intelligence tools, or workplace giving platform to create live dashboards that visualize progress, such as “Top Employers by Volunteer Grants” or “Year-over-Year Growth in Corporate Participation.”
  • Monitor Communication Effectiveness: Track email open rates, click-through rates, and engagement stats for segmented campaigns related to corporate volunteer opportunities.

2. Analyze Performance and Share Learnings

  • Schedule Quarterly Reviews: Hold regular meetings with staff to review data trends and adjust strategies for underperforming areas.
  • Align Teams: Share findings across fundraising, volunteer, and communications teams so everyone is working toward the same goals.
  • Spot Opportunities for Growth: If a particular company provides more grant funds or volunteers, explore ways to deepen or expand that partnership.

3. Refine and Expand Strategies

  • Test New Ideas: Experiment with new outreach tactics, like personalized annual impact reports for top companies or specialized volunteering events.
  • Iterate Quickly: If a campaign isn’t delivering results, tweak your messaging or switch focus to more productive employer partnerships.
  • Document Best Practices: As you refine your approach, codify successful tactics so new staff or volunteers can build on your progress.

For example, suppose your data reveals that targeted annual reports drive a 40% increase in volunteer grant applications from tech-sector staff. Rolling this tactic out more broadly could multiply your revenue and engagement. This ongoing, data-driven refinement helps maintain momentum and positions your organization as a leader in evidence-based volunteer management.

Now that you have a measurement framework in place, you’re prepared for lasting success and a continuous cycle of improvement.

Conclusion

Employment data is more than a field in your database. It’s a strategic asset that advances every part of your volunteer program, from targeted outreach and skill-based recruitment to building robust corporate partnerships and unlocking new revenue streams. By integrating employer information into every interaction, you create a data-driven flywheel: one that increases volunteer engagement, deepens relationships, and grows support for your mission.

Start by auditing your existing data and updating your forms to collect employment information. Next, take one strategy from this guide, whether it’s personalized outreach or exploring volunteer grant automation for nonprofits, and put it into action this quarter.

The power to transform your volunteer program and raise more revenue is already at your fingertips. All it takes is data-driven action.