Many nonprofits hesitate to ask volunteers for donations. But research shows that volunteers are not only willing to give, but they’re also among your most loyal and generous supporters. In fact, when monetary donation rates were at their lowest in Q1 2024, volunteers made up over half (55%) of remaining donors.
The key is to shift your mindset: Inviting volunteers to give financially isn’t asking more of them—it’s offering another meaningful way to support the mission they already believe in.
In this guide, we’ll share 7 proven ways to turn volunteers into donors without damaging relationships or overstepping boundaries
Summary: Financial giving isn't asking "more" from volunteers, it's offering another meaningful way to support the cause they already believe in.
The 7 strategies to Turn Volunteers into Donors:
- Reframe giving as natural extension: Present donations as complementing volunteer time, not replacing it
- Create a distinct volunteer-donor segment: Tag dual supporters in your CRM and send targeted communications acknowledging both contributions
- Integrate giving into volunteer experience: Add donation prompts to registration pages, confirmation emails, and volunteer portals
- Launch volunteer giving circles: Create exclusive monthly donor clubs starting at $5-15/month with mission-aligned perks
- Train volunteer leaders to make asks: Equip peer volunteers with gentle scripts for authentic, non-transactional requests
- Give volunteer donors strategic input: Include them in advisory councils and campaign development since they understand both operational and financial needs
- Integrate volunteer and donor data: Create unified supporter profiles showing complete contribution history for personalized communications
Why Should You Develop Volunteer Donorship Relationships?
Volunteers already believe in your mission—they give you their time, energy, and skills. That makes them some of your best donor prospects.
Inviting volunteers to give financially can also be deeply respectful. It allows you to honor the full extent of their support and gives them the opportunity to deepen their relationship with the cause they already care so deeply about.
How to Foster Volunteer Donorship
Ready to supercharge your volunteer donorship program? Here are seven ways to develop long-term giving relationships with volunteers, beyond one-time campaign asks.
1. Reframe Giving as a Natural Continuation of Volunteer Commitment
Financial support isn’t “more” giving, it’s another form of the same commitment. It doesn’t replace their time, it complements it.
Instead of looking at donating as separate from volunteering, be sure to:
- Connect the dots: When discussing organizational needs or impact stories, explicitly mention how both volunteer hours and financial contributions work together to create change (i.e., "Thanks to Maria's 20 hours of tutoring AND her $500 donation, we were able to provide books for every student in the program.").
- Re-align: Talk to your board and leadership team about recognizing time and money as intertwined expressions of support, not tradeoffs.
- Highlight: Showcase volunteers (in nonprofit newsletters, social media, etc.) who have provided monetary support in addition to giving their time.
2. Identify and Celebrate Volunteer Donors as a Distinct Segment
Nonprofits often separate supporters into neat categories—volunteers over here, donors over there. But many of your most mission-aligned champions are both. And when you nurture those dual relationships intentionally, you build a more resilient, more connected base of support.
To do this, be sure to:
- Tag them in your CRM or volunteer platform: Use a tag like (e.g., "dual supporter") so you can easily identify and communicate with this high-value segment.
- Send targeted communications: Ensure that your communications reference both forms of their support: "Thank you for your 8 hours at the food bank last month AND your generous $250 gift—together, they helped us serve 400 families."
- Send custom reports: Tools like Get Connected can help you track both their hours and giving totals, and create custom reports to showcase their full impact. Send them directly to supporters or even to your entire supporter base (depending on the report).
Learn more about Get Connected's Volunteer Program Report
3. Seamlessly Integrate Giving Into the Volunteer Experience
Rather than treating giving as a separate path, weave it into the volunteer journey. When donation opportunities appear naturally within the volunteer experience, they feel like logical next steps rather than interruptions or added pressure.
To do this, be sure to:
- Prompt donations on volunteer registration or event pages: Add a donation pop-up with simple language like "Round up your registration with a $25 donation to cover supplies" or "Add $10 to sponsor materials for another volunteer" for simple and easy giving.
- Add donation prompts in automated shift confirmation or thank-you emails: Include popup messages like "Want to support this program when you're not on-site? Here's how" that arrive when volunteers are already engaged and thinking about your mission.
- Place a donation button in your volunteer portal or dashboard: Position it where volunteers check schedules or log hours—it becomes a visible but non-intrusive option during their regular interactions.
- Create moment-specific giving opportunities: Tie requests to what volunteers just experienced with messages like "You just helped serve 50 meals—sponsor tomorrow's groceries for $75" or "After spending time with our literacy students, consider funding books for the classroom library."
- Offer "continuation donations": Let volunteers extend their impact between shifts with options like "Can't make it to next week's event? Send your support ahead with a $40 donation that covers supplies for the volunteers who can attend."
4. Introduce a Volunteer Giving Circle or Monthly Club
Create a donor program just for volunteers who give financially. This approach acknowledges their dual commitment while making financial giving feel accessible and community-oriented.
To do this, be sure to:
- Set an exclusive low-barrier recurring gift option: Start with $5-15/month options that feel manageable, positioned as "Keep making impact between shifts."
- Make joining seamless: Promote the circle during volunteer orientations, include sign-up options in volunteer newsletters, and have staff mention it casually during shifts.
- Offer mission-aligned perks that volunteers value: Provide behind-the-scenes program updates, quarterly "coffee chat" sessions with program staff, early access to volunteer opportunities, or invitations to volunteer appreciation events.
5. Train Volunteer Leaders to Make the Ask Respectfully
Most giving invites shouldn't come from a staff member—they should come from someone who understands the volunteer mindset.
Peer-to-peer requests feel more authentic and less transactional because they come from someone who shares the volunteer experience and can speak genuinely about why both time and money matter.
Here’s how to do this:
- Set boundaries and comfort levels: Make it clear that some volunteer leaders may not feel comfortable making asks, and that's perfectly fine—identify those who are natural connectors and focus training efforts there.
- Provide gentle giving scripts to volunteer leads: Equip them with natural conversation starters like "If you're ever interested in supporting the program financially, we have a small monthly donor club" or "I also give $20 a month because I see how much impact we could have with a little extra funding."
- Role-play comfortable scenarios: Practice conversations during volunteer leader meetings, focusing on natural moments like after a particularly impactful shift or when discussing program needs that volunteers have witnessed firsthand.
6. Give Volunteer Donors a Voice in Your Strategy
Volunteers who also give are deeply invested in your success and should feel like partners in your mission, not just supporters. Their dual perspective—understanding both the hands-on work and financial realities—makes their input invaluable for creating sustainable programs.
To do this, be sure to:
- Ask for feedback: Create quarterly check-ins specifically for volunteer donors, asking questions like "What program needs do you see during your volunteer shifts?" and "How can we better communicate our funding priorities?"
- Co-create your next volunteer fundraising campaign with them: Involve volunteer donors in developing messaging, identifying funding priorities, and even helping design campaign materials since they know what resonates with other volunteers.
- Create a volunteer donor advisory council: Establish a formal group that meets 2-3 times per year to provide strategic input on both volunteer program development and fundraising approaches.
7. Integrate Volunteer and Donor Data for Full-Funnel Relationship Building
If your systems don't talk to each other, neither will your engagement strategies. Disconnected data leads to missed opportunities, duplicate communications, and volunteers who feel like you don't recognize their full contribution to your mission.
Instead, be sure to:
- Integrate your volunteer data with your donor data: Create unified supporter profiles that show both volunteer hours and donation history, enabling personalized communication that acknowledges their complete relationship with your organization.
- Create automated workflows that recognize dual supporters: Set up communications that trigger based on combined volunteer and donor activity, ensuring no one falls through the cracks.
- Generate comprehensive impact reports: Show volunteer donors their total contribution—hours served, money donated, and combined impact—in year-end summaries that celebrate their full commitment.
Not sure if you’ve got the right tools? Get a free tech audit from Get Connected to find out →
Developing Volunteer Donorship Relationships with Get Connected
Converting volunteers into donors is easier than acquiring donors from the outside. These people are already invested in your cause — all you have to do is show them that it's worth going the extra mile.
Get Connected's volunteer management platform makes it easier to foster volunteer donorship with:
- Unified supporter profiles that integrate volunteer hours with donation history for personalized outreach
- Built-in donation prompts on registration pages, confirmation emails, and volunteer dashboards
- Advanced segmentation to identify and nurture dual supporters with targeted communications
- Automated workflows that trigger personalized thank-yous and giving opportunities based on volunteer activity
- Comprehensive impact reports showing volunteers their total contribution—time plus money—reinforcing their complete commitment
Ready to turn your most engaged volunteers into your most generous donors? Schedule a free demo to learn more.