Don't waste their precious time


While it's true that volunteers can save you money, it's also true that money can save you volunteers. Too often, volunteers end up doing tasks that could have been done more effectively by companies that have special equipment to do boring rote jobs quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.

Managing scant resources is a challenge to all voluntary organizations, but resources include more than money.

The next time you consider using volunteers for a mass mailing (or other large-scale menial activity), do this test:

1. Get a quote from a letter shop company for the project.
2. Calculate how many volunteer hours it would take. (Don't forget to add an additional 33-50% for volunteer coordination, and allow for no-shows).
3. Divide the quoted cost by the number of volunteer hours. This will let you know the value you're assigning to each volunteer-hour.

For an example, see the accompanying chart. You might discover that using volunteers has saved the project only a small amount - maybe only a dollar or two per hour. Wouldn't it be better to pay the contractor and leave your volunteers free to do more important things - things machines can't do? In this example, getting your volunteers to stuff envelopes converts their labor time to $2.26 per hour. Could their time be more profitably spent elsewhere?

For some rote jobs it's more than your volunteers' time that's being compromised - certain jobs just can't be done quickly or reliably by volunteers. While some costs might be saved, the cost of a missed deadline or incomplete project could outweigh the meager savings of some volunteer work.

But volunteer activities are fun, you say - a team, group and character builder. Yes, but for many volunteers, activities are more fun if they're meaningful. Give your volunteers work that uses their real skills and they'll stay with you longer. That way everyone comes out ahead.

Volunteer Waster Alert list
Large mailings
Stuffing envelopes is the quintessential volunteer activity, but it's probably a bad use of your resources. If you're mailing more than 1,000 pieces, asking volunteers to stuff envelopes is a sure loser. Machine letter shop services range from three cents to seven cents each piece for a four-piece mailing. Using volunteers to do it converts their labor time into about $2 per hour - if you're lucky.

Postal drops
The post office is actually very efficient. Postal walk rates of seven cents for unaddressed mail means that a drop of 10,000 pieces costs only $700. It would take weeks of volunteer effort to get this done, and it certainly wouldn't be as reliable. Post office competitors can be cheaper still.

Phone number look-up
Sending your phone numbers out to a service in your area (usually a subsidiary of the phone company) costs between six cents and 25 cents per name. You also get the benefit of data that is updated every month. Phone directories are from three to 15 months out of date.

Fundraising phoning
Pay someone to do it if you have a lot of calls. While telemarketing can be expensive, the extra results a professional caller gets should more than make up for it. On large programs with good lists, making sure you get through the list can be far more important to your success than saving on costs.



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