Welcome to Volunteer Appreciation Month

Did you know that about 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2014 and September 2015?

Did you also know that April is Volunteer Appreciation Month?

Good job, volunteers! Keep up the good work. And good job to our dedicated nonprofit and exempt organizations who reach out and organize their volunteers!

While volunteering differs depending on the organization, we offer our appreciation to all of you out there who have taken your time and money to better our world!

How Can You as an Exempt Organization Show Your Appreciation?

Well, communicate with your volunteer base! Send out an email or a social media message that conveys your appreciation.

If you’re already following our guide to email marketing, this should be easy for you.

Reach out to a Local Company as a Partner

Let’s be honest, there are many benefits for businesses when it comes to volunteering. They can market their products and services through events and increase their appeal to the community by helping out.

For Volunteer Month, team up with a local company that could offer your volunteer base some cool perks. This could range from free swag to discounts, depending on what the local business does.

Everyone Loves a Good Meal

It turns out collecting, preparing, distributing, and serving food were the activities volunteers performed the most in 2015. Around 11 percent of volunteers reported this as their main activity, with teaching, fundraising, and general labor following, respectively.

Show your volunteers you appreciate their efforts by throwing them an appreciation banquet, cookout, or even a pizza party!

On top of everything, these events are the perfect opportunity to reconnect with and learn more about your volunteers.

What Makes Volunteers Tick?

Appreciative emails and cookouts aside, April gives you the perfect chance to learn more about your volunteer base.

How? By surveying your base, you can find out why they volunteer, what works as a call to action, and how you can make the process easier for them.

Some people would rather donate canned goods or funds, and some would rather use their time doing hands-on activities to better the organization. Do you know which volunteers are which? This is the time for you to find out!

Of course, we would like to extend our appreciation to both volunteers and nonprofits out there! Without your dedication and philanthropy, the world would be a darker place.

Don’t forget, if you’re an exempt organization running on a calendar year, you have a deadline for your tax return on May 15th. Whether you’re e-filing Form 990-N or the 990 long, we’re here to answer any questions you may come across. Just reach out to us at 704.839.2321 or Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

How are you going to appreciate your volunteers this month? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook and Twitter!

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3 Email Marketing Questions Every Nonprofit Should Ask

So you’ve set up a social media empire, and you’re producing stellar video content to impress your donors and board. What’s next for your nonprofit marketing campaign?

Have you thought about email?

Think about it—just about everyone you know has an email address. There has to be a way your nonprofit can tap into that market. So let’s break down some email marketing tips your tax exempt organization can use.

Why Should We Use Email Marketing?

The affordability of email marketing is reason enough! With an email marketing campaign, you have a lower price point since you avoid the costs of printing paper flyers. Not only that, your nonprofit keeps responsible outlook by reducing your paper footprint.

Email is a great option because of its ease of use and widespread use. These days, almost everybody has an email address, and they know how to check their email. There’s little confusion with a well crafted email that says “click here to donate.”

Because of the low price point, your organization can get a higher return on investment. Of course, you want to approach your emails in different ways depending on the kind they are.

How Should We Approach Email Marketing?

First things first, sign up for an email marketing service, and work the cost into your marketing budget. With your email marketing service, you can catalog and sort user email addresses by demographics. With each new donation you receive, you can obtain and build a bigger database to send future emails.

Once you’re ready to hit send, make sure you reach out to your donors with effective messaging. Try telling a story! Use your organization, your volunteers, or even those you help to get the message across. You can even update your audience with the comings and goings of your organization, while working in a plug for donations with subtlety.

Aim to keep it short and simple. Email marketing is for hundreds of words, not thousands. If you have a source of long form content you want your readers to see, include a link with a short synopsis instead. Remember, less is more – you want people to read and digest the email as fast as possible.

And most importantly, create a call to action - start and end with a call to action: donate now. click here, read this - don’t leave the email hanging.

How Do We Start?

There are quite a few options out there, and you’ll have to see what works best for you. For a more detailed approach, check out some of the email marketing guides provided by the services themselves.

Here are 3 guides to email marketing for nonprofits you should check out:

• The Nonprofit Email Marketing Guide (PDF)
• MailChimp for Nonprofits
• Basics of Email Marketing for Nonprofits (PDF)

Bonus Question: What Other Tips Do You Have?

First off, keep a calendar and a schedule for any of your campaigns. You can make a master calendar that includes your social media, video, and email efforts. After that, stay scheduled! With your email blasts, find organic opportunities to link back to your blogs, social media, and donation landing pages. Most of all, as you design your emails, ask yourself – would I read this email? Would I click that link?

With a strong email campaign, you can work wonders for your tax exempt organization. And when it’s time to file Form 990, we’ll be here to help you. If you have any questions, reach us by email, live chat, and 704.839.2321.

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