Your volunteers power your nonprofit’s mission, doing everything from working on your programs to helping out with fundraisers. Plus, some volunteers may be able to help your nonprofit even more without putting in any extra work.
With volunteer grants, your volunteers can multiply their contributions just by filling out a form. In this guide, we’ll answer essential questions about what volunteer grants are, break down the volunteer grant process, and take a look at a few examples of real-world volunteer grant programs.
Volunteer Grant FAQ
What are volunteer grants?
Volunteer grants are a type of corporate social responsibility where companies empower their employees to give back to their local communities through volunteering. To engage employees and motivate them to continue volunteering, companies donate to the nonprofits their employees volunteer with.
Volunteer grant amounts are usually based on the number of hours volunteered, but in general, volunteer grant programs follow one of these systems:
Per-hour rate
Per-hour volunteer grant programs are the most straightforward and the easiest to earn volunteer grants from. As the name implies, for every hour an employee volunteers, they’ll earn a set dollar amount for that nonprofit.
For example, a company might have a volunteer grant program that offers $10/hour, meaning if an employee spends their weekend volunteering eight hours, they’ll earn your nonprofit $80.
Per-hour programs usually have annual caps per employee. For example, if that same $10/hour program caps at $1,000, eligible supporters can keep volunteering after hitting 100 hours, but they won’t receive any more volunteer grants.
Flat amount
The majority of volunteer grant programs are flat amount-based. In this model, eligible employees must volunteer a minimum number of hours with the same nonprofit before receiving any funds. In exchange, they’ll earn a volunteer grant for a set amount.
For example, Allstate Insurance’s Helping Hands Grant provides employees with $500 volunteer grants after they volunteer for eight hours. Employees can do this twice a year to earn a total of $1,000 for nonprofit causes.
Tiers
Tier-based volunteer grant programs are like flat rate amounts where once employees hit a certain number of hours, they earn a volunteer grant. However, if these employees continue to volunteer enough to reach the next tier, they’ll earn a larger grant. For example, the Walt Disney Corporation EARS to You grant uses the following tier system:
- 10-24 hours → $100 grant
- 25-49 hours → $250 grant
- 50-74 hours → $500 grant
- 75-149 hours → $1,000 grant
- 150+ hours → $2,000 grant
Lottery
Rather than automatically awarding employees who volunteer a certain number of hours, some companies will enter employee volunteers into a lottery for volunteer grants. Several winners are chosen and those employees receive a volunteer grant for their chosen nonprofit.
For example, at Salesforce, employees who volunteer a certain number of hours are entered into a lottery system where 1,000 winners receive $500 for their nonprofit. Most companies offer employees one of these four types of volunteer grant programs, and some even have an additional team volunteer grant offering alongside their main program. For team volunteer grants, a group of employees can volunteer together to hit more hours and earn bigger awards collectively than they might otherwise be able to do alone.
How much can my nonprofit earn through volunteer grants?
Every volunteer grant program is different and has different award amounts and requirements. As such, it can be difficult to estimate how much a specific nonprofit can earn from volunteer grants. For example, one volunteer grant company might have a $10,000 annual maximum that’s reasonable for employees to hit while another might limit its contributions to $1,000 per employee per year.
However, chances are that most nonprofits not actively pursuing volunteer grants can earn more from these programs than they currently are. This is because, among eligible employees, the current participation rate for volunteer grants is just 3%. This means that there’s a good chance your nonprofit has several supporters who qualify for volunteer grants but have never claimed the funding they’ve earned for your cause.
How can my nonprofit secure volunteer grants?
Volunteer grants require eligible volunteers to:
- Be aware of the existence of volunteer grants.
- Research their eligibility.
- Volunteer with your nonprofit and record their hours.
- Fill out and submit a grant application to their employer.
On paper, these steps seem simple, but many volunteers need support from your nonprofit to see them through. For instance, your nonprofit can educate supporters about volunteer grants and give them the tools they need to research their eligibility, like a searchable corporate giving database.
Additionally, volunteers will only go the extra mile to apply for a volunteer grant if they have a positive experience volunteering at your nonprofit. Ensure your volunteers feel secure, fulfilled, and respected while helping your nonprofit, and always show your appreciation for the time they donate to your cause.
The Volunteer Grant Process
1. Supporters volunteer.
To qualify for a volunteer grant, supporters can just volunteer like normal. Whether they’re volunteering of their own volition, acting on a business incentive, or helping out as part of a corporate team volunteering activity, these accumulated hours can count toward a volunteer grant.
A few types of volunteering to keep in mind as you create opportunities for these volunteers include:
- Skills-based volunteering. Does your nonprofit have any roles that require specialized skills? If so, consider creating skills-based volunteer opportunities and partnering with businesses to fill them. This can earn your nonprofit professional help, create business connections, and earn volunteer grant hours.
- Volunteer time off. Encourage your supporters to check if they qualify for volunteer time off (VTO). VTO is paid time off reserved specifically for volunteer activities. Like volunteer grants, VTO often goes underutilized, so encourage your supporters to check their employers’ VTO policies to see if they qualify.
- Team volunteering. Many people volunteer to socialize and will do so alongside their friends and family. If you have any volunteers who are co-workers, encourage them to look into team volunteer grants. These grants tend to have larger payouts but require a higher number of hours.
Be sure to keep track of your volunteers’ hours both for your own records and to ensure the volunteer grant application process goes smoothly. Since almost all volunteer grant programs are based on hours, maintain an accurate record you can share with volunteers and their employers as needed.
2. Supporters check their eligibility.
Every company has different eligibility requirements for volunteer grants. However, a few common qualification guidelines include:
- Employment status. Full-time, part-time, and retired employees may all be eligible for volunteer grants. Additionally, some businesses also specify which levels of employees can apply for volunteer grants. For example, a retail giant might offer volunteer grants to executive-level employees but not retail workers.
- Nonprofit type. Some businesses place restrictions on what types of nonprofits they’ll support through volunteer grants. Some have strict limits, such as only providing grants to educational institutions, whereas others may support volunteer grants to any type of nonprofit. Most commonly, all types of nonprofits except political and religious organizations can receive volunteer grants.
- Hours volunteered. As discussed, volunteer programs are based on hours contributed to a nonprofit. If a volunteer has yet to hit a minimum hours requirement, they are not eligible for a volunteer grant.
Given how much eligibility requirements and program details vary from company to company, it may be impossible for nonprofits to provide their supporters with blanket eligibility guidelines. This is where volunteer grant databases come in.
Volunteer grant databases house information on volunteer grant programs, allowing users to enter a specific business’s name and find the details they need. This lets your supporters get the information that’s relevant to them in seconds.
Our recommended volunteer grant database is 360MatchPro. 360MatchPro is a volunteer grant and matching gift search tool that nonprofits can easily embed into their websites. With this tool, you can add an employer search tool to your volunteer page so volunteers can check their eligibility whenever they check up on your program details.
Plus, 360MatchPro has automated email follow-up tools. By enabling this feature, you can send reminder emails to your volunteers encouraging them to look into volunteer grants. For the volunteers who are eligible, your emails can encourage them to submit their grant application, driving more forms to completion and securing your nonprofit more volunteer grant revenue.
3. Volunteers complete their grant applications.
Once a volunteer verifies their eligibility, they can start filling out a grant application. Some corporate giving software, like 360MatchPro, will provide links straight to the relevant online forms. However, if your nonprofit has yet to invest in a volunteer grant database or the volunteer’s grant application isn’t immediately available, volunteers can log in to their employer’s CSR software.
The CSR software’s employee portal should have all the relevant resources employees need, including the grant application form. While every company has a unique application process, most forms will include these basic sections:
- Program guidelines. Most volunteer grant applications will begin with an overview of the program, specifying which employees and nonprofits are eligible. Ensure volunteers review guidelines these to confirm their grant application is correct and will be approved.
- Employee information. Employees will provide basic information about themselves, such as their name, email address, and employment status. Some businesses may ask employees to check a box confirming that all information on the form is correct to their knowledge.
- Recipient nonprofit information. Volunteers will need to provide information about your nonprofit, such as your organization’s name, address, and EIN. Volunteers may also need to provide contact information for a point of contact and details about your nonprofit’s mission to confirm your organization’s eligibility.
- Volunteer information. Employers will vary in how much detail about the actual volunteer experience they need. Some may just ask for hours volunteered while others may request details about the activities the volunteer completed.
Additionally, be aware that companies set deadlines for volunteer grant applications, often at the end of the calendar or fiscal year. Work with supporters interested in applying for a volunteer grant to help them get their application completed in time.
4. Your nonprofit receives funding.
After a volunteer submits a grant application, their employer may reach out to you to confirm various details, such as the hours volunteered and what tasks the volunteer completed. If the application gets approved, you can look forward to receiving a volunteer grant! Be aware that this payment may come from the business or the business’s CSR vendor. CSR vendors manage a variety of corporate giving initiatives, such as volunteer grants, matching gifts, stipend donations, and disaster funds. As part of this management, some CSR platforms also oversee payment, meaning you may receive checks from a popular CSR vendor—like Bonterra, Benevity, or YourCause—rather than a specific business.
Upon receiving payment, there are two things your nonprofit needs to do:
- Determine whether the payment is a restricted or unrestricted donation. Assess whether a volunteer grant must be spent on a specific project (restricted) or if your nonprofit can use it as you see fit (unrestricted). Most volunteer grants are unrestricted funding.
- Identify the volunteer who made the donation happen. Confirming which supporter made the volunteer grant possible may be difficult, especially if businesses combine payouts for multiple grants or wait to distribute payments. Ask your volunteers to let you know when they submitted a volunteer grant application so you can thank them properly for going the extra mile.
Remember that receiving a volunteer grant doesn’t have to be the endpoint of the process. Instead, with recognition and support, you can inspire your volunteers to continue donating their time and rack up enough hours to submit another volunteer grant application in the future.
5. Thank volunteers.
You thank your donors for their gifts, and you should thank your volunteers for their support, too!
When a volunteer goes out of their way to earn your nonprofit extra support by applying for a volunteer grant, show your appreciation by:
- Sending them an eCard. When it comes to appreciation, thank-you emails are a good place to start, and eCards can kick these messages up a notch. eCards are electronic greeting cards that add color, animations, humor, and heartfelt messages to your appreciation strategy. Explore eCard platforms to find a solution that is user-friendly, has templates and ready-made graphics, and allows you to send as many eCards as you need to express your gratitude.
- Getting them a gift. Consider thanking volunteers with small gifts, such as branded merchandise. For example, you might get a volunteer a t-shirt branded to your organization with their name on it as thanks for securing a large volunteer grant.
- Calling them on the phone. For volunteers who secure major volunteer grants, a simple email thank you may not suffice. When you receive the payment, give them a call to let them know and thank them for putting in the hard work to make it happen.
- Giving them an appreciation award. Trophies, plaques, medals, and certificates are all fun to receive. Purchase customizable awards online and hand them out to volunteers who secured major volunteer grants for your nonprofit to thank them and give them a bit of public recognition.
By thanking volunteers for submitting volunteer grant requests, you not only encourage them to continue supporting your nonprofit but to apply for volunteer grants in the future!
Examples of Volunteer Grants in Action
So far, we’ve primarily discussed volunteer grant programs in general and all the ways they can vary from one another. Now, let’s take a brief look at a few examples of real volunteer grant programs:
- Microsoft has one of the most generous volunteer grant programs around. With no minimum hours requirement, employees can get start grant funding for their favorite nonprofits right away. Plus, at $25/hour, Microsoft has one of the highest per-hour rate programs.
- Coinstar has a combination of a tier-based and per-hour volunteer grant program. Every hour employees volunteer is worth $10, but employees only earn grants in chunks of ten hours. For instance, after 10 hours, an employee earns a $150 grant. After 19 hours, the employee still would have only earned a $150 grant. However, after 20 hours, they earn a $300 grant.
- CVS Health has a tiered volunteer grant system. Employees who volunteer between 15-25 hours earn $500, between 25-100 hours earn $1,000, and over 100 hours earn $1,500.
- PNC Financial Services Group has a flat rate system where employees can earn a $1,000 volunteer grant after volunteering for 40 hours. However, PNC restricts volunteer grant funding to nonprofits that focus on early education and childhood development.
As you can see from this brief overview, volunteer grant programs vary widely, and even straightforward programs sometimes have caveats. This is why investing in a volunteer grant database can be an essential step in helping your supporters claim the volunteer grants they’ve earned.
More Volunteer Engagement Resources
Your volunteer program fuels your nonprofit, and it can generate even more value for your nonprofit with volunteer grants. Help your volunteers discover if they’re eligible for this free funding by investing in a volunteer grant database, answering their questions, and encouraging them through every step of the application process.
For more resources on how eCards can help improve your nonprofit’s operations, check out these resources:
- Charity eCards: How to Create Cards That Make A Difference. eCards are flexible, and the same platform that helps you thank volunteers can also be used to launch an eCard fundraiser. Discover how in this guide to charity eCards.
- Donor Retention: How to Unlock Lasting Loyalty Among Donors. Retaining donors and volunteers should be one of your nonprofit’s top priorities. Learn how to secure donors’ long-lasting support.
- Beyond “Hello:” 10 Memorable Ideas for Welcoming New Members. If your nonprofit has a membership program, eCards might come in handing for welcoming new recruits. Check out how to give these new members a warm welcome to your organization.
