When you think about volunteer work, the first thing that comes to mind is not always fundraising. Your volunteers are not necessarily going to be calling prospective donors to get gifts, but they can do some very important fundraising work.

In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Recruiting and Managing Volunteers,” John L. Lipp suggests six ways your volunteers can help raise money for your nonprofit while still building relationships with other volunteers:

• Have your volunteers write personal thank-you notes to donors. Make sure they identify themselves as a volunteer and indicate how much their service is enhanced by the donor’s gifts.
• Ask your volunteers to make their next event into a fundraiser. Instead of asking guests to bring traditional gifts, request they make a donation to your organization.
• In a similar vein, ask your volunteers to host garage sales with proceeds benefiting your organization.
• Bake sales are still effective fundraising tools, so consider asking your volunteers to host one for your nonprofit. After all, who doesn’t like a good muffin?
• Encourage your volunteers to introduce themselves to local merchants to talk about your organization. They might be willing to post information about your group or make in-kind donations for upcoming events, especially if they develop a relationship with a volunteer who is also a regular customer.
• If you are hosting a fundraiser, ask your volunteers to promote the event through emails to their friends or on their social networking sites. Make sure to give them standard language to use and encourage them to include a link to your site.

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