Look at any nonprofit’s financial statements, and you’ll see that dollars only tell part of the story. The real strength lies in the community behind the numbers: volunteers, event attendees, and advocates who bring each mission to life. Sustainable impact comes from engaged supporters who do more than write checks—they show up, speak out, and lead.
If you want to grow your career and make a lasting impact, discovering meaningful opportunities beyond traditional fundraising is essential. By becoming an expert in supporter engagement, you’ll gain valuable, transferable skills like strategic communication, adaptability, and community-building—assets that will serve you in any role.
Let’s explore three effective ways to engage supporters so you can position yourself as a leader in the field and build networks of mission-driven champions wherever you go.
1. Promote Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers do more than expand a nonprofit’s operational capacity—they often evolve into passionate advocates and loyal donors. Their hands-on experience fuels enthusiasm, making them more effective at advocating for a cause and inspiring others to give.
Volunteers can also open doors to long-term partnerships. For example, if many volunteers come from the same company, it may indicate shared values between their workplace and a cause. Consider reaching out to these companies to pitch sponsorships and ongoing employee engagement opportunities where the company promotes your opportunities internally.
While money isn’t the primary focus of volunteerism, you can still generate revenue through volunteer grants. Many companies donate funds based on the number of hours their employees volunteer with a nonprofit. Encourage volunteers to learn about their workplace giving programs by reviewing their employee handbooks, checking company websites, speaking with HR, or searching a corporate giving database your nonprofit invests in.
How To Get Started
● Offer a variety of roles. Identify specific projects or roles where volunteers can make a meaningful impact. Provide various opportunities that suit diverse skill sets, such as staffing events, distributing food, or cleaning up a park. Board and committee membership are also great for exceptionally dedicated supporters. Go beyond traditional roles by offering skills-based opportunities like designing email newsletters, providing IT support, or managing logistics for a charity run.
● Create clear calls to action. Post detailed volunteer listings with descriptive titles, enticing summaries, responsibilities, required or preferred skills, and estimated time commitments. Feature these listings on a dedicated volunteer page on your website, newsletters, social media, and external volunteer opportunity boards.
● Reach out directly to existing volunteers. Encourage current donors to get involved by highlighting stories of other donors who became integral to your mission. To persuade them to sign up, look at recent fundraising events they’ve attended or programs they’ve previously donated to and suggest related volunteer opportunities.
2. Invite Supporters to Fundraising Events
Events can drive meaningful connections and greater fundraising results. While attendees may still technically donate by purchasing tickets to enter, they’ll also gain a rewarding experience where they participate in fun activities and interact with others enthusiastic about the cause.
Plan in advance by creating an annual calendar to maintain engagement throughout the year. This gives supporters plenty of notice and something to look forward to. Whether you host an exhilarating charity run, a lively auction, or an engaging workshop, attendees will leave feeling more connected to the nonprofit.
For fundraising professionals, events are invaluable for building trust, showcasing impact through storytelling, and honing transferable skills like communication, event planning, and donor engagement. These face-to-face interactions can spark deeper giving and encourage recurring support.
How To Get Started
● Tie events to your nonprofit’s mission. Design events that directly reflect your nonprofit's mission, making it easy for attendees to see the connection between participation and your cause. For example, a literacy nonprofit might host a book sale fundraiser, an animal shelter might host a pet-friendly walkathon, or an arts nonprofit might host a benefit concert or an art auction.
● Create additional revenue opportunities. Maximize fundraising results by incorporating raffles, concessions, or product sales. For example, let’s say you’re hosting a charity 5K. You might include commemorative t-shirts for a slightly higher registration fee and line up food vendors who will donate a portion of proceeds made during a post-event celebration.
● Start small and scale up. If you’re new to event management, begin with simple gatherings like meet-and-greets, webinars, or community clean-up days. These smaller events allow you to test ideas, streamline logistics, and build a loyal base before tackling more complex, resource-intensive events.
3. Encourage Social Media Advocacy
Social media advocacy is the use of social media platforms to promote, share, and amplify a cause, issue, or organization’s message to inspire action. This incredibly accessible involvement opportunity empowers supporters to amplify your nonprofit’s message without committing financially. Social media will continue to be prominent, and as a fundraiser, you need to be able to harness its incredible reach and engagement potential to mobilize communities.
Ask supporters to participate in online campaigns by sharing posts or creating content for popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. To encourage them to keep up the great work, use your nonprofit’s accounts to like, share, and comment on their posts. Their role will be to expand your organization’s reach and attract new supporters who might not have been aware of the cause.
In this position, advocates build momentum for campaigns and events, often creating a ripple effect that inspires deeper engagement. Because peer recommendations are highly influential, advocacy efforts generate credibility and trust and fuel donations.
How To Get Started
● Set clear goals for advocates. Define what you want advocates to achieve—such as raising awareness for an event, promoting your latest fundraising products, or increasing petition signatures. This gives them a goal to center each post around.
● Create templates to simplify participation. Provide ready-made content like graphics, sample captions, and hashtags. Create fully fleshed-out templates that advocates can customize to share your message consistently.
● Track social media participation. Use analytics tools to monitor shares, hashtags, and engagement metrics such as likes, comments, and shares on advocates’ posts. Leverage third-party monitoring tools to track hashtags, mentions, and user engagement across multiple platforms. This allows you to measure the impact of your advocacy efforts and identify your most active supporters.
Engaging supporters beyond traditional donations will build a resilient, mission-driven community while developing skills that enhance your career. Whether promoting volunteerism, hosting meaningful events, or encouraging social media advocacy, these strategies help create deeper connections and inspire lasting support.
Take the next step by choosing one new engagement opportunity to implement. If your nonprofit already consistently hosts events, brainstorm fresh ways volunteers can support your next one or drive registrations for you. Create a clear plan, set a timeline, and take action.