Honoring and acknowledging volunteers is one of the most important investments your nonprofit can make toward its sustainability and growth. Volunteers are often the heart and soul of an organization and help keep it afloat. They help staff events, raise funds, run programs, and build community. They may also serve as nonprofit leaders, working diligently as board members or even unpaid staff.
The Current Estimated National Value of Each Volunteer Hour in America is $33.49. Between 2020 and 2021, 60.7 million people provided 4.1 billion volunteer hours to organizations in the United States. These hours had an estimated economic value of well over $120 billion - which is money that nonprofits can put towards programs and services instead of payroll.
Volunteers not only give of their time, energy, and hearts, but they are also some of the most loyal donors to nonprofit organizations. One Harris study showed that Americans who volunteered gave 11 times as much money to charity in a year as those who did not volunteer. Some studies have suggested that approximately 85% of volunteers also donate to the same organization.
Good volunteers are hard to find and can be hard to keep. Recent surveys recognize that finding volunteers – and avoiding burnout of current volunteers – is an ongoing challenge[1]. Some studies show that nearly 1 out of 3 volunteers will drop out within the first year.
Volunteer Directors/Coordinators are tasked with helping recruit and retain volunteers. They are often a lifeline within the organization, helping make the unpaid feel connected to the work, the mission, and the community. Unfortunately, these directors/coordinators typically have limited budgets and resources. They want to properly thank, appreciate, and honor volunteers but have limited capacity to do so.
Acts Of Kindness Cabaret (AOKC) fills this gap for nonprofits in the Chicagoland area. AOKC is a nonprofit organization, committed to leveraging our art to help make other nonprofits more successful.
We work with the Volunteer Director/Coordinator to bring to the volunteers a joyful, touching, professional cabaret show about the power of story. We ground the performance in an event that showcases the volunteers’ leading role in the story of the organization.
Led by world class professional performers, AOKC brings the show, lights, sound equipment and even the programs, and works with your organization to ensure the day honors the story of your organization and its volunteers. By the end of the event, participants walk away feeling celebrated, entertained, and more connected to your organization and their role as volunteers.
Our services are underwritten by our donors, so we can offer them largely free of charge. We are proud to help celebrate and honor volunteers and look forward to working with many more organizations on this important cause!
[1] A report from the National Council of Nonprofits finds that the need for volunteers continues to grow post-pandemic. By mid-2022, nearly half of nonprofit CEOs reported recruiting enough volunteers was still “a big problem," while formal volunteering dropped more than 23 percent in 2021 compared with 2019.https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/articles/new-data-and-resources-volunteers
less than a quarter of Americans age 16 and older said they formally volunteered through an organization between September 2020 to September 2021, down from 30% in 2019 and the lowest rate recorded since the organization began the survey in 2002. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/01/volunteering-and-civic-life-in-america.html
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