There is a direct relationship between the number of ambassadors a nonprofit has and its sustainability. What do ambassadors do and how many does an organization need?
Think about the U.S. and the number of ambassadors we have. We have ambassadors to most countries. In addition, we have an ambassador to NATO and one to the E.U. and most of the other groups and subgroups around the world.
Is it necessary to have some many? Undoubtedly, the government of France can read any newspaper in the world and discover all the news there is to know about the U.S. Reading the news is different from talking with the ambassador. The job of the ambassador is to share our perspective on the news, collect feedback, and solicit support for important initiatives. It would be impossible for the Secretary of State to attend all of those meeting but it is easy for our local representative (ambassador) to bridge the gap between the Secretary of State and the local government.
Regardless of the title, do you have enough ambassadors to bridge the gap between your organization and the rest of your world?
If I invited 10 of my friends to support your organization through donations, volunteering, acting as referral sources, or being an advocate, what happens to them? Are they be folded into the rest of the donor pool, volunteer base, etc.?
If I invite one of my friends to support your organization, are you going to train me to become an ambassador? How many more supporters am I likely to bring to your organization if you provide me with training? How many prospective ambassadors does your organization have who are waiting to be called to serve?
Each of your supporters has multiple needs. The best way to serve and cultivate the support of those valuable individuals is by assigning a specialist to help them in each area.
Let us assume the person is a volunteer who helps with fundraising. They need a specialist who periodically coaches him or her on techniques and meets with him or her to review the latest news about the organization and the best way to talk with donors about the news. The purpose of the coaching is to raise the efficiency (lower his or her frustration) and increase the effectiveness (increase his or her sense of fulfillment) of the volunteer.
The wonderful volunteer also needs to be cultivated. Perhaps in your organization this is the job of the volunteer manager. The volunteer manager is responsible to overseeing overall volunteer satisfaction and cultivating volunteer engagement.
While showing up on time and doing what is asked is important, volunteer engagement is more than good work habits. Volunteer engagement includes increasing his or her donations to the organization, encouraging the volunteer to recruit others, and having the volunteer advocate on behalf of the organization.
The best volunteers are active supporters of the organization in every imaginable way. The State Department expects the same thing of each ambassador.
Next Step:
Create a formal ambassador program
Look for the natural ambassadors in your supporter base (those who have recruited one or more other supporters)
Ensure that every class of supporter (referral source, volunteer, donor, advocate, etc.) has at least one specialist helping them to be successful
Train the ambassadors to be great representatives
Learn to spot ambassadors and cultivate their service, begin with the first contact
Sustainability depends on having a strong support system. Ambassadors provide a no cost (some work) way to build and sustain your support system.
Since your ambassadors are free, is it possible to have too many ambassadors?
How many ambassadors will your organization have by the end of the year?
How will you use your ambassadors to increase client enrollment and fundraising by the end of the year?
As always, contact Mission Enablers if you want help. We use a special process that offers a guarantee. For more information about our process and guarantee, you can click here.
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