Volunteer Grant Letters: Templates to Boost Revenue

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Volunteer Grant Letters-Templates to Boost Revenue

Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization. They dedicate their Saturday mornings to cleaning up parks, their evenings to tutoring students, and their weekends to staffing fundraising galas. While their time is invaluable, there is a way to make it literally valuable in terms of dollars and cents. Volunteer grants, often known as “dollars for doers,” are corporate giving programs in which companies provide monetary donations to nonprofits as a reward for employees’ volunteer work. However, billions of dollars in this corporate philanthropy funding go unclaimed every year, largely because volunteers simply do not know these programs exist. The solution? Strategically implemented volunteer grant letters to your supporters.

By incorporating volunteer grant letters into your outreach plan, you can educate your supporters, encourage them to log their hours, and unlock a new stream of unrestricted revenue for your mission. In this guide, we will explore how to craft the perfect message, when to send it, and provide you with copy-and-paste templates to get started immediately.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

If you’re looking for ways to improve your organization’s volunteer program, volunteer grants are an excellent way to go. And these volunteer grant letter templates are here to help guide your way!

Understanding Volunteer Grants: The Basics

Before we dive into the nuances of writing the perfect letter, it is essential to understand exactly what you are asking for. Volunteer grants are a specific type of corporate giving program that supplies monetary grants to organizations where employees volunteer.

Essentially, these programs monetize the time your supporters are already giving you. Companies set specific thresholds—such as volunteering for 10 hours in a calendar year—and once an employee meets that requirement, the company cuts a check to the nonprofit.

The value of these grants can be substantial. In fact, 80% of companies with volunteer grant programs provide between $8 and $15 per hour volunteered. Some industry leaders go even higher; for example, Microsoft offers a grant of $25 per hour for an employee who volunteers.

Did You Know? Volunteer grants provide “free money” for nonprofits and schools. This allows organizations to drastically increase the return on investment (ROI) of their volunteer programs without requiring additional work from the development team.

Despite the generosity of these programs, the funds often sit untouched. Organizations typically have limited information about the companies their volunteers work for, and volunteers often lack awareness of their companies’ volunteer grant availability. This knowledge gap is exactly what your volunteer grant letters will aim to close.

The Importance of Volunteer Grant Outreach

You might be wondering why a dedicated letter strategy is necessary. Can’t you just put a blurb on your website? While a dedicated “Ways to Give” page is crucial, proactive outreach is the engine that drives results.

According to fundraising research, email has the highest ROI of any marketing platform. It puts the information directly in front of your supporter, rather than waiting for them to stumble upon it.

By sending targeted volunteer grant letters, you accomplish three strategic goals:

  • Education: You inform volunteers that their employer might reward their service with a donation.
  • Empowerment: You give them the specific tools and links they need to submit a request.
  • Appreciation: You frame the request as a way to “double their impact,” reinforcing their value to the organization.

If supporters are never made aware of their employers’ giving programs, they won’t know to complete the grant request process, and their employers will be unable to supply the appropriate funding. A well-crafted letter bridges this gap.

When to Send Volunteer Grant Letters

Timing is everything in fundraising communication. You want to catch your volunteers when they are feeling most connected to your mission and when the details of their service are fresh in their minds.

Here are the three most effective times to send these letters:

1. Immediately Following a Volunteer Event

Strike while the iron is hot. If you just hosted a beach cleanup or a charity 5K, send a follow-up email within 48 hours thanking them for their time and mentioning volunteer grants. They are already feeling good about their contribution; this gives them a way to amplify that feeling.

2. During Volunteer Onboarding

Set the expectation early. Include a section on corporate giving in your volunteer handbook or welcome email series. Let new recruits know that tracking their hours isn’t just for your internal records; it could lead to financial support.

3. At the End of the Calendar Year

Many corporate giving programs reset on January 1st. Sending a reminder in November or December encourages volunteers to log their hours before the deadline passes. This is particularly effective for companies like ExxonMobil, which offers $500 for every 20 hours volunteered. If a volunteer is sitting at 18 hours, this email might prompt them to sign up for one last shift to hit the threshold.

Quick Tip: Automate where possible! If you use volunteer management software, set up an automated email trigger that sends a “Check your eligibility” email after a volunteer logs their first 10 hours.

Template 1: For Volunteers With Known Eligibility

If you are using a corporate giving database or have collected employer information during registration, you have a massive advantage. You can segment your list and send highly specific instructions.

This template is designed for a volunteer who you know works for a company with a volunteer grant program (e.g., Verizon or Allstate).

Subject: [Volunteer Name], maximize your impact at [Nonprofit Name]!

Dear [Volunteer Name],

Thank you so much for your recent help with [Project Name/Event]. Your dedication makes it possible for us to [Brief Mission Statement, e.g., feed families in our community].

Because you are such a valued member of our team, I wanted to share a quick way you can double the impact of the time you have already given—at no cost to you!

Our records indicate that you work for [Company Name]. Did you know that [Company Name] has a generous volunteer grant program? They offer grants of [Insert Amount, e.g., $500 for 20 hours] to nonprofits where their employees volunteer.

Since you have already logged [Number] hours with us, you may be eligible to submit a request today!

Here is how to do it:

  1. Log in to your company’s corporate giving portal: [Link if available].
  2. Navigate to the “Volunteer Grants” or “Dollars for Doers” section.
  3. Log your recent volunteer hours.
  4. Submit the request!

It only takes a few minutes, but it makes a world of difference for our organization.

Thank you for being a champion for our cause!

Sincerely,

[Your Name] [Your Title]

Template 2: For Volunteers With Unknown Eligibility

For the majority of your volunteers, you likely do not know where they work. This letter needs to be broader, educating them on the concept of volunteer grants and encouraging them to do a quick search.

Subject: Did you know your volunteer hours could be worth $?

Dear [Volunteer Name],

We are so clearer for the [Number] hours you have dedicated to [Nonprofit Name] this year. We simply couldn’t do this work without you.

I’m writing today to share a little-known secret about volunteering: Your time could be worth real money to our mission.

Thousands of companies, including 40% of Fortune 500 companies, offer volunteer grant programs. These programs donate money to nonprofits based on the hours employees spend volunteering.

Could your employer be one of them?

Please take a moment to check!

  1. Visit our corporate giving page here: [Link to your website’s search tool].
  2. Type your employer’s name into the search bar.
  3. If they offer a program, follow the instructions to submit your hours!

If you find that your company participates, please let us know so we can keep an eye out for the grant. If you aren’t sure, a quick email to your HR department can clear it up.

Thank you for helping us do more good!

Best,

[Your Name] [Title]

Template 3: Advocacy for Ineligible Volunteers

Sometimes, a volunteer will check their eligibility only to find that their company does not offer a volunteer grant program. This is not a dead end. It is an opportunity for advocacy.

Employees have a significant influence over corporate culture. By providing them with a template to send to their HR department, you empower them to champion a new program.

Subject: How to advocate for a volunteer grant program at work

Dear [Volunteer Name],

Thank you for checking your eligibility for a volunteer grant! Even though your current employer doesn’t offer a program yet, you can still help pave the way for future support.

Many companies start these programs because employees ask for them. If you feel comfortable, consider sending the following note to your HR director or Community Relations manager to express your interest.

Subject: Inquiry regarding employee volunteer grants

Message:

Hi [HR Contact Name],

I recently spent time volunteering with [Nonprofit Name], a cause I care deeply about. I learned that many companies in our industry offer “volunteer grant” programs, where the company provides a small monetary donation to charities where employees volunteer their time.

Does our company currently offer anything like this?

Research shows that 80% of companies with these programs offer between $8 and $15 per hour volunteered. It seems like a fantastic way to support employee engagement and give back to our local community.

I would love to chat about how we might be able to implement something similar here.

Thanks,

[Employee Name]

Thank you for going the extra mile for us!

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Best Practices for Writing High-Converting Letters

Having the templates is a great start, but how you customize and deliver them matters. Here are several best practices to ensure your volunteer grant letters get opened and acted upon.

1. Personalize Your Outreach

Generic “Dear Volunteer” emails are easy to ignore. Use your CRM to merge in their first name and, if possible, details about their specific volunteer activity (e.g., “Thanks for helping at the Spring Gala”). This personal touch reminds them of the specific experience they had, making them more likely to want to amplify it.

2. Highlight the Impact

Don’t just ask for money; explain what that money will achieve.

Weak: “Please submit a request so we can get $500.”

Strong: “Submitting a request could generate $500, which is enough to provide school supplies for an entire classroom.”

Connecting the grant to a tangible outcome motivates the volunteer to take the administrative step of logging into their portal.

3. Keep It Simple

Your volunteers are busy people. If your letter is a wall of text, they will delete it. Keep your paragraphs short, use bold text to highlight the call to action (CTA), and use bullet points for instructions. The goal is to make the process feel effortless.

4. Leverage Social Proof

In your newsletter or general outreach, share stories of other volunteers who successfully secured grants.

Example: “Thanks to Sarah’s volunteer grant from Verizon, we were able to purchase new equipment for the shelter!” Seeing that others are doing it validates the process and creates a sense of “FOMO” (fear of missing out) on being a top-tier supporter.

Quick Tip: Include a link to a dedicated matching gift/volunteer grant page on your website in every email footer. This ensures that even if the email isn’t about grants, the resource is always accessible.

Wrapping Up & Next Steps

Volunteer grants represent a unique intersection of time and money—a way to double the impact of your most dedicated supporters without asking them to open their wallets. By raising awareness through strategic letters, simplifying the submission process with clear instructions, and leveraging the right technology to identify opportunities, your nonprofit can tap into this underutilized revenue stream.

The key is consistency. Make volunteer grant outreach a standard part of your post-event follow-up and annual communication calendar.

Ready to uncover more revenue? For the best results, consider utilizing a dedicated tool to automate this research. Double the Donation’s database provides a wealth of volunteer grant and matching gift information for thousands of companies. By embedding this tool on your website, you can help volunteers check their eligibility in seconds, driving higher submission rates and more funding for your mission.

Start drafting your letters today, and watch your volunteer program’s ROI soar. Plus, see how Double the Donation can help you automate your volunteer grant outreach to increase impact without taking up more team time! Request a personalized demo to get started today.

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