Animal Welfare Professionals

I handle most of the fundraising for our rescue. My biggest hurdle is getting volunteers to help at events. I hate to always rely on the same people but getting new people to step up seems to be almost impossible. For example we host a charity golf tournament every year. this tournament has grown so much since the first one in 2019.  Working on it is an all year project for me but with the tremendous growth its overwhelming to do everything myself. I have asked, begged and pleaded for help getting it all together.  While I can get 20 to 30 volunteers to help day of, I can't get people to help with getting sponsorships, selling tee signs, procuring raffle prizes and the million other things that need done. I dont know what else to do to get the help I need. 

#FundraisingandDevelopment

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Janice Trzeciak
volunteer
Great Pyrenees Club of Western Pa
PA
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Huge respect for carrying the golf tournament on your back since 2019. Growth is proof you're doing something very right, but nobody should have to white-knuckle it alone. The problem isn't you; it's that "sponsor ask / raffle hunt" feels scary and mysterious to 95 % of volunteers. The fix is to turn those tasks into plug-and-play kits so an "average" person can succeed in 15–30 min chunks.

Here are 3 dead-simple systems + free templates you can roll out this week:

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1. "Sponsor Snack Pack" (one-pager + script + tracker)

How to launch:

1. Spend 2 hrs building the first 50-row list (ChatGPT can spit out categories).
2. Record yourself reading the script once-share the 30-sec audio in your volunteer Slack/WhatsApp.
3. Assign 5 rows per volunteer; they report back in 7 days. Suddenly 10 people = 50 asks = 8–12 new sponsors.

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2. "Raffle Prize Menu" (visual choose-your-own-adventure)

Create a Canva one-pager titled "Pick ONE prize to hunt-5 minutes of fame!" Rows look like:

Volunteers initial one row, snap a photo of the convo, and you're done. No one writes a full pitch-just texts the pre-written line.

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3. "Tee-Sign Drive" = Amazon Wishlist Hack

1. Set up an Amazon Wishlist called "2026 Tee Signs – $150 each".
2. Each "item" is a custom 18×24 corrugated sign (use Printful or local printer; $35 cost).
3. Share the list: "Click 'Buy' and you've sponsored a hole-your logo auto-printed!"
4. Volunteers simply forward the link to their company's marketing budget or their rich uncle. Zero sales pressure.

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Training in 5 Minutes Flat

• Loom video (free): "Watch me ask in 45 seconds" – screen-share the script + tracker.
• Volunteer Onboarding Checklist (Google Doc): [ ] Watch 5-min Loom [ ] Pick 3 rows in Sponsor Sheet [ ] Initial your Raffle Menu prize [ ] Forward Tee-Sign Wishlist to 1 contact

Post the doc link; anyone who checks 4 boxes is "certified."

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Bonus Retention Tricks

1. Micro-perks: Free tournament entry (or lunch) for every $500 raised.
2. Wall of Fame: Giant poster at the event with every volunteer's selfie + "Raised $1,200 – saved 48 pets!"
3. Pair newbies with veterans: 15-min Zoom "tag team" calls remove the fear factor.

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Copy the templates below, swap in your rescue's name, and you'll turn "please help" into "pick your mission." You've got this-and now your volunteers do too.

Templates (copy-paste):

Sponsor Script

"Hi [Name], I'm [Volunteer Name] with [Rescue]. Our sold-out charity golf tournament helps homeless pets. A $250 Hole Sponsorship puts your logo on a tee sign and gets shout-outs to 200 golfers. Takes 2 minutes-interested?"

Raffle Text

"Hi [Business], [Rescue] here. We're raffling off pet-saving prizes at our June golf tournament. Would you donate a [specific item]? We'll promote you to 150 attendees!"

Tee-Sign Wishlist link example

"Sponsor a hole in 60 seconds: [bit.ly/RescueTee2026]"

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jon woo
Volunteer
honolulu humane society
HI
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I completely understand how you feel - it can be so tough to find consistent volunteer support, especially for big events like a golf tournament. It sounds like you've built something amazing since 2019, but I can see how the growth would make it hard to manage on your own.

Something that's helped our team a bit is breaking down tasks into smaller, specific roles and assigning them early - even something as simple as "Raffle Prize Coordinator" or "Sponsorship Outreach Lead." Sometimes people hesitate to volunteer because the ask feels too open-ended or time-consuming, but giving them one defined responsibility can make it easier to say yes.

You might also try highlighting the impact of these roles - for example, "Securing one tee sponsor funds a dog's spay/neuter." That kind of tangible connection sometimes motivates people who want to help but don't know where to start.

You're doing such important work, and it's clear how dedicated you are. I hope you're able to find some extra support this year - you definitely deserve it!

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Julie Beatty
Grants Coordinator
Ziva Dog Rescue
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@Janice Trzeciak you and I are singing the same tune! We are currently working on our 3rd golf outing and honestly I can't imagine doing this for too many more years. Our first was kind of a fly by the seat of our pants approach and it was so difficult to get volunteers to help find sponsors and raffle items. The second year we became more organized and created a golf committee. We had five of our regular volunteers step up and did an amazing job. They took all most all of the tasks that I had done myself the first year and split them between themselves, they went above and beyond. We went from raising $7800 our first year to $18,200 our second year. We were thrilled until after the wrap up meeting when four of the five ladies told me they couldn't be on our committee for this year's event because it was too much work. :(  I have 2 volunteers helping me this year pre-event but we have about 25 who want to help the day of. I think the insight and suggestions Jon made are spot on. I plan to implement his ideas this year. I hope you and I both can find the help we need to keep growing and raising funds for the animals in need.

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Lisa Burn
Co-founder/VP
Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary
Myakka City, FL
https://farmhousesanctuary.org
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