How to Tap Into Dollars for Doers Programs: 5 Top Tips
Volunteer grants, also known as "Dollars for Doers," transform organizations' volunteer hours into corporate funding. Despite billions in available revenue, many grants go unclaimed simply due to a lack of awareness. This post outlines five key strategies for nonprofits to capture this revenue.
Dollars for Doers programs are a specific type of corporate giving initiative that has the unique opportunity to transform the time an organization's supporters already donate into unrestricted funding for the cause. With the Independent Sector's average value of a volunteer hour now estimated at $34.79, and more than 40% of Fortune 500 companies offering these grants, the potential is staggering. At the same time, billions of dollars go unclaimed every year simply because volunteers don't know the programs exist or find the paperwork to secure them too daunting.
This post, brought to you by Double the Donation in partnership with Vome Volunteer, outlines how to bridge that gap and turn your service hours into a sustainable revenue stream. We'll cover these expert-proven tips for doing so:
Train your nonprofit staff.
Capture employer data early and often.
Monetize the message.
Make the most of team volunteer grants.
Automate follow-ups with the right technology.
Today, the most successful nonprofits are treating volunteer grants not as a "bonus," but as a core pillar of their development strategy. By integrating the right message with the right technology to power it, you can automate the ask and let your team focus on serving the community.
Let's dive into the five strategies that will help you master the Dollars for Doers landscape in 2026.
1. Train your nonprofit staff.
Before you can educate your volunteers, your organization's internal team needs to be fully "volunteer grant literate." Many volunteer coordinators view their roles purely through the lens of logistics, focusing on scheduling, facilitating background checks, and managing shifts. However, in a modern nonprofit, every volunteer touchpoint is a fundraising opportunity as well.
Here are a few things you can do to get started:
Preparing the Elevator Pitch: Equip your frontline staff with a 30-second script for volunteer orientations. Instead of just saying "thanks for being here," they should be able to say: "Did you know your employer might pay us for your time today? If you work for a company like Microsoft or Disney, 20 hours of service could turn into a $500 check for our mission."
Ensuring Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Ensure your Development Director and Volunteer Manager are speaking the same language. The volunteer team captures the data (where someone works), while the development team tracks the revenue. But they both need to be well-versed in volunteer grants!
Identifying Your Internal Champions: Train high-level "Lead Volunteers" to mention grants during shift huddles. Peer-to-peer advocacy is often more effective than an official email from the organization, so making sure core helpers help spread the word can go a long way.
Not sure where to get started? Double the Donation offers a number of free, helpful learning resources, including this Ultimate Guide to Volunteer Grant Programs.
2. Capture employer data early and often.
Unfortunately, you cannot claim a volunteer grant if you don't know where your supporters are employed. For this reason, collecting employment information from your volunteers is one of your most essential tasks.
Here's what we suggest:
Registration Integration: Use your Vome Volunteer registration forms to ask for employer information as volunteers register to serve. With the seamless Double the Donation integration, this field features an auto-complete search tool, ensuring the data is clean and accurate.
Email Domain Audits: Scan your database for individuals who register using corporate email addresses. These are immediate flags for grant eligibility, and can even help you uncover other corporate giving programs, too!
Regular Data Updates: Don't just collect employment information once and call it quits. Instead, we recommend asking for this data point with each registration. This allows you to maintain up-to-date records and quickly identify when a career change has occurred.
By consistently prioritizing this data point, you can transform your volunteer database into a high-value prospect list for corporate giving. This proactive approach ensures that no Dollars for Doers opportunity goes unnoticed.
3. Monetize the message.
"Volunteer Grants" and "Dollars for Doers" can sound like corporate jargon to the average person. To achieve real results, it's important to translate these opportunities into tangible mission (and financial) impact.
Check out these recommendations for doing so:
Stop Asking, Start Informing: Shift your language from "Please check if you have a grant" to "Double your impact without spending a dime." Frame the volunteer grant as a way for the individual to contribute funding directly through their sweat equity.
Concrete Visuals: Use your website, social media, and email newsletters to show what specific volunteer grants can buy. For example, "When Sarah donates 20 hours of her time, her employer, Verizon, sends us $750. That pays for 150 hot meals! Does your company do the same?"
The 'Missing Money' Narrative: Remind your supporters that this is money their company has already set aside for them. If they don't claim it, it stays in the corporate bank account rather than helping your cause.
By reframing the conversation around impact rather than administration, you move the burden of the grant application away from the volunteer and replace it with a sense of accomplishment. When a supporter realizes that their physical presence at your event is the literal key to unlocking a corporate treasury, their engagement typically deepens.
4. Make the most of team volunteer grants.
Individual volunteer grants are fantastic, but Team Volunteer Grants are often the heavy hitters of corporate giving. Many companies (such as Kohl's, CVS Health, and more) offer significantly larger grants when a group of employees volunteer together.
Here are a few tips for leveraging these programs:
Create "Corporate-Ready" Opportunities: Design specific 3-hour projects that can accommodate groups of 10 to 15 people, such as painting or packing care bags. These are perfect for corporate Impact Days and team volunteer grants alike.
Target Local Hubs: If a major corporation has a headquarters or a large regional office in your city, reach out to their HR department. Offer to host a private volunteer event for their staff, and mention that you'd love to help them hit their corporate volunteering objectives! Leverage these opportunities to discuss direct financial support, which helps offset operational costs and ensures the event is mutually beneficial.
Gamify the Process: Encourage your existing volunteers to recruit their coworkers. Tell them: "If you bring four of your colleagues with you, your company's grant jumps from $200 to $1,000!"
Focusing on group opportunities doesn't just multiply your labor force; it exponentially scales your engagement and funding potential. When you successfully host a corporate team, you aren't just completing a project; you're auditioning for a long-term partnership that could lead to recurring support.
By aligning your mission's needs with a company's CSR goals, you turn a single afternoon of service into a high-yield financial asset that benefits everyone involved.
5. Automate follow-ups with the right technology.
The biggest "leak" in the volunteer grant bucket happens between the service hour and the grant submission. A volunteer might fully intend to submit their hours, but life often gets in the way. And unfortunately, manual follow-up from your staff is time-consuming and often falls through the cracks.
This is where the Double the Donation + Vome Volunteer integration becomes your secret weapon.
Here's how it works:
Real-Time Identification: As soon as a volunteer signs up on Vome and enters their employer, Double the Donation's database identifies if that company has a relevant program.
The Automated (and Personalized) Nudge: Once an individual is identified as volunteer grant eligible, an automated email is triggered. This isn't just a generic reminder; it contains the specific grant guidelines for their employer and direct links to the CSR portal to make the submission process as quick and easy as possible.
By providing the supporter with everything they need to complete a volunteer grant in one click, you remove the friction that usually halts submissions. In 2026, automation isn't just a luxury; it's the only way to scale a high-volume volunteer program without overwhelming your team!
Wrapping Up
The landscape of corporate philanthropy is shifting. Companies are increasingly moving toward employee engagement and direct nonprofit involvement. For your organization, this means your volunteer program is transformed into a sophisticated fundraising engine.
By focusing on these five strategies, you can stop leaving "free money" on the table. You empower volunteers to see themselves as financial stakeholders in your mission, and you build deeper, data-driven relationships with corporate partners.
Ready to turn your volunteer hours into real-world revenue? The path to growing your volunteer grant revenue starts with the right tools. By integrating Double the Donation into your Vome Volunteer system, you can identify, track, and automate the entire grant process with zero manual heavy lifting.
About the Author
Adam Weinger is the Founder and President of Double the Donation, the leading fundraising software helping nonprofits and schools maximize success through workplace giving.