A phone menu for a nonprofit office

Who is calling, and what do they need?

People call to ask about services, volunteer, donate, or reach a programme they already use. A focused menu should tell callers where a person can help and avoid implying that every service is available by phone.

Keep the top-level menu in the caller’s language. In Auto Attendant each option does one thing: it rings up to three phones one after another (each for 10 to 60 seconds, never together), takes a voicemail, or plays a message and hangs up. Point each option at the person, or the shared phone, that actually handles this call, and add a backup only where a missed call costs you.

How nonprofit office calls actually go

A small nonprofit’s phone serves donors, volunteers, clients or members, and press. Each group expects a person, and the office is often staffed by one or two people with many other tasks. The risk is that a donor calling to give a gift reaches a voicemail that nobody checks for three days.

A short menu works best: donations and giving, volunteering, programme enquiries, and everything else. Calls about giving are the ones to treat as time-sensitive, and the greeting can say when a person is in. Where staff work from home, point each option at the mobile of the person who owns that kind of call.

Recommended menu

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Shaded text is a fill-in field: replace it with your own.

This example uses 3 menu options. Auto Attendant allows up to seven; add an option only when it sends a distinct kind of caller to a meaningfully different destination. A call that rings every phone you listed without an answer goes to voicemail. The menu can be in English, French or Spanish, and a line can also skip the menu and go straight to one action.

Greeting script

Business name. For a programme or service enquiry, press 1. For volunteering or donations, press 2. If you are an existing participant or partner, press 3.

Shaded text is a fill-in field: replace it with your own.

26 words, about 10 seconds spoken at 150 words per minute. The estimate is calculated from the script above; allow extra time for pauses and clear delivery.

Read each reason before its key, as in “For a new enquiry, press 1”. Replace the shaded fields and any role or service wording before you type the greeting into the menu; a text-to-speech voice reads it to callers.

A worked example

Illustration: an eight-person community organisation offers 1 for donations, 2 for volunteering and 3 for programme information. Option 1 rings the development coordinator. Option 2 goes to the volunteer coordinator. The voicemail asks for name, number and, for donors, whether they would like a receipt by email.

Year-end is the busiest period for giving calls. The organisation swaps in a year-end greeting in November that gives hours and an alternative way to give online, so callers outside hours can still complete the gift.

After hours, weekends, and holidays

State the next staffed opening and explain whether programme messages are monitored. If a service has a separate urgent contact, include it only with the programme’s agreement and current coverage.

Confirm closures across programme teams and state when the office resumes. Do not imply that a voicemail reaches a crisis or support service unless it does.

Outside the hours you set, Auto Attendant plays your closed message and then takes a voicemail or ends the call; it does not forward calls after hours, and holidays are closed all day. Where the advice above mentions an on-call route, either keep that person’s option within your set hours or give the arrangement in the closed message.

Check the greeting after every schedule change. A voicemail arrives by email with the recording attached and a transcript when one is produced, but it does not make the call live or guarantee a response time.

Rules and standards worth knowing

The IRS maintains guidance for charities and nonprofits 1 and separate rules on charitable contribution deductions 2. Donors often ask on the phone whether a gift is deductible; the safest answer from staff is to describe the organisation’s status accurately, point to the IRS rules, and suggest the donor consult a tax adviser.

Many nonprofits that serve the public are covered by the ADA’s requirements for places of public accommodation, though Title III does not apply to religious organizations 3. Effective communication duties include people who are deaf or hard of hearing 4. A published email and relay-friendly number are simple steps.

Fundraising by text or autodialled call brings consent requirements under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act 5. Auto Attendant places no outgoing calls; this concerns what staff or volunteers do afterwards.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state and change; confirm anything that affects your business with the source or an adviser.

Common menu mistakes

• Routing every caller to a volunteer who is not responsible for phone coverage.
• Combining service enquiries and fundraising calls without a clear handoff.
• Using vague language about urgent support.

Keep the greeting short, use the same names callers see elsewhere, and make sure every route has a sensible end when nobody picks up.

Check the menu before you publish it

• Treat giving calls as time-sensitive and state when someone is in.
• Give volunteers their own key so they do not clog the donor line.
• Write a year-end greeting with an online giving alternative.
• Ask donors on voicemail for their preferred receipt method.
• Review who can read voicemail transcripts, since they may contain donor details.

Related guides and templates

• Medical clinic: phone menu guide
• Fitness studio: phone menu guide
• Accounting and bookkeeping firm: phone menu guide
• IT managed services provider: phone menu guide
• Holiday closure: call-flow template
• Seasonal peak greeting: call-flow template
• Role mailbox greeting: call-flow template
• Main business greeting: call-flow template
• Call routing and menu design
• Frequently asked questions