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Volunteers: The Backbone Of NGOs
Volunteering is a benevolent act. A person, out of their own free will, gives their time and energy for the benefit of the community. This spirit of volunteerism can be traced back to prehistoric times. The evolving human species worked as close social groups where individuals volunteered to share group activities for each other’s benefit. As civilization developed, volunteerism became an altruistic trait for many. In the modern world, volunteers have become the backbone of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working towards community development and uplifting society.
6 Ways Volunteers For NGOs
NGOs benefit from engaging volunteers in many ways. Together, NGOs and volunteers achieve the shared goal of community development. People who volunteer for NGOs bring skills, experience, and passion to the table, benefiting the NGOs in many ways.
Here are six ways volunteers benefit NGOs.
Cost Savings and Increased Funding
For NGOs, hiring full-time employees increases their operating costs. Volunteers, on the other hand, offer their time free of charge, helping the NGOs reduce their salary burden. The money saved is thus useful for community development programs. Further, volunteers also provide their services during holidays, helping the NGOs save more money. Apart from offering their time and skills, some volunteers donate money to an NGO’s cause. Moreover, they can gather more people to volunteer for the NGO’s cause and increase donations. For all these to happen, the NGO must create volunteer opportunities, reward the efforts of the volunteers, and develop a lasting relationship with them.
Improved Community Service
People who volunteer for community service are a dedicated lot. They are passionate about working for the cause and work hard to achieve the NGO’s goals. Volunteers are from different backgrounds and bring an outside perspective. Their ideas and insights can help an NGO fine-tune their community service programs and policies. This helps the NGOs stay relevant and serve their beneficiaries in a better way.
Offer Specialized Skills and Expertise
Each volunteer possesses different skills and expertise, which are useful for an NGO. For example, a volunteer with a teaching background can help the NGO by providing teaching services. Similarly, if an IT professional wants to volunteer for an NGO in Bangalore, the volunteer with IT expertise can aid the NGO in using its IT resources optimally. Moreover, many volunteers come from professional backgrounds, and their experience helps an NGO build its organizational capabilities. Within the NGO, volunteers help better the organizational culture. The volunteer diversity fosters innovative problem-solving solutions and sends a message to the world that the NGO stands for diversity and inclusivity of ideas.
Invigorates Community Bonds
Many volunteers have a strong connection with the community they serve. They have a deep understanding of the community's needs and act as a bridge between the NGO and the community. The organization can thus plan its service delivery accordingly. Further, engaging volunteers from the community will help build trust in the NGO among the community. They ensure community members participate in the NGO’s activities, making it easy for the NGO to achieve its goals.
Enhances Awareness
NGOs require visibility to attract more donors or support for their cause in order to sustain themselves in the long run. This can happen when there is awareness of the NGO among the public. Volunteers are the best at spreading awareness. When volunteers get the best experience from an NGO, they share it with others. The word-of-mouth publicity will help enhance awareness about the NGO and its cause, free of charge. With first-hand experience working with the NGO, a volunteer’s word has authenticity to it. Further, the use of social media by volunteers increases the reach of an NGO, spreading its cause to a wider public. All an organization needs to do is have appropriate policies and procedures for volunteers to sign up for and work with.
Brings Future Supporters
When an NGO wants more helping hands, volunteers are the best bet. Passionate individuals often come in waves. They bring along friends, family, colleagues, like-minded persons, or others with them for social service. This means that if an NGO recruits one volunteer, it gets the support of two or three other people automatically, thanks to the persuasion of the volunteer. Further, as volunteers work on behalf of an NGO, attending events and working on projects, they form new connections with stakeholders and potential partners. These connections may open doors for new opportunities and establish beneficial collaborations.
Reward For Service
Serving the community in and of itself is a great reward for a volunteer. But a reward from the NGO where they work will boost volunteers' satisfaction. At i2U Social Foundation, along with our partner NGOs, we provide NGO volunteer certificates for volunteers. The certificate is a reward for the time volunteers contributed to social work. It is also an accreditation of their skills and experience in community service.
Join our NGO volunteer certificate program and gain the necessary skills and knowledge for community service.