Do you know the importance of your volunteers?

Category: Resources

By- Anirudha Bhakat Ch Hello friends, good to see you again. Hope your organization is doing well. Today, I would like to share with you another experience of mine I recently had. One of my friends is working as a volunteer in a reputed NGO, keeping his invitation to join him in the field to have a look of their work, last week I went with him. And believe me; I got an insight into the importance the volunteers play in an NGO. Well, we all know that the volunteers are an integral part of an organization. They are the driving force, or you can say the soldiers defending the base or existence of the NGO. So, it is very much essential to take care of the volunteers. Because, without their support you existence is at risk. Volunteers are an asset for the nonprofit organizations. They not only save money, but also provide better service towards the cause and the community. Benefits you can get from your volunteers • Credibility: Volunteers have fewer vested interests, making them a valuable public relations asset. They are dedicated for the cause of the community or humanity and that is the reason they have opted to volunteer. • Objectivity: Especially in the delivery of services. They can help you deliver better service to the society or community you are working for. • Specialization: Most of the youths take up volunteering after having a specialization in particular skills. They have a deep knowledge of some key issues and it will benefit you and your organization. • Access to Public: Volunteers lives among the public. They have a direct access to the public you have been serving through your projects. To get public opinion on an important issue, it is very much essential for an organization to have a team of volunteers. • New Ideas: They are young and fresh. They come with new and innovative ideas. • Debate: Volunteers help you in getting the process of building the organization stronger through constructive criticism, debate and feedback. • Fresh Perspectives: A dedicated and team of passionate team of volunteers means continuous flow of ‘blood’ in your organization. The can work as power capsule for any organization, no matter how old or how young. • Smooth Functioning: Including volunteers in your organization will not hamper its functioning. Instead it will lessen the workload on the existing employees of the organization thereby ensuring a smooth functioning. • Growth: The more the number of volunteers you have the more you can expand your network. It increases your capacity to provide services. • Fund Raising: And at last but not the least volunteers help you in raising funds. How are you engaging your volunteers? In the next blog, I’ll come up with the best practices to ensure involvement of volunteers. To read more such articles, signup to www.myspark.info. (The author is a Sr. Content Writer at mySpark)