I read an excellent blog post today at the Ontario Nonprofit Network. The post was written by Cathy Taylor, Executive Director of the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington.  The post was called, “Are we ready? The volunteer sector and volunteers in this economic downturn”. More and more people are interested in volunteerism as a way to gain experience, expand networks and explore new career directions, and Cathy urged nonprofits to capitalize on these exciting new prospects.

Cathy wrote:

The rising unemployment rate, the desire to create new opportunities for oneself, and to survive this economic crunch means that there is a huge new potential audience of volunteers for us to recruit… There is no better time than now to jump out of our box(es) and create meaningful volunteer opportunities for those seeking work, those who are under-employed, those who are new to our communities. By doing so, by creating meaningful (twice for emphasis – not just envelope stuffing!) one time or episodic opportunities (that often go against the grain of our formalized volunteer program structure which lends itself nicely to the Monday afternoon volunteer that answers the phone each week), we will be capturing the minds, hearts and enthusiasm of a new generation of volunteers. And yes, we will also earn their long term volunteer commitment and even their financial contributions as they become ambassadors for our organizations. 

Amen! I love this forward-thinking approach and had to share it with my  readers.  The needs and expectations of supporters of nonprofits – donors and volunteers alike – are changing,  and by extension, nonprofits must, must, adapt to these changing demands if they are to survive. Adaptation means, among other things, taking the time to engage volunteers in meaningful projects, working with them one-on-one to co-develop intellectually stimulating projects that may require some initial up-front investment, but over time will lead to profound volunteer contributions and ultimately minimize supervisory demand.  I have watched many nonprofits struggle in this area but I believe that those who invest the time to learn how to do it successfully will be the ones to attract and reatain a higher caliber of volunteers.  And with “venture-philanthropy” gaining in popularity, amongst the ever-increasing demand for accountability, I think we can expect to see more talented volunteers request this kind of involvement.

So, what does this have to do with frugality?  For one thing, I thought these ideas may spark some interest among those of you who are currently seeking new opportunities.  Volunteerism does not necessarily mean you’ll be stuffing envelopes or answering phones.  If you want to volunteer in order to build skills and experience, here is something to consider:

People working in nonprofits love, love it if you can bring forward an idea for a personal project, rather than requesting the volunteer coordinator to create a job for you.  This may take some thought and/or some research on your part. But it’s not that hard. Simply consider your unique skills, experience and passion and offer them to the organization.  It may require a little collaboration, but bringing ideas forward will help you find a position that is mutually satisfying.  In the end, you will build your resume in an upward direction and you will have the chance to leave a lasting imprint on the organization.

Secondly, I thought Cathy’s visionary comments could apply to all of us, even those outside of the nonprofit sector.  What other opportunities could this recession present you with?  Are there new opportunities to grow personally or professionally even within this challenging context?

As Cathy surmised,

We have a unique opportunity at this juncture. We can engage a new constituency, who may have different motivations for volunteering and we can embrace their insight and creativity. We can be mindful of how the “glass half empty” syndrome affects our planning and how the competitive framework we might all feel we are in might actually turn away prospective volunteers.

“Unique opportunity.” “Embrace insight and creativity”.  These are the kinds of words I like to read.  Cathy points out that a pessimistic, narrow-minded perspective can actually shut-down potential volunteers.  Most certainly it is the same for the rest of us. No doubt that those of us who come out ahead will be those who can think creatively, to find opportunities beyond the barriers.  In fact, you can expect those with vision to do better than ever.