One of the common feelings we all have is our dissatisfaction towards the state of the society and how things work. We always felt the need and we were always vocal about the same! But somehow we the people don’t deliver in Volunteering.

As a team most aligned with Volunteering, I feel highlighting certain key reasons for this can help our Non-Profits. None the less we have also provided our recommendations on solving these issues.

Who has the TIME?

We are always so busy in running around and multi tasking that we don’t have the time to think about our own life. In such a scenario, volunteering always takes a back seat. “I do not have time do my own work. How will I volunteer?” Time most certainly is an issue. Can we allocate tasks which can be done during down-times like traveling, weekends etc? Let’s keep this first in our list.

Family responsibilities. Personal Life

People work several hours a week on their jobs. Stretched work life has an immediate impact on our personal lives. Whenever people do get free time they prefer being with their family instead of going out to volunteer. Can we provide them the much needed ‘family break’ along with volunteering? Can community be made as an extended family rather than just a part of society that needs fixing? That’s something to ponder upon.

Okay let’s accept it. WE ARE JUST LAZY!

That is indeed the most common and yet the most denied reason (Look even I mentioned it as the third point). Nobody wants to accept it, however that does not mean it is not true. Procrastination just screws most of our aspirations. While you always planned to volunteer what would your lazy brains say when it’s time to execute? -”Instead of volunteering why not take a day off and sleep or go out?” Such people need to be allocated group tasks. Peers drive one another quite well, don’t they?

Come on, how does it all matter? (The Purpose)

When we look around at our country there are a number of things that we do want to change. However when we look around we often question whether all this effort will really make a difference? The whole the world would still  be the same, right? This is discouraging. Basis our experience at ProjectHeena I would suggest it’s our responsibility to convey the impact & make people connected. Every drop contributes to an ocean, just that we need to hold all drops together till the time the results are out.

Do not know – where/what/when/how to volunteer

We work for two things – Money or Passion. No prizes to guess why people volunteer. Passion multiplies when the right things fall in place. If people don’t know the where, why and how to volunteer, things just fall apart. This stands to be the worse reason to not volunteer.

Fortunately, thanks to being hyper connected, things are getting solved now. Several site (like the one you are on right now) will help you solve this query nicely. If you are a non-profit having a clear process made, helps align volunteers well.

So where do we stand now. Let’s reiterate how these problems can be solved.

1. Time is not really a problem! We watch movies, have enough personal time and for some ‘doing nothing’ is also a phase of their life. Make Volunteering interesting and Fun. People make time for fun and interesting things.
2. People walk an extra mile for passion. Align what they can provide with what you want. We are Lazy not because we don’t want to work, we are lazy at times because the work provided is just not interesting.
3. Assign group tasks. Involve not just the volunteer but the whole team. The task need not be one more in her bucket after the family and job. All the 3 can really co-exist!
4. Communicate the impact of work and what difference it can make in the life of another person. Even if you can do only a little, do it, but do contribute something should be the motto.
5. Rome was not built in a day. Great things take great time and effort. Make things count and always show the big picture. Experience shows that people perform at a length when they have the big picture in mind. So do communicate that on regular basis.
6. Yes many a times the right match is not made. We agree, BUT that doesn’t stop an achiever. Remember I said it’s a hyper connected world? Just go online and declare what you can contribute, ask what you want. That’s the first step towards a Happy Volunteering experience. You can even declare by Joining Here

Once you are determined that you have to support a cause then there are a thousand ways of doing it. Most of the well known NGOs have websites for example- Goonj, Cry, Smile, Helpage India etc.  We ourselves register all the good NGOs we get in touch with. Check them here

I hope I was able to provide you enough solutions to inspire and drive great volunteering support. You have any doubts? We are just a comment or email away.

We have always been taught that gratitude has great powers. We understand that we need to Thank volunteers who work for us and with us. However the problem is that we seldom exercise this power. All the weird reasons we give boil down to two simple areas – Timing and Vision.

We ideally should thank people for the work done. However once the task is completed how many of us really follow-up? Unfortunately we simply move on. The other side of the coin is vision. If you want your volunteers to keep performing, your employees to keep excelling, you ought to appreciate the effort they put in. Don’t you?

Non profits and NGOs have a big onus when it comes to solving social problems. It is essential that you connect to all sectors of the system and engage them.

Why Thanking your Volunteers is good for your organization

Thanking someone is not just restricted to good etiquettes. It’s much beyond that. Let us highlight quickly why thanking / crediting your volunteers will work in your favour

1. The Karma cycle – Volunteers by virtue of their work help you selflessly. Many go beyond their current skills and commitments to add value to the lives of beneficiaries. We know they aren’t paid employees, so shouldn’t they be accredited enough to complete the loop. Shouldn’t we acknowledge their work and show that we care?
2. Increases Productivity – It’s a well-known fact that even money will push you to perform only to a certain limit. It’s the adventure, passion and outcome that drive the achievers. Thanking volunteers for what they do and making them realizing the impact is very important. This makes them aware of the difference made and also motivates them to perform better. In short, ‘Get More Results’ for your organization!
3. Feeling of togetherness – Accreditation and acknowledgement when done in a public forum helps connect people to your cause and organization; much beyond their regular interests. Constant communications with stakeholders help them to connect with your organization and its beneficiaries as extended families. It builds upon the culture.
4. Increase in Onus – With impact and accreditation comes the onus of performance. With collective efforts a team achieves much more than what each member could have done individually. Higher responsibility can only be assumed by a person if he or she understands the impact made by his small deeds. Increased onus sharing will result in volunteers reaching new heights too.

Convinced! Now tell me How to do this

I am glad you asked this question! Its very important that you accredit and acknowledge in a formal, public and yet personal manner. Thanking should not feel like a formal activity done just for the sake of it. A few things to ensure are that

1. Accredit your volunteers in the best way possible.
2. Always appreciate in public, criticize only one on one in a constructive manner.
3. Acknowledge with a personal touch.

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough -

Meister Eckhart

At times highlighting your volunteer’s achievements publicly not just motivates them but also creates a great repute for your brand. Some of the immediate ways to accredit are

1. Thanking the volunteers on social channels (Your fan pages, tweets etc)
2. Mentioning achievements in public & meets of the organization
3. Certificates and letters to the achievers
4. Media mentions when the event is covered
5. Writing blog articles and other mentions on your website
6. At times gamifying the complete process
7. Having a process in place for accreditation

The Secret of getting this done

We understand all of the above might sound like a ‘one-more-cumbersome-yet-important-task’ in your to-do list. That’s why we created ProjectHeena. Via ProjectHeena you won’t just accredit your volunteers but also achieve all the benefits we talked about earlier. You reach out to more people, volunteers and donors. You build a better brand and log all activities in a very convenient way. The idea is to keep everyone charged up while driving more volunteers your way. You can directly register your non-profit/foundation OR contact us to know more.

We have created this app just for the social sector to discover, connect and engage talent at multiple levels and we are confident we will keep delivering more. And while we just gave you some tips to engage with your volunteers further; I would conclude by Thanking you for reading this and Thanks to those who would agree, comment or share this post too. Gratitude works!

Image credits: katietegtmeyer