| | Activism in issues such
as human rights,
education and
environmental protection
is undisputedly a matter
of passion. Take,
however, recent
statistics for the
voluntary sector in the
UK (income of £26.3bn,
total assets of £66.8bn,
a new
Government-sponsored
Community Assets Fund
worth £30m in 2007). Add
to it increased public
scrutiny and pressure for
results, and an agenda
that includes issues such
as constraints to growth,
competition, hiring and
retaining quality staff,
effectiveness in
addressing the needs of
their target markets, and
short and long term
financing. We’re talking
business.
Recognition of the
shortage of business
skills within the
voluntary sector has
brought about the
creation of the Vital
Spark Forum - a body
which promotes meaningful
volunteering
opportunities as a bridge
between charities and
professionals who are
willing to apply their
experience and drive to a
good cause.
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| | £250,000, we have been
able to operate without
support for the last year
or so. We would highly
recommend other NGOs and
start-up charities to
make use of VSF’s support
and their volunteers’
goodwill.”
Moreover, such
collaborations are often
win-win situations. While
the main motivation at
the outset for the
volunteers themselves is
usually the will to give
something back and make a
difference, in hindsight
they are often impressed
with the practical skills
developed in the
volunteering experience,
such as project
management, leadership,
commitment and
communication.
Even employers are
increasingly
acknowledging the value
of employee time
dedicated to volunteering
activities. According to
a research carried out by
the Chartered Management
Institute among its
members in late 2005, 59%
of senior managers
recognised local
volunteering projects as
an effective tool to
develop management
skills. Not impressed?
You may want to know that | |
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| | an MBA program was
recognised as effective
for the same purpose by
53% of managers.
Value in the
brokerage
Whereas the potential
benefits for volunteers
are defensible in theory,
drive-rich and time-poor
professionals can often
be put off by the effort
involved in finding a
suitable project. With
over 170,000 charities in
the UK, matching needs,
resources, skills, time
frame, location and
interests can be an
endless puzzle.
Then, once wannabe
volunteers do find an
institution to work with,
their fizz is often lost
due to lack of clarity,
bureaucracy, no ownership
of the projects they are
engaged in or even by the
limited impact they can
make.
This is where VSF adds
value. By engaging with
the charities in advance,
VSF helps them identify
areas in which
improvement is needed and
designs short- to
medium-term strategic
projects to which
volunteers can contribute
using their professional | |
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| | skills to optimise
impact. This gives both
parties maximum benefit
from the interaction. The
scope of the project and
the resources needed are
clearly defined and
considered vis-à-vis the
skills, interests and
availability of the
members who join VSF’s
“Bank of Talent”.
VSF points out that,
as in relationship
matchmaking, a touch of
passion has a role to
play alongside
compatibility of
interests. Belief in the
cause can really spark
volunteers’ motivation
and creativity, and a
wealth of innovative
ideas and action plans
can arise during the
project. It is not
uncommon for the
volunteers to engage in
long-lasting commitments
with the charity he or
she is matched up with.
After all, the voluntary
world will always welcome
romantics.
To learn more
Visit VSF’s website at
www.v-s-f.org
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Currently, VSF limits
its activities to
London-based charities
engaged in the fields of
community development,
education and the
environment.
And benefits for those
charities are
significant. As an
example, take Envision, a
charity that runs an
educational programme to
engage 16-18 year-olds in
their schools and local
communities across
London.
With the help of a
Vital Spark Forum member,
Envision was able to
develop and implement a
new accounting system.
“This system, and the
help we received from the
Forum, was essential in
facilitating the
transformation from a
small start-up to a fully
functioning charity, able
to meet our legal and
procedural requirements.
It helped us grow at a
critical time in the
organisation’s life. Now
with a staff of 10
full-time members and a
turnover of around | |
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