7 not so obvious reasons to have volunteers in your organization

“Many people's hands are painted red to form together a large red heart” by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

Today I want to tap into a theme that might seem like common sense, but I find that seemingly obvious concepts can be explored to prevent further miscommunication.

Nonprofits not only make use of volunteers but are also mostly supported by them. However, when questioned on the reasons to have volunteers, the most common answers are: “Volunteers save money” or “We don’t have enough paid staff to do everything that needs to be done.” Honestly, these answers are both superficial and quite dangerous (raising awkward questions like “then why hire people at all?”).

I mixed personal opinions and information from different websites (listed below) to bring you this comprehensive list of reasons why you should have volunteers at your organization:

1. The greater the amount of people involved with the organization, the bigger the pool of knowledge, skills, and experience you can tap into. Also, more perspectives, ideas, and approaches become available to further improve and develop your services and processes.
2. That said, having volunteers also increases your capacity to reach and help your beneficiaries. As your arms get longer, you get to embrace more people.
3. On that note, you also strengthen your community (not only the direct clients) by offering volunteer opportunities. Volunteering promotes “social inclusion, skills development and potential routes to employment,”¹ benefiting individuals and potentially the community they live in.
4. Volunteers spread the word! They have a first hand experience with the organization’s work and become strong ambassadors, raising awareness about your cause and your organization. They also help you reach new audiences by activating their own network and social circles.
5. While doing that, they can fight for your organization in different fronts (media or government for example) without raising the question of what their financial interests are in the matter.
6. And one reason that I have never thought about: having people interested in helping your organization to thrive means that the work you’re doing is perceived as valid and important to the community. Isn’t it awesome to have that feedback and endorsement?
7. Finally, volunteers can ultimately become donors and staff members.

While it is true that having volunteers reduce operational costs, the reasons behind it go much deeper. The choice to have volunteers is intertwined with your organization’s “why” because it means bettering yourself and your community.

Sources:
- Service Leader
- ¹Knowhow Nonprofit

Revised by Isabelle Jade.

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