With a more flexible work diary – having just started freelancing – and a sense that charities need people to donate their free hours and expertise more than ever, I decided to spend more time volunteering. However, trying to find a voluntary role has proved surprisingly difficult.
I’ve been repeatedly frustrated by charities who say they need volunteers, actively advertise for them, and yet don’t follow through on their promise. These charities include small charities working in the health sector, to large environmentally focused organisations.
I appreciate that many charities have limited time and money to spend in this area – training someone, supporting them throughout their time with the charity, being available for questions – and looking after volunteers is very demanding, but what I can’t understand is why an organisation would actively ask for volunteers if don’t have the capacity to use them?
A number of charities that I’ve offered my expertise to – I’ve spent eight years working with a range of organisations as a marketing manager – have barely acknowledged my enquiries. This is despite reading on their websites that they want help. One charity, had an online application form, which took some time to fill out, after I completed it they emailed me to say “great, we’d love to speak to you further” but that was it, and after repeated chasing for a date from my side I gave up.
Another charity – I got so far as meeting their fundraising manager – asked me to carry out a project which took a couple of days of my time, and I rated it as important as my day job. But I had to chase to even get an acknowledgment they’d received it. My report could have been a load of rubbish or could have helped identify a brand new market for them, but this rudeness infuriated me.
However, I’ve also seen first-hand, when an organisation fully embraces what volunteers can offer, what an incredible experience this can be. I’m part of a befriending scheme and get to spend time with an 86-year-old who loves talking about her life and sharing her words of wisdom. The charity benefits from volunteers and is able to offer a service that they would not be able to afford if they had to pay staff to do this – and I get an enormous of amount from knowing the woman I see looks forward to seeing me every week.
I now rave about the charity and the fantastic things they do – telling friends and family about my experience, tweeting about the amazing work they do etc. But I’m not so quick to promote the work of those charities who didn’t even respond to my offer of help.
I understand the charity sector and I know the amazing things that can be achieved so I haven’t let the bad experiences I’ve had put me off. But I fear if others are treated the same way, they may not be as persistent – nor should they have to be.
My point is this – volunteers can bring a lot to a charity, but charities shouldn’t set up false hope or waste people’s time. If charities wait until they have capacity and expertise to follow through on requests for help then it’ll work better for the organisation and the volunteers.
Confessions of a charity professional is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s anonymous series where charity workers tell it how it is. If you would like to pitch us an idea read our guidelines here.
