How familiar is your nonprofit aware of Skill Based Volunteering? Are you even utilizing this movement to empower the capacity of your nonprofit?

One of the fastest-growing corporate citizenship programs is skills-based volunteering, and I wonder how many nonprofits out there are benefiting from this movement, especially for those working in Tanzania. It’s clear that 50% of companies have developed skills-based volunteer programs to support community and business goals. Most of the nonprofits surrounding us today could benefit from this, yet not many of them seem to be rushing for this opportunity, they just keep missing out on valuable skills that could help strengthen and grow their organizations. 

Are you still wondering what skills-based volunteering (SBV) is? 

Well, Skills-based volunteering is a means whereby volunteers contribute their professional skills, often providing expertise to directly supporting a nonprofit’s internal operations, strengthening the infrastructure and capacity of the organization helping them build and sustain their capacity to successfully achieve their missions.

Driven by passion and purpose, skills-based volunteering allows professionals to make a tangible, lasting difference by connecting with a cause they care about and donating their professional skills to further the cause of a nonprofit and this cab be supported by the fact that more than 4 million professionals from LinkedIn have already raised their hands looking to volunteer, and insist on more opportunities to give back using their expertise

Skill based volunteering can become a benefit to your nonprofit by helping with the finishing of a project, expand, spread the word about your organizations work, implement needed technology, write an annual report or get help with any other crucial task that your organization might have, especially with challenges which your nonprofit cannot complete on its own. As with most elegant, effective solutions, skills-based volunteering meets more than one need and benefits many.

With the help of SBV you can empower your understaffed nonprofit get needed expertise, save time by not having to employee and train a new employee for what might be just a short-term need. As a nonprofit, you can utilize skills-based volunteering expand their capacity especially for specific projects that your staff don’t have the capacity to do.

Skill Based Volunteering is a powerful driver of social change, and is a unique approach to community engagement that matches employees’ workplace skills, expertise and knowledge with nonprofit needs to increase their impact in the community. Skills-based volunteers matches the right volunteer skills with the right nonprofit’s needs and can make a significant impact on the ability of your nonprofit to realize its mission.

So, why does your nonprofit need this?

Many people out there are willing to help, and with Skill based volunteering you can save resources such as time and money that can be allocated to other areas that will benefit those whom you serve. It should be understood that professionals want to share their expertise in a way that yields the highest impact on the world. They want to connect with their passions and make the world a better place without having to quit their day job. This is why you nonprofit need to dive into Skill Based Volunteering.

Skills-based volunteers can fill nearly any gap in expertise your organization is experiencing. Whether you need a developer for your website, help with marketing, or a new system installed! There’s always someone out there who is willing to become a part of what you are doing in the community.

The relationships you build with skills-based volunteers are about more than rapid-fire project completions, these relationships also give you and your team an opportunity to develop professionally in ways you never imagined.

Skills-based volunteer projects often establish a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship between nonprofits and volunteers. Engaging with a professional outside of your organization allows you to build your network and expand your pool of donors, advocates and supporters.

What kinds of people are interested in Skill Based Volunteering you might want to look for?
People who are changing jobs and still want to donate their time to keep skills sharp
Newly graduated students who want to put their knowledge and skills into practice
Those who have retired but wish to continue utilizing their skills for a better cause

In what areas can Skill Based Volunteering benefit your nonprofit?

It can benefit your nonprofit in areas such as Staff Expertise and Capacity building, human resources, strategic planning, marketing, operations, finance, technology and so much more at your need.

Where can you get started with Skill Based Volunteering?

There are so many organizations out there where you can connect to outsource professional volunteers. Organizations such as Catchafire and Volunteer Match can be a great place to start when it comes to outsourcing. You can also partner with one within the country such as Tanzania Volunteers and Africa Volunteer Corps. or you can talk to the guys at Empower Tanzania to see if they can help. This Organizations bring carefully vetted skilled volunteers to a small number of carefully selected nonprofits. They put the volunteers to work in carefully designed and managed projects that often get at the nonprofits’ most critical business challenges. You can be one of those non profits.

Partner with a for-profit organizations. More than 50 percent of companies now have some type of Skills-based volunteering program within their institution in which they’re funneling their employees into capacity-building projects at nonprofit organizations. Lookout for such companies and partner with them.

However, one of the easiest ways to do this is by creating a program and placing it on your website or social media and asking others to share it with those interested to donate their professional skills to your nonprofit. Any organization can start this kind of project and work with a volunteer who is qualified to get the job done. It’s a great way to get the talent you need from people who are actually passionate enough to donate their time and skills to your organization. Providing opportunities for volunteers to help organizational projects is a great way to get them in the door.

My hope is that this blog post will inspire and get you started with Skill Based Volunteering in your organization. So why not get out there and grab opportunity.

I hope this blog will get you started. If you have any comments don’t hesitate to share them below, and if you have any further question or need help please feel free to email me at rumishaelulomi@gmail.com. I will be more than happy to help.