Charities. What makes you want to volunteer or give?

[ChristyB in TN]

I am working so hard on a project in my community. The level of involvement is so sporadic and my team is gobsmacked trying to come up with a way to motivate. What makes you want to jump in and help? Is it a mood or a need? We want to meet the needs of families in our community to remove all obstacles for having the most well educated and successful kids in the world. A noble undertaking, I know, but it is a fantastic opportunity to get everyone working together to solve little problems. So far we've solved a lot. However, we are struggling for involvement suddenly. Help? What are your triggers?

[Arcadia]

However, we are struggling for involvement suddenly. Help? What are your triggers?

 

I like seeing a spreadsheet (google spreadsheet is useful) for the group's volunteer opportunities/tasks as well as the time frame and number of volunteers needed. That helps me plan my time and see which volunteer opportunity I would like and would be able to fit into my schedule.

 

I had been an ad-hoc volunteer all my life and if there was no opportunity to ad-hoc, than I would not have been able to volunteer.

 

How about a book drop at somebody's house? I have a neighbor who is too busy to help but is willing to be a collection stop for donations of books and food.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Arcadia

[Mrs Mungo]

I like seeing a spreadsheet (google spreadsheet is useful) for the group's volunteer opportunities/tasks as well as the time frame and number of volunteers needed. That helps me plan my time and see which volunteer opportunity I would like and would be able to fit into my schedule.

 

I agree that this is important. I actually make spreadsheets like this for a couple of different organizations. I have jobs that take a daily commitment of time and jobs that are once a year for a couple of hours. You cannot count on people to constantly ask what you need. You must make your specific needs known. Approach people and ask them to do a specific job.

 

What is it you need? People? Supplies? Ideas? Meeting spaces? You have to make your needs known. Wanting to have the best educated kids around is a noble goal, but it doesn't tell me *anything* about what you are trying to do. People are willing to help when they are asked to do something specific or when they can meet an immediate need.

 

What are your *specific* ideas and what do you need to make those ideas come to fruition? Do you know?

 

Maybe you want to make sure all kids have access to books in their home. How are you going to facilitate that? Book drives for kids? A bookmobile? How is the community already involved? Does the local school and/or library already have a program you can piggyback on?

 

Maybe you want kids to have tutoring. What qualifications must the tutors have? Where are they meeting kids? Are there liability issues there? Is your group carrying insurance? Again, are there other local programs that you could connect with?

[Carol in Cal.]

Almost always it is because it's something that I have planned to do for a long time, and suddenly there is this opportunity to do it. For instance, when I was a kid I used hear that Bible passage about 'when I was hungry, you fed me...' etc. and resolve that I would do this when I was an adult. So when the opportunity arose, I did--remembering that commitment.

 

Also, I have to feel like it is a financially efficient and time honoring organization--an effective one. And that case needs to be made proactively and calmly to impress me.

[athena1277]

Is the project something kids or teens could help with? If so, you could contact some local scouting groups (Boy Scouts, American Heritage Girls, etc) to see if they could assist, either as a group or individuals. Even if they cannot make a regular commitment, a one-time day of help could help bring awareness of your organization to parents and troop leaders who may become regular helpers.

[Liz CA]

I usually feel the need to give of either time or resources from the knowledge of how incredibly blessed I am and how much more I have than I really need.

[happi duck]

I joined a community action group because the meetings were well advertised and consistent, I knew when, where and what to expect. I appreciated that everyone had a chance to be heard at meetings. I volunteered to serve because the needs and amount of commitment were clear.

 

I stopped volunteering and then stopped attending meetings when meetings became sporadic, unclear and extremely negative.

[Paige]

A lot of times, you don't have because you do not ask. People will agree to something if asked specifically and personally that they would not otherwise think to volunteer for. You need to have relationships with the volunteers so they don't feel used. Know their strengths and who fits where. A good leader and organizer has a plan with specific tasks and jobs in mind, specific people in mind to do those jobs, and is assertive and aggressive about asking for those people to do the jobs. I started grad school in a Human Services Administration program and left because I found that I disliked all the assertiveness and begging for funds that is involved. Asking is hard, but it is the only way to get what you need.

[*********]

For instance, when I was a kid I used hear that Bible passage about 'when I was hungry, you fed me...' etc. and resolve that I would do this when I was an adult. So when the opportunity arose, I did--remembering that commitment.

 

Like. :001_smile:

[SailorMom]

I have to feel that what is being done is truly worth the time, energy, and money that is being put in.

If the work makes people "feel good" but doesn't actually accomplish much I won't gt involved. Think "Cost/Benefit Analysis". It may be blasphemous - but I think the walks for cancer and heart disease are a real waste of time and money for example .....

I also see far too many small organizations trying to do the same thing without coordinating with one another, which seems like a real waste of resources.

Clear straightforward goals, excellent organization, fiscal responsibility - all very important.

[SKL]

I used to be on the committee to encourage voluteerism at my employer. I think what helped most was having a variety of opportunities and a flexible schedule that could accommodate everyone. For example:

• Different projects to touch different hearts. Animal lovers, kid lovers, people who have a heart for special needs, etc.
  
• Flexible times that take into account work and family.
  
• Always at least one option that allowed parents to bring and involve their own kids. Hardworking people do not want to take what little personal "family" time they have away from their kids.
  
• Options that cost zero money (pure volunteer time options)
  
• Options that cost almost zero time (pure donation options)
  
• Lots of feedback regarding how the beneficiaries of the charity have benefited.
  

Good luck!

[bugs]

I am like some of the pps. I need to know exactly what is being asked. I prefer to see a list of jobs, ask what the expectations and date commitments are and go from there. I tend to shy away from jobs that require a lot of meeting attendence because I feel there are very few people who know how to run a meeting effectively and efficeintly (I become quite impatient and inattentive).

 

There are some organizations dh and I give financially to and others we volunteer our time. If it is a local cause that we care about, it is usually our time. I also try to make it a habit not to get involved in a cumulation of activities that takes over my life. I've done that and it's exhausting.

[SKL]

It may be blasphemous - but I think the walks for cancer and heart disease are a real waste of time and money ...

 

:iagree: If I want to financially help a cause, I'll write a check. And I'd like the bulk of the money to go toward the substantive cause, not the marketing.

[Impish]

Flexibility is prob the #1 issue.

 

Flexibility in hrs, duties...I volunteered yrs ago w/a community group, and while I made sure I was there for my shift, I did get really sick and tired of being demanded more and more above and beyond what I was already doing, and ended up walking away. Understanding that volunteers are just that...volunteers. They're not being paid for what they're doing, they're donating their time, so some understanding, appreciation, and flexibility is important.

 

Not everyone can be there on a regular basis. Work, family, other commitments are happening. To attempt to make a volunteer feel bad b/c they can help out once or twice a mth rather than once or twice a wk is a sure way of getting no help at all.

[Soror]

Almost always it is because it's something that I have planned to do for a long time, and suddenly there is this opportunity to do it. For instance, when I was a kid I used hear that Bible passage about 'when I was hungry, you fed me...' etc. and resolve that I would do this when I was an adult. So when the opportunity arose, I did--remembering that commitment.

 

Also, I have to feel like it is a financially efficient and time honoring organization--an effective one. And that case needs to be made proactively and calmly to impress me.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

I've always been drawn to volunteering but with kids I've had a huge issues with working things out. I also had a similar experience to Wendy in that I had set up for our hs group to volunteer a few times and had organizations flake out on keeping track of us when we were supposed to be there (I had called to confirm multiple times) and then changing their mind as to what they needed. Then it ended up like they were doing us a favor by letting us volunteer.

 

The last thing I volunteered for we had came and I was thinking we could help with a certain job but not another due to having kids but everyone had their jobs they wanted to keep. They kept advertising for volunteers for probably 2 months, which really annoyed me. I guess it wasn't important for them to have help or they would have been more flexible in moving jobs around to make sure everything was covered.

 

At this point I want to see things well organized, with needs clearly delineated and people to actually be friendly. We just started volunteering with our American Heritage Girls troop at an Asstd. Living Facility and I'm hoping this works out. However, the very first visit they had the time wrong, and the activity(which they said they were arranging) and to top it off they didn't even have the name of our group correct so there was massive confusion as they thought there were 2 groups coming.

Edited November 7, 2012 by soror

[T'smom]

I've seen this dramatically increase help. My parents church set up a Facebook page and when they need something, they just post it. Almost immediately, they have a response saying " I can do that." The key is it's specific. They put needs on there that people have "we have a person who needs a fridge" There will be offers. "We need someone to clean the gym Friday night after such and such event" People there. When you ask for things specifically people know if they can help or not. "We need help with the food pantry" is not nearly as specific as "we're running low on peanut butter for the food pantry" also, when you ask people as they are on fb or email, they can check their calendars or whatever right away. If you ask too far in advance, people don't know what they have going on. If you ask the day before, they think "sure, I don't have anything going on".

[JumpyTheFrog]

-Make it easy to sign up without having to play phone tag with people.

-Have clear starting and ending times and stick to them.

-Specifically note any jobs where children are welcome to come and help. I wanted to volunteer at the food pantry and take Tigger with me, but they don't allow kids.

-Make it clear if a job is something a person can sign up for one time vs an ongoing commitment.

-Consider making ongoing jobs last for just a quarter or semester, rather than a whole school year. People's schedules change as their kids' sports schedules change.

-If something can be done at home or is flexible in hours, make that clear. People are more likely to volunteer to stuff envelopes while they watch TV at home than if they have to do it somewhere else at certain time.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I've seen this dramatically increase help. My parents church set up a Facebook page and when they need something' date=' they just post it. Almost immediately, they have a response saying " I can do that." The key is it's specific. They put needs on there that people have "we have a person who needs a fridge" There will be offers. "We need someone to clean the gym Friday night after such and such event" People there. When you ask for things specifically people know if they can help or not. "We need help with the food pantry" is not nearly as specific as "we're running low on peanut butter for the food pantry" also, when you ask people as they are on fb or email, they can check their calendars or whatever right away. If you ask too far in advance, people don't know what they have going on. If you ask the day before, they think "sure, I don't have anything going on".[/quote']

 

This sounds like a great idea.

[justLisa]

I think you really do have to be flexible. Our hs group wanted to volunteer for a local food bank, but they were so rigid in their requirements we just couldn't do it. We have young kids. They can only do so much. They wanted them to go there for 3/4 hours at a time in the evening (7-9 or 10). We told them that wouldn't work, but surely there must be something the kids can do. Nope. They didn't want that. Well guess what, instead of having the kids' help they now don't have the kids to help at all. I mean maybe there are reasons I'm not aware of, but I think it was rather rigid and narrow minded of them.

 

Also, we volunteer for them every xmas by standing at the mall trying to get donations and we are one of the top money making groups for them. And that's all well and great, but what bugs me about that is they expect our group to stand there for 4 hours and have asked us to come back and do it more than once in the season. Standing around for 4 hours being cheerful and begging for money with 3-10 year olds is a lot harder than it seems! I feel like they aren't being realistic. I just started saying we are coming for an hour and we are done. "I" could stand there all day, but my kids are in meltdown mode after an hour (especially when they were younger).

 

I'm not saying that is your issue, but I think making it easy for people and offering a lot of flexibility is helpful. People are busy and are pulled in so many directions.

 

This happens ALL THE TIME here. I have tried, almost begged to help in places. Nope. It's all or nothing.

[ChristyB in TN]

I agree that this is important. I actually make spreadsheets like this for a couple of different organizations. I have jobs that take a daily commitment of time and jobs that are once a year for a couple of hours. You cannot count on people to constantly ask what you need. You must make your specific needs known. Approach people and ask them to do a specific job.

 

What is it you need? People? Supplies? Ideas? Meeting spaces? You have to make your needs known. Wanting to have the best educated kids around is a noble goal, but it doesn't tell me *anything* about what you are trying to do. People are willing to help when they are asked to do something specific or when they can meet an immediate need.

 

What are your *specific* ideas and what do you need to make those ideas come to fruition? Do you know?

 

Maybe you want to make sure all kids have access to books in their home. How are you going to facilitate that? Book drives for kids? A bookmobile? How is the community already involved? Does the local school and/or library already have a program you can piggyback on?

 

Maybe you want kids to have tutoring. What qualifications must the tutors have? Where are they meeting kids? Are there liability issues there? Is your group carrying insurance? Again, are there other local programs that you could connect with?

 

Oh, we have it all mapped out and have an organized and fantastic operation going. I actually have teamed up with the local agencies, a few churches and the people from the school system who handle the Title One program, backpack program, homeless families, etc. We meet regularly and have a good system. Our problem was that we wanted to remove the obstacles. We have furnished a stove for a single mom with kids in the school, shoes for families, lots of food, a little furniture, etc. The schools were having problems meeting particular needs and legally couldn't go to the churches with pantries, clothes closets, etc for help. But I can because I don't work for either one. My program is a middle man, a recruiter and a clearing house. It is working. We got our Facebook page idea from the successful one in Joplin. It is just so interesting how cyclical the support is. We are inundated and now...nothing. It is very frustrating but we can do it.

I loooooove the spreadsheet idea! I'm doing it!

[ChristyB in TN]

Oh, thank you all so much for your responses. I am writing all of them down and will USE them. Wanna see our page? Please feel free to start one just like it in your community. :D When you come up with more suggestions, feel free to message me! We need all of them.

http://www.facebook.com/AnteUpGreatKidsGreatCommunity

[ChristyB in TN]

Ok and thinking about your project specifically, I have to say this is so incredibly challenging. I live in an area where there are a lot of obstacles and issues for people that make success in school difficult. There are tons of organizations, projects, etc. to address this issue. Yet there still remains a lot of apathy. And I think sometimes it comes down to the fact that not all people value education to the same extent. So then what? KWIM?

 

I guess I have addressed the issue by homeschooling my kids. And I know, that's selfish and it's not fixing the problem. I just feel like there is nothing I am going to do to change anyone's mind so I can't say that I even feel like trying. As I type this I realize how awful that sounds, but yeah that's really where I am at if I'm being brutally honest.

 

No, I agree with you. I am fixing my little problem by homeschooling mine, too. I just needed to do something about everyone else's. The problem is that once you get started it is hard to know where to start. My dear friend who started it with me works in the schools and we decided to START with the basics: books, money for tutoring, money for extracurriculars, shoes that fit, coats and backpacks, etc. We have a big homeless population all of the sudden, too. Lots of apathy, too. However, it is a good community, we just have to keep them interested.

[ChristyB in TN]

I have to feel that what is being done is truly worth the time, energy, and money that is being put in.

If the work makes people "feel good" but doesn't actually accomplish much I won't gt involved. Think "Cost/Benefit Analysis". It may be blasphemous - but I think the walks for cancer and heart disease are a real waste of time and money for example .....

I also see far too many small organizations trying to do the same thing without coordinating with one another, which seems like a real waste of resources.

Clear straightforward goals, excellent organization, fiscal responsibility - all very important.

 

Oh, boy do I agree. I want to see the costs, too.

[Mrs Mungo]

-Specifically note any jobs where children are welcome to come and help. I wanted to volunteer at the food pantry and take Tigger with me, but they don't allow kids.

 

This is a good idea and there are sometimes reasons that they might not advertise. For example, we have taken our scouts to help at the homeless shelter when nobody is there. But, there are registered offenders who cannot be around kids, therefore kids cannot help when they are there.

[ChristyB in TN]

Ok, you're doing what the school nurse and school social worker and high school clubs and civic organizations do in our community. They have a drop off location at each school bldg for used clothing, books, and games, as well as contacts with the church thrift shops. One nurse coordinates the backpack pgm for the entire district. The teachers' association members buy clothing for holiday gifts for needy students. A holiday gift drive is done at each school bldg, coordinated by the PTA. A holiday food drive is done by a civic organization...centralized drop off at each school, picked up and sorted and distributed by high school students on a given day, publicized in advance.

 

There is no issue with sports or band as we have no fees for those. The public librarian stocks multiple copies of summer reading novels so students don't have to buy them. Band lessons are given in school, as a group lesson, every single year as a part of band class. Boosters usually provide sports equipment to Free & Reduced Lunch students. Boosters raise money for maintenance of the band equipment and any fees and expenses for the band students competitions.

 

Tutoring is provided free at the school, including bus transport home. Also a certified math teacher is on duty every study hall every period, with the sole task of helping anyone that wants math help. The afterschool tutoring is provided by every teacher - either set office hours or by appt -- and the NHS members.

 

Coat drives here are coordinated w/the community by the high school They set out drop boxes at the high school, then the high school clubs sort & distribute to the community at the fire house on a designated day that is published in advance. The nurses give coats out during the school day..anyone without a coat is sent to the nurse before heading out to recess.

 

Good luck to you in getting it started in your area. Once you get the pathways set, people look for it and keep contributing time and goods.

 

Oh, thank you. I want it to be a great path. :)

[DaffodilDreams]

Experience.

 

Case #1: St. Jude: Dh and I began donating to St. Jude years ago (before parenthood even entered our minds) because we felt in our hearts that this was a worthy cause. However, actually needing their services, seeing firsthand just what goes on there, meeting some of the research scientists, the doctors, nurses, seeing other patients and families, etc. made the place even more of a priority in our minds. Every dollar we've ever donated was absolutely worth it.

 

Case #2: Local community theatre: Dd has been in show after show since she was almost 5. Her love of theatre revived mine, and together we brought dh into the circle. Because of our experiences, our family sees the importance of local theatre. It has given us so much, and we feel the need to give back what we can, so we volunteer often and donate annually.

 

In our case, being on the receiving end of these wonderful organizations created loyal and active supporters.