How to Create Board-level Volunteering Opportunities
Originally published in Best Practice Autumn 2015 issue
There is a lot of wall painting and tree planting going on in employer supported volunteering. This is good for team building, for immediate (and visual!) impact. It is not so good if a lasting effect, or dare we say sustainability, is the aim. Plus, there are only so many walls to paint and so many trees to plant. We hear time and again from charities desperately trying to divert corporate partners from their interest in this type of one-off activity when what they’re really crying out for is more skills-based volunteering. What if only 5% of staff at large corporate organisations were to volunteer their skills to help charities run themselves better? What if charities got better at business development and strategic planning as a result of the support they received? How much more income could they generate and how many more beneficiaries could they help?
