There are many ways of practising individual social responsibility, but they all intercept and complete each other. Charitable acts and working for the community are only one of the categories, and donations and volunteering are a way of applying them.
The common misconception is that these two practices are entirely different, as the people implementing them, so let’s take a deeper dive into these groups’ characteristics to understand them better!
By the UK Civil Society statistics, the older generation in the group of 65-74 in most likely to volunteer frequently. Also, women are more interested in volunteering than man. Rural areas are more involved in this social activity, and around one in five employed people regularly volunteers.
Another study shows that working mothers and parents with children under 18 are the population that volunteers most.
To fully grasp why these groups overlap, we need to understand how volunteering inspires other acts of ISR.
Being involved practically, using your skills, interacting with people, and giving your free time for social good can be very rewarding. Going outside of your comfort zone, your everyday circle of people, and seeing the problems our society is facing with your own eyes can make a real change to your perspective. These are just some of the reasons why volunteering inspires change!
If we talk numbers, according to the Fidelity Charitable impressive 87% of the people that offer their free time to volunteering also support the same causes with funds. Also, 43% say that they donate in the same place they volunteer. How astonishing is that!
Suppose we also add to this the fact that two-thirds of people who make donations don’t do actual research before giving. They donate to organisations they know or listen to recommendations from friends and family. In that case, we can conclude that genuine first-hand involvement is crucial for an NPO to receive a donation.
We also need to mention the common misconception that when the volunteer stops serving, they no longer support the cause. Research shows that volunteers are more likely to engage in planned giving, sometimes at the same rate as donors. Statistically, those that volunteer will donate twice as much.
Building an NPO image is crucial for awareness, spreading the word for the substantial change you want to do for the community, and getting people involved.
Volunteering is a focal point for all of this to become more easily accessible. Your engaged audience needs to become involved in volunteering. That is why many successful organisations maintain regular contact with potential volunteers, and down the road convert them into returning donors.
Threat your volunteers with respect and engage them, they are your ambassadors!
The Social Friday global initiative has a mechanism in place that help NPOs in their community building, event planning and reaching out to potential volunteers. The regular intervals for hosting events are once in a quarter or four times in a year.
It is a unique way of connecting with your volunteers and open your ideas to a bigger audience.
Here are a couple of ideas on how to host a Social Friday. Give it a try!
What a conclusion! Most volunteers pay charities to volunteer by giving back.
This discussion leads to several recommendations. First of all, ensure that you bring people together regularly and connect with your volunteers. You don’t have to ask for donations, do your part, be loyal to the cause that you represent, and your volunteers will recognise the importance.
And remember, in a time full of unpredictable medical and economic circumstances, we as a society must find a way to help each other. So, whenever we talk about making contributions though direct donations or volunteering, we can connect them into one immense social contribution.
