Why Volunteer?

Volunteering your time to a cause can be very impactful. It is often said that volunteering your time is more powerful than money. Why? Because, you can always make more money, but you can never get your time back.

People volunteer for many reasons. Examples for donating your time are as follows:

1. You believe in the organization‘s mission and cause;
2. You want to make a difference;
3. You want to gain experience and learn new skills;
4. You want to make new contacts and expand your network;
5. You want to get a job within the organization.
6. You want to gain the organization as a client for your product or service.

In my view, reasons for volunteering #1 and #2 must be primary. In the past, I have volunteered for reasons #1 – #4. I have never volunteered for reasons #5 and/or #6. However, if you volunteer for the right reasons (#1 and #2), and you are presented with opportunity to work with/for the organization (#5 and/or #6), then I believe that it is fine to take advantage of the opportunity.

Happy volunteering!

D.A. Abrams, CAE