Skills-Based Volunteering

For Volunteers            For Agencies

Volunteers with specific skills and time to share them are in high demand these days.  As budgets get cut and more services are needed, the help that can be offered by volunteers with specific skills is definitely on the rise.

Skills-based volunteerism is service offered by individuals or groups that capitalizes on personal talents or core business skills, experience, talent or education.

Facts show that the majority of nonprofits value the skills that can be offered by volunteers:  77 percent of nonprofits believe they would benefit from skilled volunteers, and 62 percent work with skilled volunteers.  However, only 12 percent of agencies take the time and care to align specific needs of the agency with the kind of high-level skills offered by some volunteers. This gap means that many agencies are missing out on a precious resource — the talent of individual volunteers, professional and corporate volunteers and teams who can put their skills and products to work, increasing the capacity and effectiveness of nonprofits.

Skill-based volunteerism includes:

 ·         Individual volunteers, corporate paid or non-paid volunteers, groups, loaned executive, or interns

• Professionals (attorneys, chefs, teachers, health care professionals, plumbers, electricians)
• Projects completed in one day, as well as short, medium or long-term projects
• Activities performed during working hours or on individual time
• Projects that are planned in advance or spontaneous (such as disaster response)
• Application of all types of skills and talents, ranging from business or professional experience to hobbies
• Consultation on nonprofit management issues – in the office as well as “in the field”
• Impact – from local impact to regional to national and international!

Short term projects:

• Plumbers, Electricians
• Photographers, Videographers
• Website or Graphic Designer
• Copywriting
• Special Events Logistics and Coordination

Long term projects:

• Public Relations/Marketing
• Financial Systems, Accounting
• Legal Assistance
• Grant Writing
• Business Consultants
• Tutor/Teachers Aid

Agencies

If your agency would like to tap the skills of volunteers willing to offer them, contact the Volunteer Center of Bergen County.  Debbie Emery, Director of Community Volunteer Services is ready to help.  You can also add requests for volunteers with specific skill sets to you listing of available volunteer positions.