Why WE Don’t Volunteer.
FLOC has been matching young professionals with volunteer, committee and board positions for over 4 years now. Within that time we’ve heard a lot of excuses as to why WE as individuals say no to volunteering. It’s not that we don’t want to do it; it’s just that we’ve tricked ourselves into believing our excuses and as a result they give us a pass. This leads many of us to never engage in volunteering at all.
Here are the top ten reasons why WE don’t volunteer:
1. Someone Else Will Do It. What’s so outstanding about this excuse is that it’s true. Someone else will do it, but often it will be an overworked and underpaid staff member already buried in an endless list of responsibilities. Volunteers are worth their weight in gold because they relieve the staff to focus on the most important tasks and to oversee coordination. Rare is there an event with too many volunteers. So let’s drop this excuse and realize that the “someone” is US!
2. I Don’t Have The Time. Right! This too is a rockstar excuse. We young professionals are on our assent in our careers and are super busy. We have parties to attend, people to date and marry, children to care for, new job titles to pursue, dollars to be made, and we need our “me time.” Yes, this is all true and yet, luckily, there are 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. Put together, that’s a lot of time, and the great part is that most nonprofits are willing to work with our dynamic schedules. For those of us who spend most of our day sitting at a desk, consider “micro-volunteering” which allows you to volunteer a few minutes each day right from your work station!
3. I Don’t Have The Money. Okay, this excuse is decent. Volunteering does cost money in the sense that your time is valuable and there are transportation costs. The Independentsector.org claims that a volunteer hour in the state of California, factoring in the average cost of living per individual, is worth $24.75. Again, this speaks to why volunteering is so valuable and why volunteering is “giving.” There is a cost, but stacking it up against a typical night out on the town drinking with friends, well, there’s just no comparison. Plus, wouldn’t it be great to have a weekend morning without a hangover!
4. I Won’t Know Anyone There. I like to refer to this as the “Junior High Excuse.” Girls on one side, guys on the other and heaven forbid if I find myself alone at any one moment. We need to get over this excuse fast! Welcome to being an adult. Yes, it’s nice to have friends to volunteer with, but aren’t we fully capable of showing up to a volunteer event by ourselves. In fact, we might find that showing up alone creates the best opportunity to engage with new people and stay focused on the task at hand. Given, the majority of FLOC volunteer events are group activities, but let’s not be afraid of going it alone. We’re big kids now. We can handle it!
5. I’m Not Skilled For The Job. True! There are a few volunteer positions that require expertise and you’d be right to say “no” to some of them. However, this is not the general rule of volunteering, as most positions only require basic knowledge and skills. A better attitude is a “willing to learn” disposition. Most FLOC volunteers are beloved by our nonprofit partners because our attitudes are positive and we are willing to tackle the task at hand. If the job doesn’t fit, then most likely there’s another position that will. Suit up, show up and drop the excuse!
6. I’ve Donated Money, Isn’t That Enough. Um, yes. However, the true difference between good people and GREAT people is that good people donate and GREAT people donate while also volunteering their time. In the nonprofit world, time is the differential that changes the world for the better. Yes, dollars are hugely valuable, but without “boots on the ground,” very little moves forward. Volunteers are the catalyst and the driving force behind so many of FLOC’s nonprofit partners’ mission/visions. Just imagine Big Brothers Big Sisters without volunteers to mentor teens or the Friendship Shelter without servers to feed the homeless or Project Access without volunteers to read stories to children at their community centers. Simply put, money helps sustain organizations, but volunteering changes lives. Here’s the point, be GREAT and DO SOMETHING!
7. I Might Be Invited to Something Better. Fine. We can get away with this about 20% of the time on special occasions and birthdays. The rest of the time, well, what’s better than hanging out with Ted Danson and Morgan Freeman at an OCEANA event or telling stories with the CEO of PIMCO at a Boys and Girls Club gala or laughing with the manager of LMFAO at the Mercy House golf tournament and what’s better then advocating for an abused child through CASA or helping someone with AIDS receive the treatment they need or providing food for a hungry family. 80% of the time this excuse is totally lame. It just doesn’t fly. The truth is that volunteering is a blast and there rarely is something better happening.
8. It’s Out Of My Comfort Zone. Of course it is! Volunteering is out of everyones’ comfort zones. For example, who is comfortable with abused and neglected children, diseases, homelessness, environmental pollution, hunger, mental illness, injustice, etc… No sane person is, which is why we work with these organizations to eradicate the ills that plague our society. These issues are uncomfortable, but it is up to us to address them or we’ll continually live with them in an even greater growing uncomfort.
9. I’m Not A Fan Of The Nonprofit World. Cool. This is a trendy new excuse which is building traction by those who feel the nonprofit world is poorly managed. Some perceive nonprofit Execs of pocketing too much of the funds and not actually putting the dollars toward the organization’s professed goals. In a few cases this could be true, but honestly, there is a vast misperception as to how nonprofits should be run. If you have a moment, spend some time watching Dan Pallotta spell out this issue on an excellent TED talk, click here. He nails it and lets us know that our thinking is dead wrong.
10. It’s To Hard To Find Information About Where to Volunteer. Wrong! http://oc.flocers.org/#events Done & Done! FLOC is here to build the bridge for you to the nonprofit sector. Click on the events link, find a volunteer opportunity and start volunteering today. No more excuses!
