Finding a volunteer opportunity

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Volunteering is a prefect way to get involved in finding solutions for problems you care about. Giving your time to a worthy cause, even if it is just a brief amount, is worth the commitment involved.

Here are some tips on how to find the right volunteer opportunity for you:

  • Tackle a problem or issue important to you.

Sometimes, the best volunteer opportunity is the one that deals with a problem or issue close to your heart. Do you want to help abused animals? Are you concerned with mentoring children? Whatever is your passion, getting involved in dealing with that issue can lay the groundwork for a great volunteer experience. Contact organizations that deal with those issues you care about and ask if they have openings for volunteers.

  • Factor time into volunteering.

Choosing when and where to volunteer comes down to how much time you are able to devote. There are volunteer opportunities that fit within any time commitment. You can do something as simple as volunteer at a charity event for a few hours or spend each week mentoring at-risk teens. Nonprofit organizations are good at tailoring opportunities to fit the demands of modern society.

  • Look for a fulfilling opportunity.

Volunteer work should not be entirely selfless. You should enjoy what you are doing. Think about what you like to do. If you are a person who likes to be in charge, take on a leadership role. This could include anything from fundraising to organizing events. If you are looking for a way to simply contribute, you could help clean up a park or highway or sign up participants for a charity 5K.

  • Find something that fits your skills.

Jot down a list of the things you are talented at doing and share them with volunteer coordinators you speak with. This will give them and you a better idea where you can be a useful volunteer. How and where you volunteer will be directly impacted by your preexisting talents and abilities. You will be best served by using your strengths to enhance your volunteer work.

Filed Under: Charities, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Using social media for charity

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are a ton of social networks out there that a nonprofit organization can use to its advantage in promoting charitable causes. With the exlposive growth of social media on the internet, a successful charity must include social media tools if it is to create awareness and boost donations.

No matter which social network you are working with, you need to keep a pair of goals in mind.

Your first goal should be to connect with your exsiting donors. This step helps keep them involved and feel good about where the money they have donated is going. A happy and involved donor is a loyal donor. If you connect to them through social media like Facebook or Twitter, this pool will form the core of your fans and followers.

Your second goal should be to attract potential new donors. These are people who can make a difference on various charitable projects by making timely donations through contributing time, resources or money. These are the ones you want to attract to your Facebook page or Twitter account and become fans and followers of your organization.

Why is an active social media presence important? Simply put, this is the best way to create word-of-mouth and raise widespread awareness for whatever cause your organization is championing. Having a strong internet presence erases any preexisting geographic restraints.

Setting up social media accounts is an important step. Filling them with the right content is even more important. You need to send a message that conveys exactly what your organization is about and what you do to help people in need.

Upload photos and videos of your charitable work. Show people out there exactly who you are helping and what impact it is making in their lives. Put up messages from people who have been helped by your charity and allow them to further your organization’s cause through their own words.

Filed Under: Charitable organization, Charities Tagged With: , , , ,

Making Your Non-Profit Work Better

February 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When you either own or run a not-for-profit organization, you can generally tell the economic trends that are prevailing even better than a well-paid economist can. After all, when times get tough, one of the first places that most people cut back on is in the realm of charitable giving. As painful as this is, the burden you bear is still the same, no matter what the economy might be doing. After all, you are involved in this thing for a reason that goes well beyond making a living, or even putting together an impressive P&L statement. You want to make a difference in this world! And it’s great if you can do it in the same free-wheeling style that you use when times are great.

But how can you tighten the belt, and still accomplish the mission of your organization? By being creative, good reader. First off, you can use online collaboration software such as Google Documents to keep everybody working on the same page and can get plenty of things done. For another thing, you can use company credit cards, or even supply each employee with a prepaid credit card for when they need to purchase something. The prepaid option might actually be better, because you can exercise a lot more control over how much an individual employee spends with it.

Another couple of things you can do to keep your expenses down are to merge with a similar non-profit organization (assuming that your goals are very similar and your teams can work well together), and to use social media to promote your organization. While social media is not nearly everything that some folks think it is, you can get your name and your mission out to the right people, if you think through it carefully. Just be sure that you don’t hire someone expensive to design your offering for you, or the savings won’t be that substantial.

Filed Under: Charitable organization, General Tagged With: , , , ,

Ways you can make a charitable donation

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When you decide to donate to a charity, a ton of options open up to you. There are plenty of ways to give back besides just simply writing a check to your charity of choice. There is no reason you cannot contribute in your own way.

Here are some other ways you can donate to charity in addition to breaking open your wallet:

Donating time.

Volunteering does not cost you a thing and what it requires in terms of commitment, it pays off in so many other ways. Volunteering is the perfect way to get involved in a cause you care about. You can take a hands-on approach to solving problems and moving forward important work in any number of areas. Whether you have a day or even a couple of hours to give, committing time to any charitable cause is a worthwhile endeavor. Take some time and search for a cause that corresponds with what you believe in and matches your own talents and abilities.

Donating food and clothing.

There are many people who lack warm clothing or food to put on the dinner table. You can help alleviate these circumstances through timely donations. Contact your local food bank to find out when and how you can donate. Donating clothing is a good way to clean out your closet. You can dispose of clothes that you have outgrown or no longer wear, but are still in good condition. It does not need to be limited to what you do personally. You can talk with your bosses and organize a food or clothing drive at your workplace.

Donating your car.

Perhaps you have decided to upgrade your current automobile for a newer model with lower mileage. Instead of taking out a classified ad to sell your old car, donating it can be the perfect way to get it our of your driveway and accomplish a good dead at the same time. It does require some work, but donating your car to charity is a much better alternative than selling it for pocket change or sending it off to a junkyard.

Filed Under: Charity Scams, News Tagged With: , , , ,
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