Volunteering - brawn is better than brain

Written by Richard Ellis, PRCA Communications Director. These are my views and not those of the PRCA.

When I first joined the PRCA I committed to doing a day per month for a leading conservation charity. The PRCA were generous enough to commit half of that time (like most PRs I more than made it up in the evenings and at weekends). The experience left me querying whether it generally makes sense to volunteer a professional skill set rather than just offering time. 

If volunteers offer time, can choose how to use that time, putting it towards meeting their objectives and priorities. This means that not only is there a need, there will generally be a structure in place to ensure the volunteer is well used.  

If volunteers offer a skillset, charities should feel no obligation to take them up on their generous offer. The charity will generally need to invest significant time into leveraging the volunteer’s skills and integrating them into established processes. It can be frustrating for both parties.  

Where a charity does take up an offer of a skillset, then both parties must treat it as they would any commercial / professional relationship otherwise deadlines will never be met and good intentions never realised. 

At the moment the third sectors needs money and sometimes manpower. While it would be great if they wanted me for my mind, I’ll settle for them loving me for my body and my cash.

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