photo by eir@si

While the economic crisis has strained the budgets of nonprofits in unprecedented ways, it has created a few key opportunities. One of those opportunities is in the area of volunteerism.

Corporate layoffs have forced a number of experienced, talented workers from both the corporate and nonprofit sectors into unemployment, underemployment or consultancy. These people now find themselves with more time on their hands, the ability to help a cause they were too busy to help before, and a need to increase their networks.

At the same time, nonprofits have been facing an economic crunch for years, but the problem has become extreme in today’s recession. As government resources are stretched thin, nonprofits are asked to do more. At the same time, nonprofits are struggling to meet their own budgets, so resources are hard to come by. In the area of systems and infrastructure development, the problem is particularly severe.

As a result, there are greater numbers of volunteer “pro bono consultants” available today – many with extensive technology experience, knowledge and skills that could profoundly benefit your nonprofit organization.

Increase Your Organizational Capacity – and Close Your Resource Gap – With Highly Qualified Volunteers!

Today’s economy has created a situation where volunteerism can provide a win-win for nonprofits and volunteers alike, according to volunteer Lisa Klar, who serves as the volunteer coordinator for The After-School Corporation (TASC).

Like many other highly-qualified professionals today, Klar found herself unemployed after spending years as an executive in the financial services industry. Klar wanted to turn this experience into a positive by volunteering – something she rarely had time to do previously. Now she puts her management skills to work recruiting and coordinating TASC’s volunteers.

“I approached TASC with the idea of becoming their volunteer coordinator on a volunteer basis because I was frustrated by how hard it is to become a volunteer.” Klar says, “Nonprofits are understaffed and need the help, but they don’t always have the resources to recruit and direct available volunteers.”

Now, Klar is able to connect talented volunteers with TASC’s needs. This includes a long-term tech project to improve their data management system and processes.

“TASC understands that people who are temporarily volunteering while unemployed could find a job and go away at any time.” Klar adds, “But, at a time when we are particularly resource-constrained, we’ve been able to complete a number of projects only because we’ve benefitted from the talent and motivation of people looking for productive ways to spend their time.”

While Klar sees the tremendous value volunteers bring to nonprofits, she personally understands the return benefit to volunteers. “It feels very isolating to be unemployed.” Klar says, “This experience has given me a way to add value, feel good, and expand my business network. I highly recommend the experience!”

Put Volunteers To Work In Your Organization – on Projects Both Large and Small!

Klar recommends that nonprofits start small, with bite-sized projects so they can figure out what kind of projects will work best with a volunteer workforce. As you gain experience and a solid volunteer workforce, you can grow into larger, more long-term projects.
 
Such has been the experience of Khalid West, Director of Technology for Union Settlement Association. After receiving a financial grant to improve how the organization tracks participants, they recognized that they needed to build a database. For this sizable project, they created a technology subcommittee, consisting of board members and volunteers.
 
“The presence of the grant was the real push.” West says, “The growth of the project was gradual and organic. We figured out skill sets among our subcommittee constituents. We said, ‘what do we want this database to do, who can do this, and how?’
 
Subcommittee members were able to bring on additional volunteers to assist. For example, members from Morgan Stanley and Deloitte & Touche were able to bring in some of their coworkers who possessed the knowledge and skills required to move the project forward. “They responded to the request as if it was a paid project!” West says. “Their commitment remains impressive to me, because I know that at any point I could reach out to them, whether they remain part of the subcommittee or not, and they would respond. They really went beyond the call of duty.”

 The database will be a long-term, ongoing project. Earlier this year, the project became part of “Impact Day” – a day of service where employers permitted their employees to spend the day as a volunteer. Volunteers who were working on the project were able to use that day to launch a new web interface for the new database- sort of an agency database 2.0. This will allow Union Settlement Association’s staff to access the database from any of their sites around the city – and anywhere else – with nothing more than a working web browser. During this day, volunteers showed staff how the interface worked, what features it included, etc.
 
Recruit, Organize and Task Your Volunteers For Maximum Effectiveness

West recommends appointing a point person so that volunteers have a key person to interact with. “You feel an obligation to get the project completed,” West says, “but as an organization you become flexible in accordance with the limitations and capabilities of the volunteers, and the project feels slightly less urgent. In the end it’s much more gratifying to see the volunteers hit key milestones.”

Jill Mendelson, Deputy Managing Director for UJA-Federation of New York, agrees with the importance of establishing a point person, or Project Manager. The Project Manager would be responsible for handling a variety of tasks in overseeing a project, including writing down exactly what the volunteer consultants would be expected to do.

“It is very important to clarify a scope of work for pro bono consultants.  This should be written down for reference throughout the project.” Mendelson says, “The written document should confirm project goals, respective roles and responsibilities of the non-profit and the consultant(s), a proposed time frame, and measurable outcomes.   The non-profit must be able to ensure a commitment of time and resources to the project and the consultant(s) must make every effort to honor their commitment”.  

Because the Project Manager’s position is so vital, Mendelson points out the advantages of using a third party for this responsibility rather than recruiting volunteers on your own.

As a funder, UJA-Federation of New York has provided pro bono consultation services to its affiliated agencies for more than twenty-five years.  Technology is just one of the many areas in which assistance is provided.  

How to Find Highly Qualified Volunteers For Your Organization

“Pro bono workers should be available to all nonprofits, and all individuals should have an opportunity to volunteer their professional skills,” says Lara Fisher Crampe, Deputy Director, East Coast for the Taproot Foundation, the largest nonprofit consulting firm in the country.

The Taproot Foundation helps close this resource gap by leveraging the skills and talents of business professionals to provide pro bono labor. The Taproot Foundation provides a structure that helps to match up the right pro bono consultants to meet a nonprofit’s needs.

The focus is on providing top-quality services for nonprofit clients, so pro bono consultants are carefully selected for specific assignments based on their knowledge and experience.

Similarly, nonprofits are screened carefully to make sure they fit the Taproot Foundation’s’ mission and that their needs can be met with one of the “Service Grants” that the consultants are trained to provide. Organizations should be facing society’s most pressing issues, especially in the areas of Arts, Education, Social Services, Environment, and Health. Nonprofits must be classified as a 501(c) (3) public charity by the IRS and provide direct benefit to the residents of a region – in our case a nonprofit that has a proven track record in New York City.

“We like nonprofits who have a local impact, so our volunteers can directly see the impact of what’s happening on the ground.” Crampe explains. This leads to greater satisfaction among volunteers, a higher level of commitment and ultimately, a higher quality result for all concerned.

The Taproot Foundation expects their nonprofits to be committed to pro bono labor from the highest levels of the organization, which includes the senior management team’s approval and involvement in the process. With that accomplished, the Taproot Foundation works to fully understand the needs of the nonprofit and how a pro bono project might move the nonprofit’s mission forward.

Building Your Pro Bono Workforce

Just as the nonprofits must meet certain criteria, the pro bono consultants are carefully screened and hand-picked for specific assignments. Projects are typically long-term and large, usually lasting from 6 to 12 months. Consultants are permitted to choose which project they’d like to work on.

Once assigned, consultants are expected to devote 5 hours a week on average to the assignment. This allows the consultant to still meet his full-time work obligations and also handle his responsibilities to the team.

Volunteers are typically able to work virtually, which grants them flexibility to work on their free time independent of their regular job.

Most technology projects are developed in open source using consultants with very specific expertise in the required area. Once the project is underway, The Taproot Foundation counsels nonprofits on their next steps so they can begin planning for future growth (such as adding additional features like blogs to a new website).

The Taproot Foundation typically handles 80-100 projects in the New York City area each year, although that number varies with demand and availability of volunteers and is expected to grow in the coming years.

“For the nonprofit organization, we want to work with them to understand their needs and help move their mission forward.” Crampe explains, “For the consultants, we want them to act on their desire to share their skills to help our world, and to discover what a profound difference they can make!”

For more information about how The Taproot Foundation can help your nonprofit close its resource gap with pro bono labor, visit their website at www.taprootfoundation.org.