{"id":5565,"date":"2016-05-18T08:16:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T12:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5565"},"modified":"2016-05-18T08:16:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T12:16:06","slug":"finding-the-best-place-to-volunteer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5565","title":{"rendered":"Finding The Best Place to Volunteer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"images\"<\/a>There\u2019s a lot to be said for giving back though volunteering. But finding the best place and assignment to match your interests and skills \u2014 that\u2019s the hard part.<\/p>\n

Just ask Barbara Bradley Hagerty, author of the great new book about midlife, Life Reimagined: The Science, Art and Opportunity of Midlife<\/a><\/em>, and a former NPR correspondent. When Hagerty and I attended the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging<\/a>\u2019s Purposeful Aging Summit in Los Angeles last week, she brazenly told the participants that when she took her golden-yellow lab mix Sandra Day to a nearby hospital volunteering to visit patients, \u201cI found it utterly boring and difficult. It was a mismatch of my skills and my passions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personally, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d feel that way because I think my lab Zena would make a tremendous therapy dog based on the feedback I get when I visit my mother\u2019s assisted living community with her. \u201cShe made my day,\u201d is a comment I frequently hear from petters. Seeing the smiles Zena puts on the faces there makes me feel good, too.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0A conversation with a nonprofit honcho can give you a sense of the group\u2019s agenda and needs so you can see if you think it\u2019s a good fit.<\/div>\n
\u00a0READ on Forbes<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
But I take her point. Everyone\u2019s different. So how can you<\/em> find your volunteering joy?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As Richard Eisenberg, a fellow Summit attendee and my Next Avenue editor, noted in his first-rate blog<\/a> on what he learned there: \u201cThere\u2019s a growing body of scientific research proving that aging with purpose is really, really good for your health. But to receive the potential health benefits, it helps to volunteer for the right reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

9 Tips to Find an Ideal Volunteering Gig<\/h3>\n

Here are my nine tips for finding a volunteer gig that works for you:<\/p>\n

1. Know what you have to offer. <\/strong>Nonprofits are often seeking people who can help them in precise areas, like fundraising, PR and marketing, event planning and finances. Specific skills run the gamut from coaching to mentoring, web design, writing and accounting.<\/p>\n

\"Betsy
Betsy Werley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So think strategically about what the volunteer experience can do for you<\/em>. \u201cVolunteering can be a stepping stone to other opportunities,\u201d said Betsy Werley, director of network expansion atEncore.org<\/a>, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people over 50 make a social impact, and former executive director of The Transition Network<\/a>, a national group for women over 50 in transition.<\/p>\n

Your goal might be to land a paid position at a nonprofit<\/a> or to use the volunteering time to ramp up your skills and knowledge so you can ultimately launch your own social enterprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s you, you will need to be strategic and sign up for something that will have a result that can move you toward your goal,\u201d said Werley. You want to find volunteering opportunities that will let you, for example, \u201ccomplete an entire project, so you can say \u2018Here is the project I led and what we accomplished,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

2. Consider your true purpose. <\/strong>Volunteering can be something you want to do \u201cto add a dimension to your life,\u201d explained Werley. \u201cA number of people who are looking to volunteer are searching for community, being with other people, and are not as specific about the mission of the nonprofit,\u201d said Werley. \u201cIf you\u2019ve never previously volunteered, this is a way to meet new people and get engaged,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

3. Be realistic about your availability.<\/strong> If it\u2019s going to be too time consuming or too much of a schlep to get there, your burnout factor will ratchet up. Trust me.<\/p>\n

4. Decide where and how you want to make a difference.<\/strong> Do you want to devote your energy to a local nonprofit, where you can quickly see the fruits of your efforts and work alongside people in your community? Or spend your time on a larger national effort, perhaps a virtual one, where you\u2019re working on your own via your computer with no face-to-face social interaction?<\/p>\n

5. Reach out to alumni associations and faith-based networks.<\/strong> I\u2019ve been a member of two alumni boards: one at my high school, Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, and the other at Duke University. The board work has offered me intellectual engagement, makes me feel my expertise is valued and has an impact on the organization at some level. It has also allowed me to make new friends.<\/p>\n

Recently, I reached out to Duke\u2019s D.C. Women\u2019s Forum to find out if there were more ways I could be involved close to home. I quickly received an email from the one of the Forum leaders with a list of five suggestions that could be useful for you in volunteering with an alumni group locally, too. They were: serve on one of the local group\u2019s committees; obtain speakers or create a program; manage the group\u2019s presence on the umbrella organization\u2019s website; volunteer at the group\u2019s community service events and speak one-on-one to young alums looking for career guidance.<\/p>\n

6. Check out websites geared to skill-based volunteering<\/strong>. A few excellent ones where you can find appropriate nonprofit opportunities: VolunteerMatch.org<\/a>, Idealist.org<\/a>, Handsonnetwork.org<\/a>, Catchafire.org<\/a> (for professionals), Serve.gov<\/a> and TaprootPlus.org<\/a> (for pro bono work). Encore.org<\/a> has a searchable map that shows encore programs around the country.<\/p>\n

Typically, you can filter through prospective volunteering assignments based on a cause, what you\u2019re good at and time commitment. For example, at Catchafire.org<\/span>, which is mostly virtual volunteering, you can choose from a one-hour phone consultation with a nonprofit needing advice to a two-month project.<\/p>\n

7. Look for places that let you interview before committing.<\/strong> A conversation with a nonprofit honcho can give you a sense of the group\u2019s agenda and needs so you can see if you think it\u2019s a good fit. Conversely, the talk lets the group decide if it thinks you\u2019ll be right for them.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s RSVP <\/a>(Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) \u2014 one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation for people 55 and over that focuses on using your skills \u2014 has a well-established interview vetting process to help make the volunteer effort a success for both parties.<\/p>\n

8. Investigate local nonprofit matchmakers.<\/strong> \u201cThe local lens is a good one for people who aren\u2019t quite sure but kind of want to get their feet wet,\u201d said Werley. \u201cEvery big city has some sort of a connector for volunteer opportunities.\u201d For example, there\u2019s Metro Volunteers<\/a> in Denver and NYC Service<\/a> in New York City. (My Next Avenue colleague, Chris Farrell, wrote this great piece on finding a matchmaker<\/a> to launch an encore career.)<\/p>\n

9. Start with baby steps.<\/strong> \u201cEach nonprofit has its own culture, and it might not work out the first time,\u201d counseled Werley. \u201cTreat it as a learning experience, and you will find out what you like and don\u2019t like.\u201d Commit to a short-term project and then, if you\u2019re not finding the volunteering fulfilling, politely move on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are new to volunteering, look at it as dating,\u201d said Werley. \u201cYou\u2019re not getting married to the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kerry\"<\/p>\n

By Kerry Hannon<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
Money & Work Expert<\/span><\/div>\n

\u00a9 Twin Cities Public Television – 2016. All rights reserved.<\/a><\/p>\n

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