Third sector - Volunteers in Nonprofits - Term Paper Example

? Third sector - Volunteers in Nonprofits Introduction Nonprofit organizations are those s which conduct their working such that they can fulfill the purpose of assisting certain causes, individuals and groups without making any profit for themselves. These organizations aim at the benefit of the society and thus are tax-exempt organizations. They often receive exemption from various taxes as they work with the sole aim of the betterment of the social community. These organizations do not have shareholders and they do not make or distribute profit to benefit the private capacity of directors, other members or individuals. There are different types of nonprofit organizations as explained below: Charitable Organizations which include institutions like homeless shelters which provide poverty assistance, religious institutions like churches and their ancillary possessions, independent research institutions,universities,hospitals,clinics,nursing homes,treatment centers, libraries,museum,schools.These charitable institutions work for the preservation of natural resources,the promotion of social welfare,and the promotion of music, theatre and other forms of fine arts. Social Welfare organizations work for influencing the legislative and/or political processes. Social/Recreational Organizations such as fraternity and sorority organizations,sports tournament organizations,hobby clubs,garden clubs,country clubs which can all be termed as nonprofit organizations only under the condition that they follow the basic rule of net earnings distribution. However, unlike other nonprofit organizations their income is taxable. Satellite Organizations: These are certain nonprofit organizations whichare subsidiaries or auxiliaries other organizations.These may be retirement benefit funds,employee benefit funds,co-operatives or title holding companies. Membership Groups like fraternal organizations, business associations and veteran groups (Pearce, 1993). Volunteer Characteristics Volunteers are an integral part of a nonprofit industry and it plays a vital role in the working of these types of organizations. Volunteering follows the concept of giving something as input such as time without expecting or receiving any material compensation. Volunteers are a type of non-profit customers in the sense that they contribute to the workings of the organizations and expect some returns other that material compensation from the organization. Volunteers may have varying roles in the organization which include assisting fundraising projects, soliciting for funds, services like visiting the senior citizens or the sick people, building new homes for the homeless people, participating in membership committees, guiding and mentoring youths as well as looking for the betterment of the environment and the society. Volunteer Expectations Though the volunteers do not look for material gain, they have certain expectations while working for the organization. Nonprofit organizations should therefore try as much as to support and train their volunteers. These organizations should develop management skills to recruit and retain their volunteers a swell as give proper training and development to their volunteers. If the availability of resources is low, the non-profit organization should make the work of the volunteers project based which will mean allocating hours to the volunteers according to the need of the project and not to use continuous time for one work that can be done in lesser time. These organizations should provide opportunities to their volunteers that will provide them the opportunity to learn new things and develop new skills. For this purpose to be solved, both the organizations as well as the volunteers have to be flexible. Volunteers also expect reciprocity from the organization they are working for. As the population and their needs are changing, so is the need of the volunteer population. The society requires a wide range of services from the nonprofit organizations. So the nonprofits will have to train and educate their volunteers so as to meet the needs of both the society and the volunteers (Brundy, 1995). Volunteer Perception Volunteers and nonprofit organizations believe that volunteering is important and valuable for the society and the community. Volunteering is seen as sacrificing time and using resources to benefit under privileged people as well as the community. If the organization is assured that it will get a skillful worker in the form of a volunteer, it would always prefer to work with the volunteer as he then proves to be a useful resource for the nonprofit. Many times the Government does not provide the same level of funding to the nonprofits as to the profit reaping organizations. So, the nonprofits find it beneficial to replace the paid employees by the volunteers as a cost cutting method. But according to a study on volunteer replacement of paid employee, there was no evidence that supported this kind of concern. However, organizations must not depends only on the volunteers for the running of the organization and its work as this, any negatively impact their standard of work as well as meeting their goals in an objective and timely manner. Volunteers Recruitment and Management The volunteers in a nonprofit organization are selected on the basis of the following criteria: Commitment i.e. their willingness to serve ability i.e. the time and support that they can provide knowledge and skill set, reliability, interest in the industry, professional reputation, leadership skills and communication skills. To recruit and retain efficient volunteers, the nonprofit should extend its networking through the existing volunteers, explain tasks and time expectations to the volunteers, offer training and support to them and highlight the benefits that they enjoy out of the service. The role descriptions of the volunteers should be developed such that both the paid staff and the volunteers are properly guided about their roles and responsibilities as well as the tasks and duties they are expected to perform. When a volunteer is engaged in a short time project, the expected time commitment should be indicated to them clearly. When the volunteer becomes clearer about what the organization wants from him, he can allocate his time and chart his plan of actions for the projects he is assigned to complete. Though the volunteers do not receive any material compensation, they tend to gain in their way of experience. Their values are expressed in activities which are more meaningful. Their knowledge is increased by interacting with other knowledgeable people they work with. They learn new things and adapt new skills through their work (Holland, 2010). They can build new contacts which add to their networking. This work enhances their career and they do a prestigious and meaningful work that adds to their achievements. Above all, they get a feeling and satisfaction of giving back to the society they live in. The motivation behind volunteering ranges from self-satisfaction, for the unselfish concern for others, the welfare of the society to the eagerness to acquire new skillsets as well as networking and contact building. Since monetary remuneration is a major motivating factor and the volunteers do not receive that, so to make the volunteers more motivated towards their work, they should be acknowledged and their achievements and efforts should be recognized (Boshe & Associates, Inc. 2001). Volunteer Advantages The advantages of having volunteers recruited in a nonprofit organization are many. Firstly, it helps to build organizational strength. The process of retaining and growing the volunteers adds to the organizational strength. The volunteers become the representations and advocates of the organization and thus build up the reputation and reliability of the organization. Secondly, since volunteers work without the gain of any material remuneration, they tend to have more credibility than paid staff. Since, volunteering is done by personal choice, a volunteer proves to be the ideal person for promoting the organization. Also, volunteers are important resources for the association. They provide valuable help and input and put in effort to do the work in the association which otherwise may not have been done. Conclusion The fact that this type of an organization exists which does not have a profit-motive instigates trust in the people as well as the constituent. The Government generally does not provide these services because of less interest of the public or due to the high cost incurred in these services. The nonprofit organizations are a way that encourages ordinary people to participate in civic activities and projects. Often, nonprofits are formed to solve any major community need or issue and they generally act faster in these issues than the government. They have the freedom to react to a particular need without having to wait for consensus agreement. The nonprofits provide a way for ordinary members of a society to take active action in changing and improving the society they live in. Thus, nonprofits help in accelerating individual intentions for the well-being of the society as a whole. They make it easy to identify social and political issues, they act as a voice for the under privileged people and integrate these intricacies in the social life. The need for a nonprofit organization is high for a better society and so to effectively run the nonprofit the need for efficient and dedicated volunteers is also very high. In these tough economic times, the service and effort of volunteers should be highly acknowledged and more people especially the youth should be encouraged to participate in volunteering activities so that not only do they benefit the community but they also learn new skills and develop themselves in the process. References Boshe & Associates, Inc. (2001). Facts on Volunteerism. Middleton. New Jersey. Retrieved from http://www.Boshe.com/html/facts on volunteerism.html. Brundy, J. L. (1995). Preparing the Organization for Volunteers. The Volunteer Management Handbook. John Wiley & sons, NY. Holland. T. (2010). Successful Marketing Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations. Retrieved from: http://www.iccs.org/pubs. Pearce, Jone L. (1993). Volunteers: The Organizational Behavior of Unpaid workers. London. Routlege. Read More