Volunteering and volunteers
 

From ourselves – to ourselves 
 

Volunteering has existed for a long time and has been practiced when there has been a need to help someone or to do something useful for the whole community. Through times in various countries and social systems different terms have been used: voluntary work, volunteering, civic engagement etc, however, basically the characteristics have always been the following:
- it is a voluntary, not imposed activity;
- the motivation results from the unselfishness, the will to help or to do something for common good;
- you do not get any material or financial compensation for it;
- it is an engagement out of the occupation.

These are still the basic characteristics of the volunteering, although lately, in some areas, the understanding of the concept volunteer has been modified. This impels a need to develop new strategies and approaches for winning volunteers. The new strategies should be directed towards various motives, desires and life situations of the potential volunteers. A special accent in the new strategies should be put on promoting the culture of helping. The state cannot solve all the problems and therefore there should be development of people’s awareness for the need of engaging the citizens, help and self-help. The strongly widespread movement for self-help in the world and the plenty of new initiatives in the last couple of years have proven that people are happy to put on disposal their experiences, want to be useful and to feel gratefulness.

Kinds of NGO volunteers
People who work on voluntary basis in the non-governmental organizations, depending on the scope and type of the engagement, can be divided into three categories:

Full-time volunteers – those who are involved in the current activities and long-term projects of the organization. In the small NGOs these volunteers are main activists who carry out both operating and managing tasks (for example, managing board). On the other hand, in some NGOs, the coordination is carried out by professionals, but the actions and local activities, which are basis to all projects, are carried out by volunteers. In Macedonia, most of the NGOs can exist due to the volunteers’ activities.

Part-time volunteers – those who are engaged from time to time for specific needs of the organization (annual meetings, celebrations, humanitarian actions, activities for collecting assets). These volunteers are engaged for activities which take a lot of time and energy and cannot be covered by the existing professional or voluntary team. For this purpose, most often, students, unemployed people, housewives or pensioners are engaged and they carry out activities which do not require any special education or training. However, there are certain projects which require engaging experts and this can cost a lot. The working for a good idea can be a motive for many of the experts to help the organization with their temporary engagement, giving services for some specific needs of the organization, such as preparation of expert opinions, translations, drafts etc.

Volunteers – donators are people who want to contribute to the work of the organization, but they can not find and offer a part of their time for volunteering, so they choose to contribute by donating some financial or material means.

Managing volunteers
Managing volunteers cannot be identified with managing employed staff. The fact that should always be taken into consideration is that volunteers do not work for a financial or material gain, but they have a motivation of other kind, which is most often different for different people. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an approach, which will take into consideration the individual motivation of every single volunteer. However, while engaging and managing volunteers, some general principles are to be respected.

-         Uselessness is one of the worst feelings, which a volunteer can experience. Before we decide to call someone to volunteer, we have to make sure that he/she has something to do. For each volunteering position there should be a description of the working position. It identifies the specific obligations of the volunteer, the necessary time engagement, required skills and knowledge and it is a basis for evaluation of his work. Volunteers will work better if they know what to expect, when are the deadlines for the given work, who is responsible etc.

-         We have to make sure that the volunteers know the mission and the vision of the organization, as well as its structure. Therefore, the volunteers should be given an orientation program, providing them with clear picture for the organization and the values it cherishes. By constant informing the volunteers on all the projects and everything happening in the organization, we help them identify with it.

-         To make sure that carrying out the tasks is done properly, competently and responsibly, it is necessary to provide appropriate training for the volunteers. The process of volunteering is training through some practical work, but sometimes it is not necessary to provide some additional training for acquiring new knowledge and skills. 

-         Volunteers can be important resources for the organization towards opening new doors in the community and for this it is necessary to enable them to connect and make new contacts, which are important both for them and the organization. It is necessary to introduce them to the visitors and the cooperators of the organization, to let them call visitors, to invite them to meetings, workshops and conferences.

-         Volunteers need to be given acknowledgement for their work. Therefore, it is necessary to appreciate the volunteering, to respect the new ideas and ways of work they introduce. Each occasion should be used for praising their competence and accuracy. The awards and recognition can be in a form of accepting ideas or offering some assets. Another kind of recognition can be issuing certificates for the voluntary work, which can be useful when applying for some educational or working position.

-         Optimal working conditions should be provided, which implies access to the necessary office and technical equipment, documentation and literature. Their work should be made as fun as possible, for example to enable them to listen to music, to let them work in groups etc. We have to understand that volunteers spend their own time.