Over the last 10 years I have worked in the non-profit world, working with youth in my local community to teach moral and ethical decision making. Currently, we have 13,000 young people in the program but only 17 fulltime staff members.

How can we handle the sheer volume of participants with such a skeleton staff?

We have nearly 5000 adult volunteers that register and help run aspects of the program. The great thing, besides the fact that many hands make light work, is that each volunteer brings their own skill set and perspective to the organization. The youth learn from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and personalities. Because all of the volunteers are not compensated financially for their time and efforts, we are able to maintain a reasonable budget and add more impact to the program.

But volunteerism is not a one-sided opportunity where volunteers give and give and do not receive anything in return. In fact, volunteering holds a lot of benefits. Because of my position in the organization I get to spend most of my time working with our Board of Directors; 48 men and women who each come from various backgrounds and careers including lawyers, doctors, small business owners, developers, real estate brokers, bankers etc. We have elected officials and semi-retired individuals, multi millionaires and successful college dropouts. Each person on the board joins for different reasons and taking from the experience different benefits.

In working with this group I have found a few of the most impactful experiences to be:

1- Friendships- nothing builds camaraderie better than rolling up your sleeves and getting down in the trenches to solve a problem. Working as a team to brainstorm potential outcomes, developing responses and implementing strategic plans create friendships, often between unlikely individuals.

2- Joint Business Ventures- one great aspect of volunteering is being paired or grouped with those you do not normally associate. For example, if you work in real estate and are part of the local real estate forum you spend time with other folks in real estate. It can be good for learning best practices, but unfortunately doesn’t create much business. However, during volunteering, you may spend time with a banker who could be a source of referrals (note: you should not volunteer solely for the business rewards).

3- Different way to look at things- when you get a group of varied backgrounds working together on solving problems you are exposed to different lenses of approaching those problems. Some of the solutions translate into your current business practices. A problem you are struggling with in your professional life may find an answer in your service life.

4- A break from the routine- many of us have very demanding lives and trying to juggle work and home limits our opportunities to give back and recharge our batteries. Volunteering gets a change of pace onto your calendar and forces you to focus your efforts on something else for a little while.

5- Service- working with an organization that benefits those not as fortunate or as experienced as you gives you the opportunity to experience life through their eyes. Blessing others blesses you. As Jim Rohn taught, “giving begins the receiving process”.

There is growth in knowing you have made a difference.

The most successful person that I know, and he has multiple homes, cars, toys and trips, runs 5 different companies and is also the most generous person I have ever met; both with his time and with his money. In his home town everyone knows of his reputation of generosity and as a result, everyone wants to do business with him. He is successful because of his generosity which allows him to be more generous.

Question: Have you seen any unexpected benefits from your volunteerism? Leave your comments below or by clicking here.

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