Skilled Volunteers - Waiting for Opportunities
20 May 2010 at 12:37 pm
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| Above: Natalie Bucknell from SkillShare, supported by Oxfam Australia, addresses the forum |
The Annual VCOSS "Clever Ideas" Forum in Victoria has been told that there are hundreds of skilled volunteers waiting for opportunities with Not for Profits- but organisations need to use the many resources that are available, including brokers, to tap into them.
Some 60 people joined in the Clever Ideas Forum in Melbourne, organised by the VCOSS Collaborators Roundtable on skilled Volunteering, of which Pro Bono Australia is a member.
The Forum heard that there are a multitude of resources available to help organisations best use skilled volunteers. Brokers also work in diverse areas of expertise from PilchConnect which deals with lawyers, Great Connections (retirees), Volunteering Victoria (corporates) and Leadership Victoria which runs leadership training.
PilchConnect described a skilled volunteer program between law firm Francis Abourizk Lightowlers (FAL) and The Mandala Foundation. As well speakers discussed tips for optimising skilled volunteer project outcomes, strategic planning and students as skilled volunteers.
Pro Bono Australia’s Sivonne Binks says the main message from the Forum was the importance of preparation by organisations for engaging skilled volunteers.
Natalie Bucknell from Skill Share (supported by Oxfam Australia) ran a workshop on how to make the most of skilled volunteers and Pro Bono Australia has put together a video of her top tips along with all the main presentations.
Pro Bono Australia spoke to some of the day’s speakers about the benefits of skilled volunteers.
Tips for skilled volunteering (Part 1)
Tips for skilled volunteering (Part 2)
You can download a PDF of Natalie’s tips, along with details of the different skilled volunteer providers in Victoria, below:
I think it’s exciting to hear that there’s lots of people out there wanting to volunteer, and even more exciting to see some great resources to help them find opportunities. I thought it might be helpful to share another.
The UniversalGiving™ website is a web-based marketplace that helps people give and volunteer with the top-performing, vetted organizations all over the world. All projects are vetted through UniversalGiving’s trademarked, proprietary Quality Model.™ 100% of each donation goes directly to the cause. We have a wide variety of volunteering opportunities, all over the world!
I hope we can be a good resource to anyone looking for an exciting way to volunteer.
Best,
Cheryl Mahoney
cmahoney@universalgiving.org
http://www.universalgiving.org