“Never confuse movement with action.” – Ernest Hemingway
For years I have been working with volunteer organisations all over the world to assist them in developing skills and strategies to make their organisation and services new, better and different.
One message that I consistently get is where can we find this information without having to read books or complete endlessly search on the internet.
Well here it is… I would like to offer people that work with volunteers short, precise and highly useable material.
The first thing I would like to challenge you with is probably the most important thing volunteer organisations need to think about and act on if they wish to be successful. This success could be volunteers, sponsorship, governance, finances, grants, marketing…. anything!
So here is the most important question you will answer:
Why do you exist?
Yep that’s it…
When I ask that question to not for profits, I usually get a list of things that they do or the services that they provide. For example:
Sporting Organisations – “We exist so that people can play football.”
Service Organisations – “We exist to provide meals to the elderly.”
Both are totally correct answers but if you are trying to “convince” people to become volunteers or sponsors, ‘playing a game’ or ‘providing meals’ it isn’t a great selling point.
Now lets have a look at the two organisations as to why they may exist:
Sporting Organisations – “The football club exists to provide an opportunity for community members to develop, play, spectate and support an organisation that is committed to developing peoples potential though sport”
Service Organisation – ” To provide an opportunity for individuals to support, bond and develop through providing meals to the elderly”
Can you feel the additional impact and power the second statements have over the first ones.
So the question that MUST be answered is “Why does your organisation exist”?
Once you have clearly defined this, it will provide a launching pad for all your activities within your organisation.
Ian Crawford from Candor Training and Consultancy travels the world assisting not for profit organisations to be more efficient and effective. If you would like to receive a free “volunteer toolbox”. This is a fortnightly email newsletter that will assist in developing your organisation to reach its full potential. Just visit us at http://www.candorplus.com if you are interested.
