How Volunteering for NGOs can Boost your Career & add meaning to your Life?

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. — Mahatma Gandhi

What is an NGO or Not for Profit Organisation ? What does it do?

An NGO is a Non Governmental Organisation, which is a non-profit social service voluntary organization.

An NGO is devoted on a particular goal, usually related to the uplifting of a particular community. It works to improve the policies to enhance the work pattern by implementing welfare and development schemes and programs in the society.

NGOsIndia.com provides an online web directory and resources of Indian NGOs. It is a national level Social Network of Non Governmental Organisations, Non-Profit Organisations, Voluntary Organisation and Social Organisations.

Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you – but do not think of that now, it will come back multiplied a thousand fold – but the attention must not be on that. Yet have the power to give; so give willingly. If you wish to help a man, never think what that man’s attitude should be towards you. Swami Vivekananda

What does a NGO require, How does an NGO Function?

NGO requires planning. Before establishing an NGO, one needs to think about the kind of resources that is required to establish the NGO, the motto behind the NGO, the physical aspects like the area, name, guidelines, members and designations. One must need to decide the purpose, vision and mission.

The name of an NGO must represent its goals and missions. Make sure the name is not the same to any Government Authority Body, Boart or Ministry; the name must not be restricted in the Emblem Act.

In India, an NGO could be registered under Indian Trusts Act and various states have its own different obligations that a specific NGO in a specific state has to abide by. NGOs usually seek legal help from NGO Consultant for NGO registration, requirements, and completing the required Articles of Incorporation of Memorandum.

It is necessary to prepare the objectives of NGO along with the correct and authenticated Documentation for Registration.

Why Should you Volunteer for an NGO?

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another. – Erma Bombeck - American Humorist

1) Improve the Lives of the Lesser Privileged people or communities

2) Volunteering occasionally can replace expensive outings or vacations

3) Volunteering in NGOs gives opportunity to give back the pleasure & resources you have to society.

4) It gives you an opportunity to meet people from different walks of life.

5) It adds newer dimensions to your understanding of life & taking it full of gratitude, for you know after volunteering there are people out there who are lesser privileged and you are blessed with literally more resources & joys. Come What may your pain, your sorrow is still less than someone in the world.

6) It helps you explore different cultures, expands your lateral thinking & makes you more mature & tolerant of different behaviours of people, for after volunteering you get to realise why people behave the way they behave. So a better understanding of human psychology.

7) Volunteering offers vital help to the people in need, making a worthy change in the society simultaneously. The more we give, the happier we feel.

8) Volunteering is a way to give back to the society. You can volunteer in any way you want to. You can volunteer as a mentor, you can volunteer as a leader, you can volunteer in domains related to your interest or work-field or you can choose to volunteer for an NGO.

9) By volunteering for an NGO, you can help with a social cause. An NGO is devoted to a certain kind of goal or a social cause and by volunteering in an NGO, you offer your skill set for the same cause, to make the world a better place.

10) You are able to connect better and meet people from different backgrounds. Volunteering in an NGO helps you sensitize and sympathize with on-going issues, it teaches you humility.

11) It is a win-win situation, because you offer your help to an NGO, to reach out and make the world better, and you learn humility and better ways to connect as a return.

According to Forbes, 36% of employees were recruited on the basis of their multi-skills, 31% were recruited on the basis of volunteering, 21% were recruited on the basis of creative thinking and rest 12 % were recruited on the basis of their qualifications.

Do you see the importance of Volunteering, If you have not volunteered as yet, think of doing it alongside your job, it will surely add credibility and much needed value to your resume.

Dont just stop doing volunteering, make vlogs, or make adequate photographed posts and add to your social media posts, so organisations & other people get to know of your initiatives alongside.

Do volunteering even if its on weekends or some special days like your bday or family anniversaries etc.

Though its a report from US & India has different dynamics working, however Volunteering is a universal act of kindness & adds to good karma account of us all.

When you initiate a good cause, when you do help someone, when you add value to society in one form or other, when you perform your positive role well, when you extend that helping hand to your colleagues, when you work extra for your bosses & organisations, when you take on that additional responsibilities - all are a form of volunteering only.

Out there its adding to memory of your trillions of body cells and millions of neurons. Its adding to your DNA & its adding positive vibrations in universe that's going to come back manifold sooner than you think.

Let that Helping Nature, work in favour for you - Thats the Law of Universe, It has to come back to you manifold, in what form, no one can predict, in What domain no one knows, in what no. of years - Leave it to Super Intelligence of the Universe. Just do It. 

12) Not only that, but volunteering also ignites a sense of responsibility and leadership in you. It makes you happy to be accountable of a certain thing; it helps you boost your confidence and combat depression or any self-doubt. Volunteering for an NGO may also help you get a better job.

13) It can teach you valuable job skills and could add as one of the most important career experience.

Volunteering for an NGO teaches you skills like project management, sales and negotiating skills for funding and leadership skills for managing a team.

According to Monster.com, all these skill-sets are helpful for you to get a job, especially in the Corporate Sector. Volunteering can boost up your energy and self-worth by ensuring that you have made the world better with your little efforts which can count up to a lot.

Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles spends 45,000 hours of service each year with their 14,000 volunteers.

What I Learnt about NGO volunteering during my Interview with Director of Dr. Kiran Bedi's Foundation

Navjyoti India Foundation is a non-profit society conceived by Dr. Kiran Bedi, first women IPS. The main objective of the NGO is to prevent crime through welfare policing and educating children, providing skills for women and initiating detox programs.

It was registered on January 5th, 1988 and now has become one of the most valuable NGOs focusing to bridge the socio-economic gap between the haves and have-nots.

Ms. Neetu Sharma Joshi, Director of Navjyoti India Foundation, India, started her Career with the NGO in 2001 and explored various fields like research, teaching, training, documentation, publication, etc.

She is a gold medalist in Masters in Social Work with specialization in Child Education.In my interview with Ms. Neetu Sharma Joshi in The Value Addition Show, episode 05 (you can find it on my YouTube Channel), I learnt about the different ways I can contribute and volunteer for an NGO.

Being in the Corporate Sector and being a leader, my role comes with a lot of responsibilities and it becomes difficult to spare time for Volunteering. I am sure that many of you also go through the same problems, in my interview and in this article; I have tried to solve that issue.

Ms. Neetu Sharma Joshi, carefully jotted down the points you can remember and would help you to contribute and volunteer for an NGO, despite having a tight schedule.

How to Volunteer for NGOs?

1.      Goal

The first and foremost step in order to volunteer for an NGO is to have a goal in your mind. You must do enough research about the NGO, and must have a goal that you wish to achieve through volunteering in that particular NGO.

Make sure your skill-sets match the requirement of that NGO.

For instance, if you goal is to educate under-privilege students, then Teach For India would be the best option for you to volunteer. However, you need to make sure that you have the required skills to achieve the goal of yours.

Other NGOs that do offer such volunteering options are:

(i)                Friendicoes

Friendicoes works for animal rescue and shelter projects. Located in Jangpura, the team helps to provide a helpline ambulance for animals and welcomes donations and volunteers.

(ii)              Smile Foundation

This Delhi-based NGO, founded in 2002 helps to educate and empower underprivileged people.

(iii)            Make a Wish Foundation

This NGO works with children who have terminal illness and tries to make them happier by fulfilling their one wish that they desire the most.

(iv)             Rahi Foundation

This NGO focuses on creating a safe environment for women and survivors of child sexual abuse. It believes in spreading awareness and sensitizing and sympathizing with the survivors.

(v)               Child Rights & You

This NGO deals with underprivileged children in India and aims to create a safe environment for them which is violence free and help to provide them food, clothes and education.

(vi)             Lotus Petal Foundation

This NGO aims to provide healthcare and education for the underprivileged and physically disabled.

(vii) https://www.volunteeringindia.com/blog/volunteering-in-india-in-2019/

This website provides right volunteering sources and information for foreigners to volunteer in India, its a paid programme for them.

(ix) https://donatemytime.in/

Mission of Donatemytime is to make Volunteering a Lifestyle by eliminating much of the hassle involved in the process of finding and connecting with the right NGOs that match their passions and skills.

Donate My Time was founded by two high-school students, Saaket Jajodia and Salil Jajodia. It was born out of their frustration with the tedious process of finding and connecting with NGOs. They felt that there had to be a better way, leading to the creation of DMT.

(x) Navjyoti India Foundation

This NGO is headed by Dr. Kiran Bedi and works in the field of youth education, child education, slums upliftment, women empowerment, entrepreneurial and vocational training for all, School after school and children's' gurukul.

These NGOs & Related Platforms provide you an opportunity to give back to the society; there are many more NGOs which will match your goal and your skill-sets and beliefs.

The first step you need to take is to figure out your goals and whether or not your skill-sets match your goals and then apply for Volunteering.

2.      Volunteering is Not a Favour

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others? — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Make sure to always remember that volunteering is not equivalent to doing a favour.

Volunteering is much more than that. It helps you grow; it helps you go through an over-all development and enables you to have an exposure. You get to know a lot of stories, learn to work on your leadership skills and it makes you happier by doing well for others.

All your life, you have been working for yourself, taking from the society and putting it to your own use.

Volunteering for an NGO is an opportunity where you can give back to the society and still learn new techniques and skills and improve on your leadership qualities.

Do not volunteer with an attitude of favour, volunteer with a good heart, with the hope of making a change, no matter how small it is. The small change you make today may bring out new opportunities for someone else!

3.      Distance Volunteering

Corporate or status ups like me have a very tight schedule and rarely get any leisure time to travel. However, just like me, I am sure many of you will want to volunteer with an NGO and are not sure whether or not you would be able to travel all the way to that NGO and contribute.

Well, there is a solution for that too!

You can Volunteer Online!

It might not have been possible about 10-15 years ago, however, now with the growing technology, volunteering online is possible.

Many corporate seek this way to contribute to the society.

NGOs like Akshaya Patra, SOS Children’s Villages of India, Navjyoti India Donate an Hour and Enactus Societies provide you the opportunity to volunteer through online modes of either devoting a certain number of hours online working on a data processing, research or writing articles for the NGO in order to spread awareness and to help outreach.

Likewise, many other NGOs also consider this option of volunteering; you can connect through skype or any other social media forum and carry out your training, if that is what your skill-set is about.

As long as you are delivering what you have promised to achieve your goal, the mode does not come as an obstacle.

4.      Scope of Corporate Volunteering

India is the first country in the world to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mandatory under the Company Act, 2013, implemented in April 2014.

Under the Company Act, CSR is applicable in Sub Section 1 of Section 135 of the Act.

It is said that a Company with Net worth of INR 500 crore or more; Turnover of INR 1000 crore or more; Net Profit of INR 5 crore or more; during any financial year shall be liable to form a CSR Committee of the Board.

There are provisions under the same that directs the committee to monitor CSR activities and makes sure that the company gives preference to the local area around its operating centre for carrying out CSR activities.

According to Forbes, companies that carry out CSR activities or are associated in a way with an NGO are better to gain benefits.

As according to Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer, companies can enhance their brand, reputation and credibility through CCSR activities and NGOs can engage in fund-raising with the help of Company associated with it.

Corporation for National and Community Service promotes volunteering and has tracked more than 70,000 jobless people between 2002 and 2012.

In terms of the scope of Volunteering, Forbes also provides the data collected by Corporation for National and Community Service that those who volunteered had 27% better chance of finding a job to those who did not.

According to a study called Does it Pay to Volunteer?

Provided by Forbes, it was noted that unemployed people who volunteered were roughly 7% more likely to get a job after the tenure of volunteering was over.

Volunteering has become a win-win situation for both the companies and the NGOs as it fills the void of each other.

Corporate often send their trainers and CEOs depute their employees for a certain period to carry out CSR activities.

Companies that carry out CSR in India are many & they have to follow certain guidelines. Some examples include :

(i)     Tata Group

Most of the projects are directed towards the development and poverty alleviation projects. 

It also engages in healthcare projects while collaborating with local self-help groups or NGOs.

(ii)              Ultratech Cement

Ultratech is involved across 407 Indian villages for its CSR activities and aims to create a sustainable environment. It also aims to provide basic amenities like water, electricity supply, education, food, etc to underprivileged communities.

(iii)            Mahindra & Mahindra

CSR activities like Scholarship Programs, disaster management and disaster help and relief programs are carried out along with other basic healthcare projects.

(iv)             ITC Group

ITC Group focuses to create a sustainable livelihood and has been able to generate sustainable livelihood for six million people through the CSSR activities it carries out. It also works for empowering women through micro-enterprises or loans, whichever is suitable. It has created sustainable livelihoods for more than 40,000 rural women.

Being an employees also, you can volunteer for company's CSR. You don't need to necessarily help an outside NGO, even internal CSR activities & volunteering would satiate your soul well.

By remembering these points, you can now figure out your goals and skill-set and Volunteer with an NGO either through directly applying or through a corporate sector you are already part of.

If you found this article helpful, I would love if you would share it on Twitter, Facebook, and other social Media platforms!

We will come back with more such interesting tips!

If you wish to read more, you may read my other articles on :

• Volunteering in corporate- Grow exponentially
• Start Social Initiative in India
• How Mentoring Makes you Grow Exponentially?
• Planning to Retire? Think Mentoring!

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