HOW SUSTAINABLE IS THE RELIANCE ON VOLUNTEERS?

 

We are told that there are great benefits to volunteering for individuals, for communities and for organisations, and many local council’s; having recognised this, now operate and promote a ‘volunteer Strategy’ and get many volunteers on-board by playing to people’s altruistic instincts.

 Apparently the ethos being to help get the most value from volunteering for everyone. But in reality they rely on the help of volunteers to deliver some of the important community services that once they carried out by their own paid officers and staff.

Then we have the ever expanding charity sector, often referred to as 'the third sector' (after the public and private). This sector has grown exponentially over the years and it is estimated that the voluntary sector makes up an estimated 3% of the UK workforce.

You might be shocked to know that according to official statistics supplied by ‘The Charity Commission for England and Wales’, up to September 2018 there were 168,186 registered charities with a combined income of £77.4bn per year. These statistics demonstrate that charities and ‘volunteerism’ is now big business.

As one reads in the national and local news, it appears that many of these organisations have been asking increasingly more from their regular volunteers, so it seems to be a growing trend to "cash-in" on free workers.

However, if you are considering volunteering, rest assured that not all volunteering is bad, and there are still ways people can participate in some genuine volunteering programmes and make a positive difference, provided you do your research.

Therefore before you get involved in any type of volunteering, you should ask yourself a few questions: Why exactly is my help needed? Why is the organization looking for volunteers?

If, after further reflection you conclude that the main beneficiary of your work will be the organisation itself, and not the local community (or another common good), then you must question whether it is worth taking part in it.

Look again at the numbers involved and remember that these organisations can only afford to pay their hierarchy huge salaries on the back of armies of unpaid volunteers, by buying expensive advertising and campaigning for continuous donations. So much so that a large number of charities now commonly exist not only to fight for the cause which led to their original foundation, but to provide salaries, perks and pensions for their top employees.

 If you doubt this just look at the accounts for any successful, professional charity.

The chances are that between 40% and 75% of their gross income goes towards paying the organisations' costs; in other words many organisations exists largely to sustain themselves.