COLUMNIST
LEADERSHIP KATHLEEN PROVOST
Volunteerism Within the Business of Benevolence
A
COURTESY KATHLEEN PROVOST
BY KATHLEEN PROVOST
s a professional fundraiser, I have always thought that volunteering was part of my responsibility. First, by volunteering, I can better understand the volunteers I need to work with in my profession. Experienced fundraisers know that a collaboration between staff and volunteer yield the best results when attempting to raise funds, sell tickets, or engage other volunteers. But, as important, I always believe I had a responsibility to give back to my community and volunteering provided a number of opportunities to do exactly that. Be it, by volunteering on a church committee, cleaning tables up after an event, or leading a Board discussion, my volunteer mandates have all enabled me to attain a sense of fulfillment. This sense of fulfillment is very different from the sense of fulfilment I obtain when doing my work. Looking at Canadian volunteerism In 2018 Statistics Canada’s Volunteer in Canada, 2004 to 2013 report offered a closer look at the patterns and trends in the Canadian volunteer landscape. Statistics Canada reported that in 2013, over 12.7 million Canadians engaged
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FOUNDATION Magazine
June/July 2020
in formal volunteering, with a total of 1.6 billion hours of their time given to charities, non-profits and community organizations. This represented a slight decrease in volunteer rate of 3 percent from previous years, (12.7 million Canadians who volunteered in 2013 and 13.3 million who volunteered in 2010). Of significance was that 82 percent of Canadians volunteered informally, meaning they were helping people oneon-one without the involvement of an organization or group. Volunteering has not always been so structured and quantified. The concept of volunteering is as old as humankind. It existed when small communities needed to rely on each other’s help to survive. Individuals volunteered to help during conflicts like the Great War, and volunteers have stepped in when a social “safety net” was missing to provide support to individuals in their community. Understanding the business around volunteerism Whether it was inspired by survival, altruism or religious beliefs, volunteering occurred in an informal system, which evolved over time to become much foundationmag.ca
