Virtual Volunteering: Creating change during the COVID-19 pandemic
Originally published April 24, 2020 on www.medium.com
COVID-19 will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on all of us, including the social sector. Many organizations are struggling to manage donation and fundraising declines, provide for their beneficiaries, and ensure the safety of their staff and volunteers in the era of social distancing. While traditional forms of volunteering may no longer be as accessible, virtual volunteering opportunities could help charities and non-profits benefit from the immense value young Canadian volunteers have to offer. Virtual volunteering may be the key to helping the social sector be resilient in this uncertain time.
For young people and organizations to start engaging in virtual volunteering opportunities, we believe there are a few preliminary steps that could be taken: reflect, check-in, and change. For organizations who do not yet offer virtual volunteering opportunities, brainstorm, reform, and deploy are some of the preliminary steps that could be taken.
COVID-19: Where we are today
Just over a month after social distancing guidelines were implemented in Canada, COVID-19 has continued to spread rapidly across the country and around the world. As of April 24, over 42,110 confirmed cases have been reported in Canada.
Sources: Johns Hopkins CSSE, data pulled April 24, 2020; 91-DIVOC visualization
While it is difficult to predict the future trajectory of this pandemic, it is clear that COVID-19 has already had, and will continue to have a profound impact on all of us.
Implications of COVID-19 for Canada’s social sector
This pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for Canada’s social sector — some include the sector’s financial health, sector’s capacity to fully serve its beneficiaries, and safety of organizations’ staff and volunteers. While the federal government has stepped in with a few support programs to relieve some of the financial burden organizations are facing, much more will need to be done to boost the resolve and resilience of Canada’s social sector in responding to this pandemic.[1]
Financial health
Imagine Canada projects that charitable organizations in Canada could lose anywhere from $9.5 billion to $15.7 billion in revenues collectively, driven by declines in donations and fundraising as well as closure of charities’ earned income operations. [2] As a result, organizations will be forced to furlough between 117,000 to 195,000 staff in 2020.[3] This crisis could have a lasting impact on Canada’s social sector landscape as organizations may be forced to close for good, particularly smaller organizations that meaningfully support less well-known causes or marginalized groups.
Limitations to supporting beneficiaries
The social distancing measures necessary to protect the health of all Canadians has led to acute negative economic impacts for the country’s charities and non-profits. As a result, some of the supports that organizations used to provide to their beneficiaries can no longer be offered, affecting these marginalized communities further.
Safety of staff and volunteers
For some non-profits and charities at the front of this crisis, such as food banks and shelters, their leaders are primarily concerned with finding ways to keep their staff and volunteers safe. For organizations not considered essential, to curb the spread of the virus, they have had to severely limit their operations.
The value of volunteering
Beyond the funding many organizations rely on to provide critical supports to those who need it most, volunteers are an equally, and in some contexts, if not more vital contributor to assisting these organizations in carrying out their missions.
In Canada, volunteers have given over two billion hours in 2017, valued at nearly $56 billion. However, their impact goes far beyond the economic value of the hours served. Driven by a passion for community service and creating social good, the contributions of Canada’s volunteers have ensured the delivery of essential products and programs that not only strengthen the bond of communities, but also contribute to the educational, health, and labour market outcomes of those that they serve. Young people drive a significant portion of the total volunteer effort benefiting communities across the country. In the federal government’s latest Survey on Giving, Volunteering, and Participating conducted in 2013, about 53% of Canadians ages 15–24 were involved in volunteer activities for nearly 130 hours a year on average.[4]
Unfortunately, COVID-19 and the resulting social distancing measures have had a significant impact on the ability for volunteers to engage in-person with organizations on activities from canvassing, to campaigning, to fundraising. The impacts of limited volunteer support will be felt across the sector, particularly among smaller non-profits and charitable organizations that rely on passionate individuals to keep costs low while addressing important community needs.
With schools closed and extra-curriculars activities inaccessible for the foreseeable future, there are thousands of young Canadians currently at home who are likely interested in finding ways to contribute to their communities. It got us thinking: how can young Canadians mobilize to remotely support the mandate of incredible organizations at this time of crisis?
Reimagining the Canadian youth volunteer landscape in the era of COVID-19
While the concept of virtual volunteering has been around for a while, as with the rapid acceleration of digital adoption in the corporate sector to conduct business while maintaining social distance, there has never been a better time for a greater number of organizations and young volunteers alike to actively consider creating and engaging remotely in virtual volunteer opportunities, respectively.
Virtual volunteering opportunities allow participants to complete volunteer work online — opportunities of this nature are generally quite flexible and allow volunteers to complete a task or project at their own pace. However, these benefits do not require organizations to make a trade-off with impact — virtual volunteers can be just as helpful as the contributions of in-person volunteers. Virtual volunteering opportunities could include: graphic design, social media strategy development, telephone reassurance (calling isolated seniors or an adult with a disability), or even tutoring.[5] Ultimately, giving time virtually can be a way to ensure continuity of valuable volunteer resources for the social sector.
For young Canadians and organizations alike, we believe there are a few key steps that could be taken to effectively create/engage in virtual volunteering opportunities during this crisis.
Next steps for youth
Reflect: Where would you like to contribute your time? How would you like to contribute? What skills could you bring to bear through as a virtual volunteer? What are some things that you are passionate about?
Check-in: Which organizations are you most passionate about supporting? Reach out to contacts at the organization and offer suggestions on how you might be able to help virtually! Many non-profits are short volunteers and offering to help may benefit them tremendously.
Change: Start creating impact! Put your skills into action and help make a difference in the community.
Next steps for charities and non-profit organizations
Brainstorm: What types of virtual volunteering opportunities would the organization benefit the most from? Where could excited volunteers plug in and support the organization in creating community impact?
Reform: In what ways would the current volunteer engagement model need to be shifted within your organization to be able to offer virtual volunteering opportunities?
Deploy: Advertise your virtual volunteering opportunities to young Canadians, whether it be through your existing volunteer lists or local volunteer hub. Use the ideas you’ve brainstormed to engage members of the community with your cause. Utilize the individual strengths of the volunteers to create meaningful impact.
Looking ahead
Overall, there are numerous ways for young volunteers to get involved virtually, and the opportunities available will undoubtedly continue to grow as non-profits brainstorm more ideas for ways to engage volunteers virtually. At the end of the day, it is important that we do not stop supporting the non-profits and charities that have made a meaningful difference in our communities; volunteering virtually is one great way to do so!
—
Have thoughts to share about virtual volunteering and how young Canadians, charities, and non-profits can transition to engaging in / offering opportunities? Let us know here.
If you are currently a high school student and are looking to get involved in virtual volunteering opportunities with Pledges for Change, consider filling out this form!
Are you from a non-profit or charity looking to engage volunteers virtually? We’re interested in hearing from organizations about the challenges and successes they have had with virtual volunteering opportunities — let us know here.
[4] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015001-eng.htm
