My occupation:

Australian Youth Ambassador for Development

(http://www.ayad.com.au)

My responsibilities:

IT project manager and .NET programmer, developing a case management system for the Ministry of Justice, Tonga

What inspired me to get involved in skilled volunteering:

Altruistic and worthwhile paid work in the IT sector is hard to come by. Skilled volunteering allows me to support the goals of creditable non-profit organisations by doing what I’m good at. I enjoy donating my time and skills toward good causes and providing IT innovation and support that may otherwise be out of reach for some organisations.

Which organisations have I fulfilled volunteer projects for:

South West Inner Sydney Housing Cooperative

Greenpeace (The Big Switch campaign)

Waverly Action for Youth Services

Karma Currency - Charity Gift Vouchers

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Example of a fulfilled volunteer project with a good outcome:

In October 2007, shortly before the federal election, Greenpeace Australia launched The Big Switch (TBS) campaign to help people take simple, effective action on climate change. In order to utilize the marketing potential of online social networking, TBS requested a facebook application that could spread the campaign’s message and encourage facebook users to get involved. For every facebook user in Australia who downloaded the application, TBS reduced 1kg of greenhouse pollution through renewable energy investment.

What the community group gained:

The application reached over 50,000 users, offsetting 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions and attracting considerable support from the online community.

What I got out of volunteering my time and skills:

Working with The Big Switch was one of my first skilled volunteering assignments. I learnt a lot about identifying requirements and managing expectations. It also challenged me to learn some new technologies that I can now add to my credentials.

Tips for Community Groups working with skilled volunteers:

Try to manage volunteer assignments the way you would manage paid consulting. This means having a clear idea of what you want, estimating the ideal timeframe, and producing well-defined success criteria upfront. Also consider the resource commitment required to support the volunteer (availability outside regular business hours for example).

Tips for Volunteers working with community groups in skilled volunteering:

The momentum of a volunteer assignment needs to be constantly maintained. The most useful thing to do is simply to plan what will be delivered and when. Also, support goodcompany by reporting on the outcome of your assignments and spreading the word about their first-rate volunteer matching service.

The main difference between the NFP and private sectors:

In a purchaser/provider relationship it’s never the vendor’s responsibility to decide what their customer wants or needs. Non-profits, however, rely as much on advice on strategising and identifying their needs and as the delivery of the end product.