Natalie Savin

My responsibilities: Managing the organisation overall. My prime role is to secure funding to spend for the maximum benefit of people with arthritis, osteoporosis, and other musculoskeletal conditions.

Our team: We employ 29 staff to give the equivalent of 23.2 full-time positions and volunteers number around 240.

Our greatest challenges: Fundraising and having sufficient resources to acquire the essential skills needed to effectively run Arthritis Victoria.

Differences between the NFP and private sectors: Organisations such as ours are established to assist members of the community. As management guru Peter Drucker put it, the main goal is not financial profit but changed human beings.

My tips for volunteers: Think about how much time you can realistically ofer and what type of involvement would suit you - a one-off project or an ongoing commitment. Consider how you can use volunteering to develop skills or experience in new sectors and environments.

What I find most rewarding: Our programs empower people and offer them new ways to look at life. Being debilitated and unable to get on with so many things can destroy the will to live. In some cases we have prevented suicides. Our organisation is founded on the principle that people with arthritis are able to help others with the condition. We assist by supporting and informing so what we do for one person often means helping many.