Doubt will happen, but don’t let that stop you. Diving in and taking some time to find a way to make an impact is worth the effort and better than doing nothing. Test out volunteering at a couple of locations until you find one that feels like a good fit. There are so many great organizations making a difference at a local level in your community. They need your help! These organizations are often operating on a tight budget with only so many staff to make a difference.
There are so any great ways to make an impact at a local level. Here are eight effective strategies for maximizing your efforts as a volunteer.
Don’t Delay – Start Somewhere!
Don’t wait for the perfect organization to show up. What do you care about? Find an organization that is doing work in an area that you can get behind and reach out. See if it is a good match for you.
Also, let go of expectations that your very first visit will be life-changing. You are building a relationship that will grow over time. On a first date do you expect a marriage proposal? Of course not! So to expect to make a massive impact on day #1 at a charity that you are just beginning to work with is unrealistic. Patience is key. Cultivate the relationship over time. Keep showing up. If it doesn’t work over a period of time – at least you tried. Then you can move on with the deeper understanding of what worked and what didn’t. You’ll be able to make an even better impact at the next organization based on your previous experience.
Your joy matters
Choose a cause that you are passionate about and feel motivated to work towards. An open heart, a smile, and generosity are rare gifts that are needed in the world. It is even more important to express your joy while you serve. Joy is something that is lacking on the planet. Maintain your light when you show up as a volunteer, and share it with those you serve. Whether the people you encounter shift into a smile or not isn’t the point. You are bringing your energy of joy directly to those you serve. Regardless of the outcome it is shifting energy just by you maintaining your vibration of joy.
Monetary Donation + Your Time = HUGE impact
Your light matters. Giving a check is a huge support to a non-profit, but so is showing up and making an impression on those you are serving at a local level. It makes a difference when you show up and share you care to those who have felt ignored and forgotten about. Listen to the people you serve. When you see the divinity within them and can reflect that back to them it makes a lasting impact. Bring your light and your love into places where it is needed most.
I personally like partnering with small, local organizations that don’t have as much overhead. They are in need of whatever support I can provide. I choose to select projects where I know 100% of the funds that I have raised go directly to people at a local level.
For example, we partner with YouthLink in Minneapolis. They provide support for homeless young people in Minneapolis ages 15-23. Their organization has a drop-in center that serves 3 meals a day, and services for education, job preparation, housing, mental health and wellness, art program, and more. Our team purchases ingredients and prepares meals that we serve to them on site. We also eat the meal with them as an opportunity to interact. They young people we’ve met there are usually curious about who we are, and ask why we are there helping them. Often they are blown away by the fact that we would do this for no other reason than because we care. Our goal is to provide consistent support, to build that relationship with the organization and show these young people they are not forgotten. We are showing them that people who they have never met before actually do care about them. It’s a huge gift to offer beyond just serving food.
This year we are hosting a 2nd Annual “Gratitude 5K” fun run on Thanksgiving morning to raise funds for our 2019 meal program with a goal to raise $1500 to fund a meal at YouthLink drop-in center every other month. That’s about 500 donated meals. Please consider making a donation to our Gratitude 5K to support this meal program – even if you won’t be attending the event! 100% of the funds go directly to purchasing the food for the meals which we prepare and serve.
Partner with people who support your cause
Ask your friends, neighbors, co-workers, family if they want to get involved. Having a “team” maximizes your impact. Some will not have as much time or interest but will generously donate money to the cause. Others won’t have the budget to write a big check but will have time to be involved.
For example, we have asked a group of people who are a part of our local Modern Mystery School Minneapolis-St. Paul community to join us. In addition, we have asked our significant others, family, friends and co-workers to be part of our volunteer efforts.
In no time we had an incredible group of open hearted people who genuinely care and make serving fun. If I were trying to do it all alone, I wouldn’t make as big of an impact. Plus, I would miss out on a ton of fun!
Strengths of Volunteers on Your “Team”
Everyone has their strengths. Observe who is on your team. What are they good at? And then give them a role. They want to contribute in a way that is most useful.
On our volunteer team we have people with various talents:
Social Media
Networking
Positivity
Socializing
Food prep for large groups of people
Organization
All of these skills matter when we are volunteering at a local level. I give them ownership of their area of expertise. As a result, we can pull off a successful fundraising event. Or prepare a nutritious meal for homeless youth.
Consistency Counts
If you want to make the biggest impact – focus your energy on one cause for a period of time. Watch it bloom as you figure out how you or your group can best serve the population associated with this non-profit.
Hold a vision
Have a long-term and short-term goal to support the cause. Treat it like you would any other project you may work on at your job or any major personal goal you have worked to manifest. This creates a container for the potential impact you are making. It’s also a commitment you make to expand beyond what you may think is even possible.
For example, our short term goal is to raise $1500 at our Charity 5K. This will give us the opportunity to serve food at YouthLink every other month totaling approximately 500 meals donated that year.
However, our long term goal is to increase our impact. Both with raising more funds to serve meals monthly, but also to expand our reach. We are in the process of expanding our support beyond the volunteer meal program, so stay tuned for future updates on our partnership with YouthLink.
We hope that the light that we bring to YouthLink extends beyond a warm meal. Our intention is to provide a seed of hope and motivation to keep going through difficult times.
Consider a “Fun” Fundraiser
What brings you joy? Who within your network would want to support your fundraiser? Just asking for donations isn’t always fun. I personally like creating events.
Over the years I have held meditation classes and healing fairs where 100% of the proceeds from these events are donated directly to support organizations doing important work. However the most successful events that have raised the most money are the ones that just focus on fun!
For example, we started a Gratitude 5K at Thanksgiving. It was based on the idea that I had from running “Turkey Trot” races in the past. They are huge events with thousands of people. You pay to attend the race – perhaps $50 per person. Then you receive socks, a T-shirt, a medal and also the satisfaction that a portion of the ticket fee is going to charity. There are many corporate sponsors, and I actually don’t know if all $50 goes directly to the charity or not. Once it arrives at the charity, how is the money allocated to the people who need it most? That part hasn’t been clear to me either.
My point is, I had an idea that we could host our own Gratitude 5K at a small local level. I didn’t care about getting a swag bag with items that I won’t use. I wanted to make the biggest impact.
Our Charity 5K costs nothing to host. We donate bottled water and a complimentary sticker for runners! No one seems to miss the large crowds or free t-shirt. Instead we have peace of mind that 100% of our race fee goes directly to support a local cause.
And we actually have fun doing it!
Call to Action
It never hurts to ask people to support your cause.
Please consider making a donation to our Gratitude 5K – even if you won’t be attending the event! 100% of the proceeds going directly to providing meals at YouthLink.