Definition of the Volunteer

A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so. The word comes from Latin, and can be translated as “will” (as in doing something out of ones own free will). Many serve through a non-profit organization – sometimes referred to as formal volunteering, but a significant number also serve less formally, either individually or as part of a group.

 

A volunteer work is not and should never be a required work. A volunteer may or may not get paid or receive compensation for services rendered. General Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee Volunteers were paid by the General personally, although he did seek reimbursement at Washington for his expenditures.

 

Volunteering comes in many forms: serving food at the local homeless shelter, providing computer technical support to a non-profit organization, acting in a leadership capacity on a charitable organization’s board of directors or coordinating the emergency response in the case of a disaster. Around the world volunteer centers exist to support the voluntary sector and make a difference in the communities that they serve.

Social enterprise

Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which trade in goods or services for a social purpose. Their aim to accomplish targets that are social and environmental as well as financial is often referred to as having a triple bottom line. Social enterprises are profit-making businesses set up to tackle a social or environmental need. Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their social or environmental purpose is central to what they do.

 

Rather than maximizing shareholder value, their main aim is to generate profit to further their social and environmental goals. Therefore some commentators describe them as ‘not-for-profit’ as their profits are not (at least primarily) distributed to financial investors. Others dislike the term as it suggests they have unbusiness like attitude. An ingenious solution to this quandary is to call them for ‘more-than-profit’ (a term used at the Social Enterprise Institute Conference, Herriot-Watt University, in 2003). 

It could be that the profit (or surplus) from the business is used to support social aims (whether or not related to the activity of the business, as in a charity shop), or that the business itself accomplishes the social aim through its operation, for instance by employing disadvantaged people (social firms) or lending to businesses that have difficulty in securing investment from mainstream lenders.

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Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy (sometimes referred to as “philanthrocapitalism”) takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals.

Venture philanthropy is characterized by:

• Willingness to experiment and try new approaches.
• Focus on measurable results: donors and grantees assess progress based on mutually determined benchmarks.
• Readiness to shift funds between organizations and goals based on tracking those measurable results.
• Giving financial, intellectual, and human capital.
• Funding on a multi-year basis – typically a minimum of 3 years, on average 5-7 years.
• Focus on capacity building, instead of programs or general operating expenses.
• High involvement by donors with their grantees. For example, some donors will take positions on the boards of the non-profits they fund.

There are three models for engaging in venture philanthropy. The first is traditional foundations practicing high-engagement grant making. The second is organizations which are funded by individuals, but all engagement is done by professional staff. An example of this type of venture philanthropy is the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City. The third is the partnership model, in which partner investors both donate the financial capital and engage with the grantees. Most of these are pass-through funds.

 

ref: wikipedia

Youth Philanthropy

Youth philanthropy is the donation of time, energy or resources, including money, by children and youth towards philanthropic causes. According to one study, “youth philanthropy is, at the broadest level, youth giving of their time, talents and treasure.” It is seen as an effective means in which youth develop knowledge of and participate in philanthropic projects such as volunteering, grant writing, and community service.

Youth philanthropy educates young people about social change in order to identify community problems and design the most appropriate solutions in a systemic way. Philanthropy in this case is defined as anything young people do to make the world around them a better place.

Focused on youth-adult partnerships and youth voice, youth philanthropy is seen as a successful application of service learning. Youth philanthropy helps young people develop skills, knowledge, confidence and leadership abilities. Youth philanthropy is also identified as a particularly effective means for educating children and youth about volunteerism and civic engagement. Within the Jewish community institutions such as synagogues, day schools, Jewish federations and other organizations have created Jewish youth philanthropy programs to provide Jewish teens with opportunities to engage in grant making activities through a Jewish lens. The Jewish Teen Funders Network serves as a central address for Jewish youth philanthropy, and aims to help grow and strengthen the burgeoning field.

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AFP Philanthropy Awards 2008–3

 

Outstanding Individual Youth Award

Breanna was involved with the Ubuntu Club (Humanity towards Others) for three years at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School. The school partners to help a small rural school north of Kisumu in Kenya, and is responsible for the tuition of two girls, at $500 each, as well as raising morale at the school.

 

“Breanna’s leadership and genuine passion to help has contributed greatly to A.Y’s ambience,” says Cathy Belanger, teacher at A.Y. Jackson Secondary School and Breanna’s nominator. She represented the school as a Youth Leader in Beijing, China, in November 2007. “Breanna is always willing to help with any global or local issues,” she says. “She has donated time and efforts to Operation Christmas Child, Tsunami Relief, and the Pen Pal Program at A.Y. Jackson. As well, Breanna is actively involved in the community and her church.”

 

Breanna greatly motivated younger students, as well as teachers, to become more involved in global initiatives in the school. Over the three years she was involved in the Ubuntu Club, Breanna helped raise almost $20,000. “This is no small feat considering she was only 17 years old and our school population on a good day is about 800. Breanna has left her mark on the school.”

 

Outstanding Corporate Philanthropist:

TD Bank Financial Group

“I’ve worked side by side with people from TD financial institution and always noticed they get tremendous support from their company,” says David Seibel, local businessman and a volunteer with the United Way, who nominated the TD Bank Financial Group for the award.More…

 

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AFP Philanthropy Awards 2008–2

Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser
Mark Sutcliffe
“We nominated Mark partially because of his success as board chair at the United Way,” says Eileen Dooley, vice-president, community services, of the United Way. “He was also the chair of the board at the Great Canadian Theatre Company when they had tremendous success. They built and created a wonderful venue the whole community has been proud of. In essence, there are all kinds of ways for giving and philanthropy in the community – Mark gives of his time, his money, his knowledge, his passion for the community, and he is a humble and understated leader. He does it simply because it’s the right thing to do, and he puts his passion into practice every single day. It’s the people like Mark, the quiet, humble leaders, who make such an incredible difference.

Outstanding Philanthropic Group
Volunteers’ Circle of the National Gallery of Canada
“We were delighted to nominate the Volunteers’ Circle for the AFP’s Outstanding Philanthropic Group Award, as their members represent the very core of the National Gallery of Canada family,” says Joanne Charette, the NGC’s Director of Public Affairs.

“We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude for all their tireless efforts and remarkable contributions to the many different areas of our organization which bring pleasure to so many of our visitors,” she says. “These range from education and travel programs to fundraising for major restoration projects (such as the Rideau Chapel), and from arranging community outreach events to administrative assistance. They are simply an integral and invaluable asset to our institution.”

AFP Philanthropy Awards 2008 – 1

Strong philanthropy is a sign of a strong and caring community, and tonight the Ottawa region celebrates some stunning examples of the philanthropic impulse in our area. “We hope you will be inspired by these few examples and apply that same philanthropic impulse in giving back to your community, in your own special way,” says Eric Dean, volunteer president of the Ottawa Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “Congratulations to all our honourees and our thanks to all of you for your generosity of spirit.” 

 

Here’s a round-up of the award recipients, and a little bit on why they were nominated: 

 

Outstanding Individual Philanthropist Dan Greenberg 

“Dan, and the entire family of Shirley and the late Irving Greenberg really exemplify philanthropy in Ottawa,” says Mr. Dean, of the Queensway Carleton Hospital Foundation, who nominated Dan for the award. “They have supported so many causes, and have truly transformed their favourite charities and, through them, the entire community. Dan’s vision in creating Ottawa’s largest gift ever to health care, and to choose to do so in a way that celebrates partnership and collaboration is typical of his concern for the community and his innovation in expressing the family’s philanthropy.” 

 

He says that Dan has been a great role model to the Foundation board members and campaign volunteers and also to the entire donor community. “He takes a very deliberate and thoughtful approach to philanthropy and this has been an example and inspiration to many others. He has often credited his own father, Irving, as his example and I see a commitment in Dan to serve as an example to others.”

 

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Social and Welfare Services -1

Most of the things done today by individuals, charitable societies or governments as social and welfare services have been done in the past in many societies.  Closer to current times, poverty, child neglects, and other social ills were pioneers in many of today’s social and welfare services, although they too had called such services by various other names such as “organized charity,” or “philanthropic work”

 

Notably the newly independent and developing countries, have attempted to apply the term social services to those services, such as education and health, that are addressed to the general population and to apply the tem welfare services to services rendered to vulnerable groups – groups that are socially, economically, physically, or mentally handicapped or special groups would apply to those persons who because of the misfortunes of circumstances have tended to lag behind or fall by the wayside

 

Another classification of social and welfare services focuses on their remedial, preventive, and supportive roles.  Remedial services express the basic humanitarian and social responsibility of society toward people in their need or distress.  The y seek to meet the special needs of various sections of the population, such as the young, the old, the destitute, and the handicapped. Preventive services seek to lessen the stresses and strains of life resulting from social and technological changes.  The try to provide built-in safeguards to meet the problems facing individuals and families, particularly in times of economic growth.  If effective, they should reduce the need for more expensive remedial programs,  Supportive services deal with educational programs, health services, population policies, manpower planning, employment and training, and community development projects.

 

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