Haley Levesque, Program Coordinator and Trainer, manages Ridgebury Riders' highly successful volunteer hippotherapy program. Here is what sets them apart!

Team-building is a great reason to organize volunteer events at your business. Employees who volunteer together have the opportunity to form closer bonds. And, at larger companies, a corporate volunteer event might be an employee’s first interaction with a co-worker from a different team or department.

As a nonprofit organization, you’re well aware of the important role volunteers play in furthering your mission. They fill in the gaps where your staff can’t, helping you achieve more than your organization can on its own. Additionally, volunteers lift some of the weight of completing monumental tasks off your shoulders, helping you avoid burnout and reach more of those in need.

This time of year, there’s a lot of talk about annual giving and donating dollars to support the causes you care about, but —like we’ve done in the past— we’re collaborating with U.S. Bank to promote giving time through volunteering.

I was excited to see one of you mentioned fair compensation for leaders of volunteers, and how we don’t ask for what we need or deserve, but instead worry about being underpaid and under appreciated. It’s such an important topic!

Earlier this year, I shared one of my Hot Takes – an opinion or idea that is meant to be thought provoking. My Hot Take was about the value of a volunteer hour and how I don’t think we talk enough about how all volunteer hours are not equally valuable.

Volunteering: The Gift That Gives Back

Q: Can you tell us about yourself and your organization, Crisis Text Line?

A: Yes. Thank you. I have been the CEO of Crisis Text Line for three years, and it's truly been a privilege to lead such an extraordinary organization that provides free and accessible mental health support through text messages.

Your nonprofit relies on a loyal and dedicated group of volunteers to push your initiatives forward. In addition to recruiting volunteers from the community, you can benefit from the support of skilled corporate volunteers. Corporate volunteers are an especially valuable asset because of their professional backgrounds and technical expertise, which can be used to help your nonprofit with everything from web development to organizing your financial records. 

Any nonprofit professional will agree that the strongest volunteer bases are those who not only connect with the nonprofit’s work, but with each other as well. This positions your sorority or fraternity’s alumni community to excel as a volunteering unit.