You might feel fulfilled in the workplace because you contribute to your industry and your company, but sometimes professionals want to do more. If you’re interested in benefiting your community and people in need, you can use your expertise in the nonprofit world. Following are four ways business professionals can give back to others.
Help Young and Unemployed Professionals Find Jobs
Many communities have workforce nonprofits that need volunteers to help professionals write resumes and cover letters, fill out applications, and hunt for jobs. If you’re skilled at these tasks, consider teaming up with this type of organization. You can put in a few hours in the evenings or on weekends to help resolve unemployment problems.
Alternatively, you might volunteer at a youth center or other organization and help kids develop their professional skills. If you’re a computer programmer, for instance, you could teach computer programming so kids can easily find jobs when they graduate from school. Some of those youngster might even become the next Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. Believe it or not, volunteering in this way can also help you improve your own skills.
Keep a Nonprofit’s Books
If you’re a trained bookkeeper, you don’t have to limit your work to your day job. Consider volunteering to keep a nonprofit’s books. You won’t get paid for your efforts, but you’ll help the organization flourish by improving its cash flow and reducing the potential for accounting mistakes.
Best of all, you might be able to do this volunteer work from home. Since you’ll likely work exclusively with digital files, you can fit in the accounting work when it suits your schedule, then email files back and forth with the organization’s board.
Run Marathons
Business professionals often succeed at charity runs because they can collect donations in the workplace. Consider putting together a team of fitness enthusiasts at work and committing to run a marathon. If you’re not ready for the full 26.2 miles, consider running a half marathon or 5K.
In addition to running the race together, you and your team can also train as a unit. You’ll bond with your colleagues and develop a team mindset, which can benefit you in the workplace as well as during a run. Plus, you’ll raise money toward worthy causes, whether it’s breast cancer awareness or multiple sclerosis research.
Give Speeches
If you’re an experienced orator, consider working with nonprofits to give inspiring speeches. You can help a charity in your community to raise money, recruit volunteers, or simply spread the message. Choose a nonprofit that aligns with your specific skills. For instance, if you’re a physician, you could partner with a charity that focuses on specific diseases or conditions. You could also take a place on the nonprofit’s board to help behind the scenes.
Giving back doesn’t just benefit the people in your community. It also helps you develop a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and you might find that your skills improve as a result of your good work.