You work for a community development organization that’s facing a somewhat technical problem but with limited budget. You really need that new logo/HR advice/strategic plan. What do you do?
Well, if you live here in Winnipeg, you contact Spark, where we work with you to find the right professional looking to volunteer their expertise, or pro bono consultant, as we like to call them. Another opportunity would be to take part in a Timeraiser event.
Timeraiser events happen once a year in various cities across Canada, and Spark has been at their past three events in Winnipeg. Over the course of the evening, potential volunteers wander through booths set up by participating organizations, getting to know the mission of the organization and some of the challenges they face. Volunteers then pledge a certain number of volunteer hours in an effort to out-bid other volunteers, with an aim to winning artwork. Over the next year, the volunteers earn their artwork by completing their promised hours. These events have a definite community economic development flavour: in every city that hosts a Timeraiser event, Timeraiser hires local people to organize the event, local social enterprises to cater the food, and the art is purchased at full price from local artists.
But back to your problem. You still need that volunteer work done. How do you make sure you’re ready to take on that commitment? While the volunteer provides their expertise, someone from your organization – maybe even you! – knows your organization the best, so getting the work done will take some effort on your part.
Spark can help you with that, too. Learn more about how Spark helps organizations get ready for pro bono help in this guest blog Geoff wrote: Getting an Organization Ready for Their Pro Bono Match.
Whether you work for a community development/community economic development organization in Winnipeg, or you’re a Winnipeg professional looking to give back to the community in a short-term, project specific volunteer opportunity, contact Spark today!
