Is Giving Worth It?: Find out the Answers from Volunteers Who Give Their Time, Talent, Treasure

By Richard Hartung

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHETHER IT IS ACTUALLY WORTH IT TO GIVE?

Have you ever been asked to volunteer your time or donate money, and then wondered if it’s really worth it? Perhaps a person you know at a school, temple, social welfare home or environmental group called to ask if you could help out, when you already have plenty else to do?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9789810917821

Book preview

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Introduction

Is giving worth it? It's a question you probably have asked yourself many times, such as when the school requests for donations, the welfare home asks you to help with an event or another non-profit asks you to conduct a workshop that uses your skills. When there's so much else, from finishing projects at work and taking care of the family to grocery shopping and keeping up with all the activity on Facebook, it might seem like it's not worth giving up more to yet another cause, whether it be your time, talent or treasure, often invaluable skills and resources built from many years of experience and personal endeavours.

Yet plenty of people do give. When a charity asks for money, a social welfare home for time or a non-profit to teach, they readily say yes. Still, some of these donors question whether they should be giving so much of themselves.

The academic answer is easy. Many studies show that volunteering or donating increases happiness, improves health and well-being, boosts optimism and even makes people feel like they have more time. But even though the research sounds good, it's important to ask those who actually give for their perspectives.

To find out whether giving is actually worth it, we talked with more than two dozen people from all walks of life who do indeed give, whether time, talent or treasure, to non-profits here in Singapore. Recent graduates, successful businesspeople running companies, a septuagenarian who has been giving for decades and a slew of others all shared how they started, what they do, and whether volunteering is worth it. We heard stories—and there are many—about how good they felt when they brought a smile to a grandmother's face, saw a man walk for the first time, or watched children learning to play the guitar. The common thread was that these people found giving more than worth it. Indeed, some said they receive far more than they give. Some have been so profoundly affected by their giving that it has changed the entire course of their life.

When we started talking with the individuals profiled in this book, we divided them neatly into those who had given their time, talent or treasure. But along the way what we also realised is that it's not a matter of or for many. They had given time and talent and treasure, benefitting the organisations they work with in a multitude of ways rather than just one.

These stories from more than two dozen people tell how they started volunteering, what they do, and why giving is worth so much that they keep on long after they could easily have stopped. Turn the page to read their stories, and to find what giving is worth.

Building Stronger Non-Profits and Changing Volunteers' Lives through Consulting

As he reflects on the growth of Conjunct Consulting, the non-profit venture he set up and runs, Jeremy is rightly proud as he ticks off the accomplishments. Consulting to non-profits and social enterprises in Singapore. Deploying volunteer-managed teams of experts who help charities and non-profits with everything from financial planning to sustainability. Empowering the next generation of social change leaders. And less than a decade ago, Jeremy might never have believed he would set up such an impactful non-profit.

THE TURNING POINT

Jeremy grew up caring deeply about people around him, always volunteering and helping at charity fairs or even doing mundane tasks like licking envelopes for non-profits. I was happy to do it. His dream was to become a medical researcher.

When he was in junior college, however, he suffered a major personal loss of a close friend that changed everything. He went from being highly motivated to despairing, almost overnight, dropping to the bottom one percent of his cohort in school and almost flunking out.

Only when he went into national service did his life start to turn around. I spent two years running around and got some discipline back in my life, he said. He also made several important decisions. One was to persevere, no matter what happened and even though he didn't understand why bad things happen. I chose to have faith that there is meaning in life. He also decided to return to helping people, through volunteer teaching and giving math tuition. Gradually, he got his life back together.

He studied hard, carrying his SAT study guides around even during his army days and studying at night. He did well on the SAT, applied to universities in the United States and decided to attend UC Berkeley in California.

Along with studying there, Jeremy decided to continue as a volunteer and was introduced to a non-profit consulting group, even though he really had no idea what consulting was. Serendipitously, the key interview question revolved around his passion for medicine. He was asked about his distribution strategy if he were given a million doses of a cancer vaccine. I went on to ace it, he said. They'd asked the right question. The non-profit picked seven out of 170 applicants, and he was one of the lucky seven.

Even though he didn't contribute much on his first project, the client was so happy with all the help he and his teammates had provided that she cried at the end. Jeremy went on to volunteer on a variety of other consulting engagements and said he learned important lessons. One was to synchronise his mission, purpose, skills and community. Another was to focus on causes he cared about. And he came to see that even something as small as a 10 percent improvement in efficiency could create major improvements. He thrived in a community of supportive, like-minded people—practical romantics, as he calls them—working together to change society. Along with spurring his desire to work in consulting full-time, the experience made him want to continue with pro bono consulting once he went back home.

SETTING UP CONJUNCT CONSULTING

When he returned to Singapore, he looked for a similar organisation but found that it simply didn't exist. There was no way for a white collar person to contribute meaningfully with skills, Jeremy said. So he and an army buddy decided to make something happen. That's how I decided to give, by founding Conjunct.

Being typical consultants, the first thing they did was a market assessment. They spent months figuring out a gap to fill, researching similar organisations, developing their mission and values and deciding what services to offer. Once they felt they had the fundamentals in place, they reached out to friends and family to recruit volunteers. It was surprising that people were willing to place a bet on something that in Singapore never existed before. They rented a space at the Hub, since Jeremy had seem similar co-working spaces function well in California.

When he first started out, Jeremy spent more time in a direct role doing consulting. Being the only person who had experience in nonprofit consulting, he was also the one chasing leads for projects, asking for feedback, incorporating the organisation, and writing policies and training materials.

In one of their first projects, Conjunct worked with a non-profit to figure out what to do with their funding, and they generated hundreds of business ideas. We narrowed it down to two options, chose one and detailed how to set up a business plan. We found a new place for the group's restaurant, mapping out every other restaurant and cuisine nearby as well as figuring out what cuisines were not being sold. Conjunct showed their client how the location was a great place to learn from, even though low foot traffic meant it would not be a huge profit generator. The facility launched, with politicians applauding, and it turned out as expected. I was so proud, Jeremy said. I kept the newspaper clipping. We helped them figure it out. That was a great experience, watching the success of our partner.

Another powerful experience came late at night on a retreat for Conjunct's volunteers. There was this guy who came up to me, sharing how his life had changed. As a student he was considered a failure, due to personal circumstances. He wanted to give back, but he was rudderless. He joined Conjunct, even though he didn't know a lot about consulting. He had experience with startups, and he had a strong personal sense of justice and what's fair. He got the opportunity to be part of a community that supported him. He is one of the stars. People look up to him, and he is a role model. He shared with me how he quit smoking and got his life back together. That is what I really enjoy. By setting up Conjunct, I allowed individuals to find their passion and purpose.

CONJUNCT TODAY... AND TOMORROW

Conjunct grew quickly, with non-profit clients in many different sectors, and they've rapidly given volunteers more authority. Jeremy also shifted towards facilitating volunteers, managing stakeholders and looking at impact assessment.

Conjunct now has a range of volunteers. Assistant consultants are university students from years one to four who are trained for a semester and then selected based on case interviews and team assessments. We select people with either the heart-ware or hardware, Jeremy said. There are also about 50 professionals, ranging from bank managers and SME leaders to retirees, who serve as project managers, mentors, facilitators, finance staff or impact assessors.

Leveraging more than 150 volunteers, Conjunct now delivers more than a quarter million dollars of services to as many as 30 clients a year.

Still, Jeremy said, Conjunct faces three challenges. First, it is striving to conduct meaningful impact assessments and quantify the dollar value of the services. Second, it is ensuring transparency and accountability. And the third is to forge long-term relationships with partners and stakeholders so it can maximise its impact and sustainability.

We have steady growth, Jeremy said, and Conjunct is scaling for sustainability. Part of that move towards sustainability is also grooming the next generation of leaders. We have great retention. It takes time for them to mature.

Who will be my successor? Jeremy muses. While he hasn't identified that successor yet, Conjunct is teaching a multitude of people who could eventually take over and also have a positive impact on the community for their entire lives.

JEREMY AU

Jeremy is the president and co-founder of Conjunct Consulting, a groundbreaking non-profit consulting organisation providing strategic guidance for Asia's social sector. Conjunct Consulting creates