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Why I volunteer

ByJosh Bernoff

I do a fair amount of work for free or below market rate. It’s usually working on committees that are creating useful things.

Here are my criteria:

  • Is the committee working on something I find worthwhile?
  • Can I add value? Is the work something where my knowledge and skills are useful?
  • Am I going to learn something new?
  • Am I working with people I like?
  • Will I be networked with new people worth knowing?
  • Will working on these things add to my reputation?

It’s pretty simple. If it fits these criteria, I enjoy the work, I enjoy the people, and I can look back on the work I did and find it rewarding.

What doesn’t work

All the volunteer projects I regretted working on were pro-bono projects for authors who couldn’t pay. They all seemed worthwhile at the time. None of those projects ever got off the ground.

The reason was that the pro-bono clients were insufficiently committed to their own projects. People who don’t pay are sometimes more willing to give up. That meant that my work — which of the same level of quality that I provide to paying clients — was wasted.

Volunteer

People early in their careers should volunteer a lot. It’s a great way to build a network and learn from a group of more experienced people.

People late in their careers, like me, should volunteer selectively. It’s often interesting and rewarding.

Just don’t volunteer unless the objective is worthwhile and the organization is committed. That’s how to make sure you won’t regret spending your time and expertise with no financial compensation.

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2 Comments

  1. I’ve volunteered many times over the years for charitable causes. The problem comes when you have one or more overseers who are control freaks or who don’t have the capacity to recognize a significant contribution I’ve made. Some of these folks are also those who can’t allow themselves to accept anyone else’s good ideas if they did not think of them first. In the last year or so, I’ve withdrawn from three groups I used to love teaming up with because their leaders are problem-causers and contentious. One leader made a serious misjudgment as to work location and a near-miss accident almost occurred. Unable to embrace her own culpability for the misjudgment, she instead scapegoated me and I had done nothing more than being the nearest volunteer to her. The only satisfaction I’ve gotten from my volunteer work with these particular groups is in knowing that I’ve done a good job.

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