Embracing Micro-Volunteering
Embracing Micro-Volunteering
Encouraging participation and leveraging skills from community members who would not usually contemplate volunteering.
Community Participation -
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The issue
Lack of time, lack of money. Has modern life killed volunteering? Probably, if you're talking about the continuous commitment required by traditional volunteering. Do you keep hearing “I don’t have enough time to commit at the moment”? That is the single most repeated line I heard recently whilst trying to recruit new members at a Volunteers expo. Volunteering Australia found volunteering is ‘becoming episodic and more self-orientated’. But don’t look at this as a negative, Landcare can play this game – It's called Micro-Volunteering.
The solution
Micro-volunteering refers to short-term, low-commitment opportunities that allow individuals to contribute their skills and time in small increments. Micro-volunteering can leverage participants’ specific skills for targeted tasks. From tradie skills to producing social media, or operating machinery for a project.
Buxton Landcare is using micro-volunteering events to draw in different sectors of the community instead of operating on a Landcare site. We call them Big Impact Events. We may weed a specific site/ plant trees/ do a skills workshop/ run a community education event or competition. For the committed members of the group, the variation in events allows skill sharing, skill building and keeps things interesting.
We keep events short, 3 hours or less, and the activity must be completed in that time. New volunteers get a bite-sized, commitment-free immersion into Landcare and see tangible results from their efforts. It is the satisfaction and pride in the result that encourages volunteers to return on a more regular basis, or to participate in a future project.
The impact
Micro-volunteering is allowing our fledgling Landcare group to widen its volunteer base by attracting individuals who might not commit to longer or regular engagements. We gain access to their diverse skill sets to progress our various projects. Microtasks are great for motivating and engaging new and committed volunteers. It may even lead to some micro-volunteers transitioning to long-term involvement in Landcare.
Key facts
- Micro-Volunteering is attracting people who would not usually volunteer
- Landcare can leverage highly skilled volunteers to help deliver a project
- Micro-tasks keep regular volunteers engaged and challenged