SECTOR SPOTLIGHT - CHARITY AND VOLUNTEERING
What can I do?
Chances are, if you want to build a career in this sector you want
to help other people. The good news is that when you’re working
for a charitable organisation, in whatever role, that’s just what
you’re doing: from front line staff in the community to working
from home taking care of admin, everyone is contributing to the
work of the charity.
Broadly, the work of charities splits into three areas: campaigning,
fundraising and volunteering. If you work in campaigning, you’ll
be helping to carry your particular charity’s message out into the
world, raising awareness of the issues. That means spreading
the word to members of the public about services available and
showing the great work your charity is doing. It also means
trying to get media coverage through press releases and articles;
representing the charity in meetings with the business community
or politicians; or perhaps travelling to protest, help people or
deliver aid anywhere in the world. Social media coverage is key
to successful messaging too.
None of this is possible without fundraising. Before the coronavirus
pandemic, work in this area involved pounding the pavements
looking for donations, but that’s just one aspect of it. In the current
environment, this means making sure websites are geared up
for direct donations. Charitable fundraising also involves huge
events (like Comic Relief or Children in Need), all of which
require armies of people to work on them; or carefully-managed
relationships with major donors, which means building a oneon-one
relationship with them. Again, many events have moved
online, so a good knowledge of webinars, group video chats and
using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to run
events is invaluable.
KEEP SAFE!
Please do not take any risks during the
Coronavirus outbreak!
Supporting a charity is a lovely thing to do, but you
must follow proper channels and take the essential
safety precautions. The best place to start is to reach
out via a charity website or on social media from
your home. The Government has published guidelines
on what you can and cannot do, which is continually
updated: https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-youcan-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-whatyou-can-and-cant-do
Charities rely on their volunteers to get anything done, and making
the best of use of them takes planning. Working in volunteer
management you’ll be doing just that: overseeing volunteers,
keeping them informed about the charity’s activities and organising
their schedules; and getting involved yourself, of course.
There are many additional roles, though – the biggest charities
are the same as any large organisation and will need people with
social media, marketing, design, legal, business and finance skills,
and a whole lot more. Right now, you’ll need good ICT skills and a
good grasp of social media (but then, you probably have both of
those things already, right?).
www.careermap.co.uk
Careermag for School Leavers Issue 15 | 33