These past few days, I’ve had the opportunity to share Volies’ experience in managing corporate volunteering programs at IVCO (International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations), the annual conference organized by the Forum for International Volunteering, an organization I am honored to serve on the Board of Directors.
These conferences have been taking place since 2001, bringing together governmental agencies (Norway, Korea, France, Japan…) and international NGOs (Peace Corps, Human for Humanity, Crossroads International, Cuso International, among others). Over the past 20 years, IVCO has been a key space for promoting and shaping international volunteering.
These have been days not only of deep learning but of raw inspiration — simply having conversations about the future of volunteering with people from all over the world, in such an incredible country as Cambodia, has been truly enriching.
Status of international volunteering
The international volunteering sector currently stands at a complex crossroads due to the global geopolitical situation, which has led to major cuts in public funding. This is undoubtedly bad news. However, in this context, companies have a significant role to play through their corporate volunteering programs. Volies is sharing its experience supporting others in navigating this space — a great honor and responsibility.
How corporate volunteering benefits local communities
Based on our experience, international corporate volunteering can generate significant impacts in local communities, such as:
- Professional skills and resources
- Stimulating economic growth
- Increased awareness and advocacy
- Tangible benefits for the local population
How corporate volunteering benefits international volunteer organizations
But there are also important benefits for international volunteering organizations themselves, including:
- Capacity building
- Strengthened networks and credibility
- Innovation through collaboration
- Increased resources
This form of corporate volunteering is truly transformative — not only for local communities but especially for the volunteers who take part in these challenging and meaningful experiences.
Time and trust: keys to successful corporate volunteering
If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that this process requires two key elements: TIME and TRUST.
- Time to properly understand the needs and the skills required, time to identify the right volunteers (often those with prior local volunteering experience), time to train them, prepare the intervention, and later evaluate the impact.
- And trust — between the company and the volunteering organization. This demands an open and honest dialogue, sharing expectations, ensuring that both parties’ visions and goals are aligned — and this, quite naturally, takes time 😊.
Without a doubt, the return on this mutual investment is enormous — both from a social and corporate perspective, often in ways we couldn’t have imagined. That’s why, at Volies we are committed to fostering those powerful connections that can bring light in these complex times.
If you want to discover how your company can make a real impact through international corporate volunteering, contact our Volies team and let’s start creating transformative experiences together.
