This is How Volunteering Organizations Spend Your Fees

When I first started volunteering in India I had no idea where my money was spent. I only knew that I was depositing money to an organization’s account and volunteering for them. It was when a friend of mine got duped, did I realize the importance of tracking my expense. Fortunately, many volunteer organizations publish their annual reports on their websites. These reports mention where your hard earned money is spent. This post highlights how volunteer organizations spend your money.
 
Check out the following to enlighten yourself.
 
# Administration

Volunteer organizations use the money from volunteers to hire resource who handle this type of work. Thousands of candidates want to avail volunteer opportunities India. Organizations are flooded with applications and queries from interested volunteers. Handling such huge amount of work is not a joke.
 
# Communication

Did you know that communication is one of the most important functions of a volunteer organization? An organization which communicates with its stakeholders is a responsible organization. Contact formalities do not end with your registering or paying of fees. The organization informs you about your schedule, programs, location and offers other information that can make your volunteering experience an interesting one.

# Promotion

During one of my volunteering experiences, I learnt that volunteer organizations have to spend a lot of money on promotional and marketing activities. They have to reach out to a large number of people. Therefore, publicizing the organization’s programs is important. Advertisements on newspapers, magazines, radio stations, televisions, pamphlets and social media networks need capital.
 
Volunteer organizations promote the needs of the community to attract more and more volunteers ready to help them.

# Food and accommodation

A manager had once told me that food for volunteers and sometimes for community children come from the fees that volunteers pay. The volunteers are offered food three times a day, namely, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s not always that the accommodation facilities are owned by the volunteer organization. Sometimes, they also rent the housing facilities for volunteers. Where do you think the money comes from? Organizations also pay for the first place where you stay when you arrive in India for the first time. In case, you opt to live with a host family, they pay for your accommodation.
 
# Supervision

Do you think no one monitors your work while you are busy volunteering? I must say that you are wrong. Your activities are supervised by people in the management. Someone has to see, if you are doing it right or wrong. Who do you think finances the management and the officials sitting at the helm. Yes, it’s the money that the organization charges from you.
 
# Fund to strengthen the organization

Volunteer organizations make themselves strong with the money you give them. Ten years ago I had started my volunteering days with a small organization in India. Today, that organization has become a medium-scale institute of volunteering. They have invested the money from volunteers to build infrastructure. The small hut, which I knew has now become a three-storey building. What used to be a mud courtyard is now an office for addressing women harassment issues. An organization can increase its responsibilities, functions and programs with this money. With more money come more volunteers and more strength to handle projects.
 
# Expenses to develop the society
 
Community development programs are funded by your money. If a volunteer organization indulges in developing the community, it has to build schools, community halls, hospitals, clinics, parks, roads, etc. These measures are expensive, time-consuming and involve lots of red Tapism. Building a school means buying a plot of land, seeking permissions, asking for donations from influential people, recruiting teachers, admitting students, etc. The more time it takes, the more expensive the process turns.
 
# Transportation costs
 
Volunteer organizations sponsor transport costs with the money they charge from you. Imagine how nice it feels when you meet a welcoming face at a foreign land. Right from the moment you land, till the time you reach the office of the volunteering organization, all your transport responsibilities are handled by the organization.
 
# Tour costs

What about the tours you undertake on weekends. If you have been wondering how they get sponsored, you can rest assured that it’s your money behind the tours. Staying away from your family and friends for a long period of time can make your life monotonous. A short trip to a tourist spot can rejuvenate you.
 
# Adventure sports

How about participating in adventure sports while participating in volunteer work in India? Volunteer organizations often team up with sport clubs to offer thrilling experience to volunteers. They enter into a partnership with the clubs that take you out on adventurous rides.
 
These were some expenses that volunteer organizations make with your money. Have you asked the management of the organization where you work for their annual financial report? Do it now because you have the right to know where your money goes.