March 27, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Q: I’m a college professor who is about to retire. I spent 10 years as an administrator and am familiar with budgets, grant requests, personnel matters, etc. I’d love to find a part-time volunteer position with a charity. Are there any “help wanted” ads for such spots?
A: First of all, you should know that your skills and experience make you extremely valuable to charities, especially at this time of budget shortfalls and government cutbacks. As Dan Narr, volunteer resources director at Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, puts it, “Volunteer work behind the scenes is just as important as what gets done on the front line.”
He says he’s noticed an increasing number of volunteers who offer not only their passion for his group’s mission, but also their real-world skills. In a typical situation, he says, a group may have a full-time manager who is a recent college graduate and thus lacking in practical experience. Someone like you — an older volunteer with a substantial work background — could serve as that manager’s mentor, Mr. Narr says.
To seek specific opportunities, you have a number of options. You may first want to check with your former employer to see if the college or university itself has any groups or publications that track volunteer positions. Local newspapers — especially free alternative weeklies — sometimes include volunteer opportunities in their listings section. Your city or region may also have a volunteer center or other clearinghouse of opportunities. Look for your state’s association of nonprofit groups on this list provided by the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.
A number of other Web sites offer listings to help match volunteers to organizations, such as Volunteer Match, The Points of Light Foundation, and Idealist.org.
