national volunteer sponsorship fund –
reducing barriers to volunteering
APRIL 11, 2023
EXPANDING ACCESS TO VOLUNTEERING
UPDATED: FEBRUARY, 2024
All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) enables unique exchanges between people from all over the world – united by our humanity and bonded through our shared experiences and commitment to social uplift. However, we recognize that equality does not exist across the globe. Access to opportunities is largely affected by where we are born, the wealth of the families and the countries that we are born into, and even, as history has shown us, the color of our skin.
We have grown from a small organization of enthusiastic volunteers who self-deployed and leveraged their personal networks to assist communities affected by disasters, to an organization that facilitates thousands of volunteers, actively works in several continents and responds to international disasters every year. We are excited to share, additional resources have given us the ability to provide more support for prospective volunteers for whom barriers to volunteering have prevented or would prevent them from joining us on a program.
ACKNOWLEDGING PRIVILEGE
There is an inherent degree of privilege associated with volunteering and much inequality in access to the economic and social capital required to provide exposure to opportunities. As such, there has been a clear majority in the demographic of volunteers that have traditionally joined our programs.
An internal baseline survey conducted in 2020 of a sample size consisting of 567 current and former staff and volunteers suggested that a vast majority of our volunteers are from the United States (~71% of respondents) and over 80% identify as white. Of international respondents, only ~11% indicated being of ethnic minority in their country of residence. Currently, national volunteers only make up an average of 6% of our residential volunteers on international programs.
While current volunteer nationality data would indicate improvement in the overall widening of the diversity of our volunteers, it is clear that an intentional effort needs to be made to engage a more diverse volunteer population that better represents the communities we serve and the world at large. Thus, the inception of the National Volunteer Sponsorship initiative.
INTRODUCING: NATIONAL VOLUNTEER SPONSORSHIP FUND
The National Volunteer Sponsorship Fund is a resource aimed at addressing financial need and the historic underrepresentation of demographics of volunteers on our programs, while also promoting in-country volunteering as a sustainable, impact and resource maximizing activity. We recognize that, while we do not charge volunteers a fee to come and stay with us, there are inherent costs associated with volunteering that may be a hindering factor. To account for these, each sponsorship grant offer will include support in various areas.
ELIGIBILITY UPDATES:
UPDATED FEBRUARY, 2024.
In an effort to extend the resource to as many prospective volunteers as possible, we have limited the resource to one sponsorship per year per volunteer. Additionally, we are now requesting that volunteers receiving sponsorship provide a minimum of one week of availability, with a maximum of 8 weeks of sponsorship support during service.
Have questions about how sponsorship works? Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more information!
What’s included:
- In country travel. We arrange flights and reimburse other reasonable costs associated with travel
- Work boots and sleeping gear are made available by request
- Meal allowance per week of service is provided to cover 3 meals per day for each non-working day
- For service commitments over five weeks, reimbursement up to a certain amount (depending on location) for break related expenses will also apply
The goals for this initiative are two-fold: To both increase national representation on our volunteer programs while also providing support to promote a wider group of potential volunteers.
Eligibility is determined by economic or social disadvantage indicators and sponsorship will only be applicable to a program in the applicant’s country of residence.
For example, a prospective US based volunteer interested in applying for sponsorship to AHAH’s Florida Hurricane Ian Relief program would follow the volunteer link for this specific program, and complete the fields on the application form.
HOW TO APPLY:
1. Identify a program in your country of residence that you would like to apply for from the volunteer page
2. Click the “Volunteer” button for that program
3. On the volunteer application, check the box indicating interest in the sponsorship
4. Check the box to confirm that you are applying to join a program in your country of residence
5. Answer the questions and fill out the associated fields
6. Complete the rest of the volunteer application
7. Hit SUBMIT
8. Wait to hear from us!
Upon submitting the completed form, applicants will be notified within seven days of their eligibility status and then prompted to complete their background check, for which AHAH will cover the cost, to finalize the volunteer application process. We will follow up with an invitation to join the program along with instructions on how to receive your sponsorship benefits.
INVITING AND CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
As a global organization that has enabled the introduction of volunteers from 140+ nationalities to communities in 20+ different countries, we bring people together.
Diversity is the acknowledgment, promotion and celebration of our differences and similarities.
Having a range of people who vary in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, country of origin, education, spiritual beliefs, geography, physical, or cognitive abilities, lifestyles, experiences, interests or identities is inherent to who AHAH is. The exchange across cultures is what we thrive on, and enables the work of thoughtful, problem-solving, change agents. We invite you to celebrate the power of diversity and do your part in looking for ways to actively promote both diversity and inclusion in your formed communities.
Interested in supporting the NVSF? Contribute to AHAH’s efforts to reduce barriers to volunteering, today.
Written by Asia Baez, AHAH’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager
