How Body Banter Benefitted From Skilled Volunteer Matching | Time Auction Impact Highlights
Meet Natalie from Body Banter!
Natalie is the Program Director of Body Banter -- a Hong Kong-based nonprofit organization that empowers people to find their voices in conversations about body image and mental health.
Being a relatively new organization is undeniably exciting but that also comes with a fair share of challenges. From developing a legal structure to finding various funding opportunities, it can certainly be overwhelming. That’s why Natalie decided to reach out to Time Auction for an extra pair of hands!
After signing up for an information session, she went through the recommended procedures and implemented the pro-tips shared by our team to post her legal consultant project. Within days, applicants came flooding in!
Match Made in Heaven … Time Auction!
Shortly after sifting through the applications, Body Banter held their first interview with a law student who was highly responsive to their messages. Needless to say, it was a perfect match!
“The zoom call transitioned from an interview to a brainstorming meeting where we began working on the actual project itself! The volunteer was incredibly passionate, helpful, and on top of things -- we knew we liked her immediately."
Body Banter’s listed project was to draft a volunteer agreement and a non-disclosure agreement to ensure that future collaborations would be smooth-sailing and all involved parties would have clear responsibilities and expectations. In order to do so, Body Banter held three zoom calls with their selected volunteer. Each one was constructive and productive; “Feedback was given on both sides then she would go off to do the work and we would meet back a week later. In the meantime, we would communicate via email or comments on Google Docs.”
Reflecting on the wonderful work that the volunteer has done for Body Banter, Natalie remarks with gratitude the potential expenses that have been reduced thanks to this perfect match! Even if they were to hire a lawyer in the near future, since a lot of the legal framework is already completed, not a lot of time would be required to edit and revise the documents.
“Recruiting this law student through Time Auction could very well have helped us save on future legal expenses!"
Natalie’s Note to Other NGOs!
It’s apparent that this partnership with the matched skilled volunteer worked like a well-oiled machine, what factors made this process so successful?
Natalie believes it was an amalgamation of effective communication between all three parties involved. Firstly, “Time Auction does a really good job of making it clear what the process is with using the platform so NGOs just need to follow the instructions and trust the process. It was easy to use and things turned out as planned.” Secondly, Body Banter ensured to link their website on their project page and their organisation profile, write a clear and concise job description and be open to the volunteer about the challenges they were facing. Natalie emphasizes how important it is for NGOs to “make it clear in the project listing what is needed to minimise the time sifting through applications that are not desired.” Thirdly, the volunteer wrote authentic application details which confirmed that her interests and expectations fit perfectly with what was required of the job, allowing everyone to be on the same page.
Lastly, Natalie wants to encourage more people to volunteer their skills by shedding light on the difficulties of running an NGO. “Charities and non-profits run on very limited funding meaning they cannot hire many skilled people as they can find other jobs with higher salaries but…
“We have similar legal responsibilities and obligations to stakeholders as for-profit businesses. However, because we don’t have sufficient funds, we don’t have the flexibility to invest in the same amount and level of manpower.”
“Skilled volunteers are very much needed in NGOs because we often do not have the resources to employ them.”
Thank you so much to Natalie for sharing such valuable insights into the inner workings of an NGO and Body Banter’s incredible experience of finding the perfect skilled volunteer!
Stay tuned for our next blog post featuring Catherine’s perspective of being Body Banter’s wonderful legal consultant volunteer.
To be featured as our community member, embark on your volunteering journey by discovering projects you can help with here! If you are part of an organisation, we welcome you to post a project on our platform to find the right volunteer to further your cause.
Interviewed & written by Katia Shek
