As the director of Bankers without Borders, the Grameen Foundation’s global volunteer initiative, I have the privilege of interacting with more than 7,500 individuals globally who have signed up to donate their professional skills through short-term assignments with social enterprises fighting poverty. More than 60 percent of our volunteers are currently employed, 24 percent are studying full-time, 3 percent are retired, and 11 percent are looking for employment.
Regardless of where our volunteers stand in their own career paths, they are attracted to Bankers without Borders because we offer the rare opportunity for them to make a difference by volunteering their professional skills with organizations committed to improving the lives of the poor. They donate every possible skill and service you can imagine – translations, accounting services, IT support, marketing counsel, foreign exchange advisory services, business modeling, and monitoring and evaluation.
While our volunteers’ motivations are fairly selfless, they are often personally rewarded for their generosity. Here are seven ways that volunteering services pro bono have helped advance our volunteers’ careers in development: