Volunteers are awesome. There are some areas where volunteers are particularly strong. These days many volunteers are looking for intense, short-term projects – the challenge is that much charity work is ongoing.

The donor public is rightly concerned about ensuring money is well spent. Sometimes that veers into questioning why charities can’t be completely run by volunteers.

Here’s a few situations when charities need employees

• The charity works with a vulnerable population with extremely specialized needs or who require a lot of follow-up
• The charity wants to be able to analyze the impact of its work in an ongoing way
• The work of the charity requires long-term management

I’m not saying all charities need all employees for all tasks at all times. I am saying that having charity employees in certain roles can be a more sustainable option than volunteers.

====

This post was inspired by this article in Charity Info.