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December 5th, 2008
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NGO lures corporate workers

Vodafone Foundation to pay for year of nonprofit experience

By Michael Heitmann
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 28th, 2008 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Inga Kaškelyte is looking for a few good professionals, just for a year.
Ever wish you could spend a year working for a noble cause without sacrificing your livelihood? Now you can, and get paid to do it.
The Vodafone Foundation has launched a new program, called Rok jinak (Year of Difference”), which will allow business executives, psychologists, police officers and others to swing their careers in a new direction, if only for a year.
“So far, we have registered about a dozen inquiries” since the project’s May 19 launch, said Inga Kaškelyte, director of the foundation.
Many more applications are expected, if similar programs launched by the foundation in other countries are predictive: Branches in Ireland and the Netherlands, where the project is known as “World of Difference,” received about 157 and 100 applications last year, respectively, she said.
Applicants have until July 31 to prepare a proposal for a year-long cooperation with a nonprofit of their choice. Four proposals will be selected by the foundation. Czech citizenship is not required for application.
At other similar programs, managers, doctors, IT specialists, artists and multimedia designers have all participated, Kaškelyte said. In New Zealand, a former professional rugby player, Frank Bunce, joined in to spend a year raising funds for a community youth program.
For those selected, the foundation will pay a monthly stipend that matches the applicants’ current salary, with a cap of 45,000 Kč ($2,820) a month, while they’re with the nonprofit.
The Vodafone Foundation, the charitable arm of the telecom operator, designed the volunteer project in consultation with other nongovernmental organizations.
“The feedback we received was very positive,” Kaškelyte said. “It’s a new model of sponsoring that provides a more long-term, consistent commitment and transfer of experience than, for example, one day of volunteer work a year.”
Not all NGOs have welcomed the project with open arms, however.
“The most important factor [for success] to me is the motivation of the applicant. Why is someone applying for such a project?” said People in Need spokeswoman Adéla Pospíchalová. “Are they tired of their current job or are they really looking to apply their experience to a new field?”
Whatever the motivation, the commitment is still limited.
“The loss of qualified workers — not only volunteers — after only one year is always painful,” Pospíchalová said. But NGOs can gain in the long run if these external experts pass their experience on to others, she said.
Petr Sedláček, a spokesman for the large electronics firm Siemens, is more critical of the project.
“We do support the work of nongovernmental organizations, but it’s questionable whether this is the right way to go,” he said. “Let’s just consider the fact that the volunteer will need some time to adjust to the new environment — and a few months later he leaves again.”
Siemens already gives its employees the opportunity to spend one day a year working for nonprofit organizations while receiving full pay. This volunteer day could be a huge resource for nonprofits, since the company has more than 18,500 employees in the Czech Republic, Sedláček said.
A single day off is easy for companies to grant, but a year away may be more difficult. It’s the applicant’s responsibility to negotiate this unpaid leave. Bosses at multinationals such as Siemens might be easier to persuade than small businesses, but Kaškelyte is confident that companies will be cooperative.
“This is after all an investment towards the personal development of the employee,” she said. “They will return after a year with richer experiences and new skills.”
It incurs a certain risk letting a worker go for a year, and every company will weigh up the pros and cons, Pospíchalová said. “No one can guarantee you that they will come back.”
The NGO can promise that they won’t try to lure away the employee for good, she added. And the wage gap between the commercial and nonprofit sector is significant and works in favor of companies anyway, she said.
Some firms already offer their best workers the possibility to take time off for additional university courses and Year of Difference would only add an additional dimension to those programs, Kaškelyte said.
“Employees will not just be taking time off for their personal development,” she said. “They’ll also be helping solve social problems and making a contribution to a nonprofit cause.”

Michael Heitmann can be reached at mheitmann@praguepost.com


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