This article is adapted from Davidson Institute’s “Considering Your Options: A Guidebook for Investigating Gap Year Opportunities”, part of our collection of free guidebooks for gifted and 2e families. For a deeper dive into supporting your gifted or twice-exceptional child, we encourage you to explore the full guide.
Giving back can be as simple as volunteering a few hours a week at a local organization or as complex as starting your own nonprofit organization. The possibilities are limited only by your own imagination, energy and creativity. This section provides an outline of some of the common ways people give back in communities all over the world. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but rather an idea-generating tool and place to start for those looking to explore ways to get involved.
Volunteer
What is a volunteer? Volunteers are individuals or groups who give their time, talent, abilities, and/or labor to a cause they believe in, without pay. Once you have determined you would like to volunteer, you will need to decide how much time you would like to give. Before you commit, take some time to think about your other responsibilities and how much time you can realistically devote to volunteering. If, after you have conducted this audit of your free time and you decide you would still like to volunteer, you will need to locate an organization to which you will give your time and expertise. This should be based upon your own personal interests and concerns about the needs of your community. Once you have made these preliminary decisions and identified an organization, dig a little deeper. Figure out the structure of the organization and what they expect from volunteers. Do their expectations match yours? Over-committing is easy to do, so it is a good idea to start small with just a few hours and slowly increase your time commitment once you know better what is expected of you and what your schedule will allow.
Even though you will not be getting paid for your time, organizations who welcome volunteers do count on those individuals to be there when they are scheduled. Professional etiquette, such as arriving on time for a shift and giving plenty of notice if you are not able to work when scheduled, are responsibilities you assume as a volunteer and are absolutely vital for the smooth operation of the organization.
Start a Nonprofit
For some, volunteering is only the first step towards becoming even more involved. Some young people decide they would like to take it to the next level and start their own organization. This is usually most successful when you identify a specific need but are unable to locate an organization that is directly addressing that need.
Fundraising
What is fundraising? Fundraising is the process of procuring money or other gifts from individuals, businesses, or government agencies. Most philanthropic, charitable, and social change organizations rely heavily on fundraising and donations to “keep their doors open.” Finding creative ways to raise funds for an organization is almost as fun as the actual fundraising activity. Raffles, walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons, product sales, charitable dinners, and grant writing are just a few of the common ways people and organizations raise money for good causes. Grant writing is discussed in more detail below since this is a major source of funding for many nonprofit organizations.
Grantwriting
Grants are funds allocated for certain purposes. These funds may come from public or private sources. For example, the National Science Foundation might allocate several million dollars to further math and science education. Organizations that have a vested interest in math and science education will then write proposals that outline how they would spend a portion of the funds (to further math and science education) should they receive them. Unlike a loan, if an organization is awarded a grant, they do not need to pay it back. As you might think, the supply of these grant monies usually does not meet the demand. Therefore, writing proposals to obtain grants is a very competitive venture.
A grant writer must convince the party providing the funds that their proposal or project is a worthwhile investment. In essence, grant writing is persuasive writing which usually involves collecting historical data to formulate an argument for why a program is needed. For the most part, grants are competitive, and many organizations rely heavily on the grant writer’s ability to justify why their particular organization or project is the best possible use for the money. Excellent skills in written communication as well as high-level analytical and research expertise are essential qualities of a successful grant writer. If this sounds like you, perhaps you could contact a local nonprofit and ask them if their grant writing staff needs help. One thing to keep in mind is that many organizations might already have one (or more) full-time grant writers on staff, so if they do not need your help in that department, propose another creative fundraising idea. It should also be noted that a grant award need not necessarily involve money. What else could you ask for? Equipment, labor, time, space, or an official endorsement are all potential grant awards.
If you find you really enjoy fundraising and/or grant writing, there are career opportunities available in this field. Many nonprofit organizations retain the services of professional fundraisers and grant writers to ensure their inflow of money.
Tutoring and Mentoring
Two really fun and fulfilling ways for bright students like you to give back are through tutoring or mentoring. Tutoring is essentially teaching. There are students everywhere in need of tutors to help them meet their educational goals. By donating your time as a tutor, you can help them reach those goals. Mentoring is slightly different. It usually involves working with a student or group of students outside of a traditional classroom to explore a particular topic of interest in great depth. Mentoring a younger student is an incredible way to share your passion for a particular subject, while also providing a unique learning experience for the mentee.
Other Ideas
The possibilities for getting involved and giving back are limitless!
If you like…animals: Contact your local Humane Society or animal shelter. They are almost always looking for cat or dog companions and people to help with daily operations. Try contacting an aquarium or zoo and see if they could use a volunteer assistant.
If you like…working with children: There are many organizations that work with children, including day care, family shelters, emergency food pantries, counseling services, and hotlines. You could volunteer your time at your local Boys and Girls Club or become an after-school tutor or mentor.
If you like…arts and culture: Museums and cultural organizations are constantly looking for volunteers. Your local newspaper or city website probably has a calendar of events which might include opportunities like this. Search for events that have an art or cultural component (such as a festival) and contact them to see if you can help out in any way.
Do you have more than one thing you love, and can’t make up your mind? Combine them! For example, if you love kids and are also artistic, visit your local children’s hospital and offer to lead art activities for young patients. If you love animals and like to be outdoors, call your local animal shelter and inquire about becoming a dog walker.
DoSomething.org has a webpage called What’s Your Thing, which is designed to help kids just like you find a cause that “fires you up.”
More Resources
Section Two of the guidebook provides many resources to help students find places to volunteer and give back. In addition to the guidebook, students can use the resources below:
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