Action on Poverty is delighted to launch Voluntasker, a micro volunteering marketplace revolutionising the way Australians take action on global poverty whilst supporting their local communities.
The Voluntasker platform enables every Australian to put their values of generosity and compassion into practise in a practical hands-on way. It empowers corporates to achieve corporate social responsibility (CSR) aspirations, encourages local community connection, and enables that effort to make a global impact.
How does Voluntasker work?
- Task posters who require household tasks like gardening, furniture assembly, dog walking, and car washing can post their task and set a price for its completion on the Voluntasker platform.
- Volunteers on the platform get in contact with task posters and put their hands up to complete the tasks.
- The funds ‘earned’ through completion of tasks are directed to AOP Program areas such as nutrition, health, or education.
Action on Poverty Senior Executive Meghal Shah says Voluntasker promises to change the way volunteering is perceived and carried out.
“You no longer need only money to do philanthropy. Voluntasker provides you with the means to become a philanthropist using your precious time and skills.”
Ultimately, every activity performed through Voluntasker will help to break the cycle of poverty.
“Your action of mowing lawns in Australia when directed to an AOP Africa Program could help families to break out of the cycle of poverty, for instance.” explained Shah.
The introduction of Voluntasker is a crucial step in addressing the common barriers to corporate volunteering in Australia, such as lack of time and awareness of opportunities despite strong commitments to corporate social responsibility.
Voluntasker connects philanthropists, corporates, non-profits and volunteers with the information, tools, and opportunities to turn time and goodwill into charitable giving on a global scale.
AOP’s innovative model is essentially converting someone’s time into financial resources that can benefit communities overseas, who would otherwise not have access to such funds. It also encourages more local community connection which improves mental health and wellbeing and could also ease some of the cost-of-living pressures, as services on this platform can likely be accessed at below market rates.
The platform’s launch couldn’t be timelier with a large proportion of the volunteer market waiting to be re-engaged post-COVID.
According to a Volunteering Australia report the proportion of adults who had volunteered in the previous 12 months pre-COVID declined from 36 to 27 per cent in April 2022. This equates to around 1.86 million fewer volunteers at the start of 2022 compared to the previous year.
Additionally, just 15 per cent of employees use the volunteering days offered by corporates. It’s believed the main barriers to corporate volunteering in Australia are fuelled by competing priorities, a lack of support and encouragement from managers, and overall awareness towards initiatives. Voluntasker is hoping to change this by bridging the gap between employees, corporates, and charities to make CSR seamless.
It is hoped the Voluntasker platform will prompt conversations around generosity and concern for one another, encouraging Australians to give back.
Shah concludes “Action on Poverty is on a mission to empower changemakers to break the cycle of poverty. And that is exactly what the Voluntasker platform enables. Every day Australians can roll up their sleeves, undertake a small task, and support someone in their local community whilst making an impact on global poverty.
“Our Voluntasker platform provides a mechanism to encourage people to put their values into practise and reinforce the notion that ultimately, we are on a path of togetherness not otherness.”
Find out more about Voluntasker here