September 23rd, 2011
What if you could volunteer from home to support projects anywhere in the world? What if you could complete a piece of a project in 30 minutes to contribute to a larger project for an NGO like Atma based anywhere across the globe?
Professionals all over the world recognize the value of volunteering, for both personal and professional development. However, volunteer opportunities that are time consuming and require an upfront commitment aren’t accessible to everyone.
Micro-volunteering, otherwise known as virtual or e-volunteering, is defined by working online to complete specific tasks that may fall under the umbrella of a bigger project. Micro-volunteering engages individuals with skills across the areas of IT, blogging, fundraising, HR, research, design and social media. A micro-volunteer can put his or her specific technical expertise towards an NGO project, from anywhere in the world, contributing as much or as little time as they have available.
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July 29th, 2011
An open letter from Summer Starr, Atma Partnerships Director
In 2004, I graduated from the University of Washington. Armed with a BA in International Development, I flew to Kenya to “change the world”. What I discovered was that neither I nor the organisation I went to work with were prepared to utilize my skills in the most effective manner. As a young person with minimal work experience, I lacked the perspective and skills the organisation truly needed, and the organisation was not prepared to use the skills I did have.
In not being able to make the impact I wanted, I felt disillusioned. This experience pushed me to “step up my game”. I realized that passion was not enough: I needed to gain experience so that I could maximize my impact and contribute in a meaningful way. In addition, I needed to look for volunteer opportunities with clearly defined roles that fit my talents and expertise.
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July 15th, 2011
The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is Asia’s largest marathon, and one of India’s single platforms for fundraising. [1]
In the past, the Mumbai Marathon has served as an incredible event for awareness and fundraising for NGOs across India, as well as to help showcase the social issues they address. In 2010, 107 NGOs chose to participate in the Mumbai Marathon. In 2011, 179 NGOs were registered in the Marathon, collectively raising Rs 12.16 crore. Based on the growth witnessed over the past few years, NGO involvement is expected to continue to grow exponentially.
The key to a successful Marathon campaign for any NGO is having an extensive planning process and clear goals. Preparing for the Mumbai Marathon encompasses much more than showing up on Race Day: planning requires a large investment of time and energy in marketing your cause, finding participants and corporate teams, and completing the registration processes. However, approaching the Marathon preparations in a strategic way guarantees an incredible outcome for an NGO.
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June 21st, 2011
Virginia Tarozzi came to Atma after spending 5 months travelling in Latin America, the US and South East Asia. She was looking for a change from the life of a traveller and wanted to re-engage in the working world by contributing to a social cause. However, she was not expecting the kind of professional development experience she received from Atma. She had hoped at best to teach children and feel good about a short-term impact. However, she found herself engaged in work that stimulated her creatively and challenged her professionally. With a Master’s degree in Fundraising and many years of work experience including fundraising at Oxfam Ireland, Virginia found a good fit for her background in a marketing role with Atma partner, The Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH).
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June 17th, 2011
Photograph by Annemarijn Boersma
Atma Graduated Partner CHIP works in BMC schools in Mumbai to improve the whole experience of each student, focusing on classroom infrastructure and educational offerings. CHIP is currently expanding its team: they are looking for dynamic, motivated professionals to work in the areas of accounting, office administration and resource management. Write to CHIP at chip.mumbai@gmail.com for full job descriptions.
June 5th, 2011
Atma volunteers come from all over the world to undertake specific projects with measureable, concrete outcomes for Atma and our partner NGOs. The profile of an Atma volunteer is a proactive, independent professional who is an excellent communicator. The Atma volunteership is an opportunity to use professional skills in the development sector, which shapes the lives of thousands of children by laying a solid foundation in quality education.
Volunteering with Atma is a way to learn and engage with the NGO sector on the ground in Mumbai and offer concrete skills towards a specific project and goal. This results in a significant personal and professional development experience. Atma reached out to a few of our former volunteers to see how their professional development experience with Atma has changed their life paths.
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June 1st, 2011
Divya arrived in Mumbai in June 2010 to begin her Atma volunteership. Almost one year later, she looks back on her professional experience in the Mumbai social sector.
As a recent undergrad of Indian origin about to immerse myself in the Canadian corporate world, I was looking to contribute to the non-profit sector in India in a meaningful way. I knew volunteering would provide perspective on international development issues, be personally fulfilling, and allow me to reconnect with my roots. While researching development sector opportunities, I was impressed by Atma’s professional website, well structured volunteer program, and defined volunteer roles. Atma’s extensive experience weaving volunteers from all over the world into the fabric of Mumbai assured me the transition would be smooth. Atma’s position as a ‘capacity builder’ also seemed like the ideal place to bridge my corporate experience with the non-profit sector.
I had worked in a variety of corporate internships and had volunteered in an ad hoc manner during my university career. However, I had very little experience as a full-time volunteer. My first and most important goal was to make an impact by using my skills in a meaningful way. Secondly, I was hoping for a better understanding of what life in India is like and what working in the non-profit sector is like. In short, I wanted to give of my skills to a cause I believed in, and take away a personal and professional development experience. (more…)
May 27th, 2011
After finishing her BA in International Business, Simran Daryanani began considering working in the field of development. She knew that her classroom studies could only take her so far, and was looking for an opportunity to use her skills on the ground and gain professional experience. Her search for real hands-on social sector experience brought her to Atma.
In April, Simran finished a six-month Atma volunteership. Simran assisted with organisational development at Atma’s newest partner, the Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH).FMCH aims to improve early childhood development by providing underprivileged communities with health and nutrition education as well as interventions such as clinics and nutrition supplement programs.
Photo by Jacek Rezsko
At FMCH, Simran found a challenging volunteer opportunity: one that allowed her to truly work on the ground in the strategic planning and programs of an NGO.
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May 17th, 2011
Photo by a CHILDReach Volunteer
This boy is a student at Atma Partner CHILDReach school in Santacruz. CHILDReach is a school that focuses on meeting the needs of students with learning difficulties that range from dyslexia to disgraphia and ADHD.
May 13th, 2011
In the 21st century, every organization is tapping into new media channels to promote and grow their businesses. New media strategy is now an integral part of an organization’s positioning and development. Recently, NGOs have also been harnessing the power of social media: to spread their mission and vision, and to engage supporters. Does social media for NGOs work in the same way that it does for corporate companies? Katya Ponkratova, a former Mosaic intern and current Atma volunteer, says it does.
“Google Adwords and Search Engine Optimisation are used by for-profit companies. The same model can be embraced and interpreted differently for NGOs.”
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