I volunteer and so should you

My name is Rick Matsumoto and I volunteer for Colorado Trout Unlimited.

There, I said it! Why did it feel like a confession? I’ll tell you. It’s because startups have this unwritten rule that you devote all of your non-sleeping hours to the company. So when I say I’m volunteering for Colorado TU, I’m admitting to you that in my spare time I’d rather work for the benefit of rivers than for the benefit of the company.

How is that okay? Particularly for a startup executive? Who is sharing it in the company blog? I’ll get to that. First, some background.

Why I’m sharing this now

It started 10 years ago when a friend asked me to help out on a river restoration project. I was hooked immediately, pardon the pun, and am still an active supporter of Colorado TU today. In fact, I just spent the past weekend at a conference in Keystone, listening to river conservation experts from across the country.

At the conference, I was confirmed as a Director At-Large. Unlike the confirmation process for supreme court justices, this was quick and painless! Don’t let the fancy title fool you. It just means the board wants me to continue working my ass off. As an organization, we tally about 44,000 volunteer hours per year. In this coming year, I’ll be looking at ways to improve the effectiveness of our youth education programs.

Why I volunteer

In the process of renewing my commitment to Colorado TU, I couldn’t help but reflect on why I volunteer. One of my observations is that I never think about whether to volunteer, only what to volunteer for. Over the years, I’ve done volunteer work for my church, high school and college alumni associations, the Leukemia Society, a hospital, my kids’ schools, and of course Colorado TU. I think this quote captures the essence of what motivates me.

“You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.”

Winston Churchill

For me, volunteer work is a way to put others before myself, to balance the profit-focused mentality of my career, and to demonstrate to my kids that there is more to life than their iPads and candy! It gives me purpose and validates my impact in ways that work cannot, which makes me feel good about my place in the world. It gives me a sense of confidence that carries into the workplace, helping me to be a strong “doer of good things” at Simplifya.

Why you should volunteer

Search for “benefits of volunteering” and you’ll find plenty of direct hits. Here’s one that I like. It seems odd for a selfless activity, but many of the reasons are actually about personal gain (looks good on your resume) and human capital strategy (happy and confident employees are productive employees). In that vein, I confess that Simplifya wants productive employees. Duh!

I’d love to hear about your volunteer work. But if you’re not volunteering, I encourage you to give it serious consideration. I say that both as an executive at Simplifya and as an engaged citizen of Colorado. Here’s a three-step plan to make it happen:

1. Pick a cause for which you have some passion. For me, it’s been scholarships, leukemia patients, and river conservation. For others it might be homeless people, military veterans, or bird-watching. I don’t care what it is, as long as you have passion about it.
2. Choose how you want to engage. What skills are you bringing to the table? How much time are you able to give? What frequency would be ideal for you? There’s a big difference between serving appetizers at a fundraising dinner and producing an eight-page newsletter on a monthly basis.
3. Find the right organization. I really like VolunteerMatch. If you create a good profile on their website, they will actually start sending you volunteer opportunities that match your criteria. Pick one and go!

A common warning about volunteering for non-profits is that they will take as much time as you are able to give. My advice? Be selfish about how you choose to be selfless, and that includes your time commitment. Here’s another quote to end this post.

“Helpful people also tend to be healthier and happier; helping others causes happiness. Be selfless, if only for selfish reasons.”

Gretchen Rubin