Australian charity Action on Poverty (AOP) has announced the launch of Voluntasker, a micro-volunteering marketplace that empowers Australians to not only support their local communities but also help them take action on global poverty
With the platform, task posters who require household tasks such as gardening, furniture assembly, dog walking and car washing can post their task and set a price for its completion. 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 said that Voluntasker looks 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,” Shah explained. “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.”
The introduction of Voluntasker is being seen as 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.
AOP says its innovative model that is being implemented in Voluntasker can convert someone’s time into financial resources that can benefit communities overseas, who would otherwise not have access to such funds. This 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 be accessed at below-market rates.
Recent research by Volunteering Australia reports 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 corporate social responsibility (CSR) seamless.
With a large proportion of the volunteer market waiting to be re-engaged post-COVID, the platform is ready to connect philanthropists, corporates, non-profits and volunteers with the information, tools, and opportunities to give back on a global scale.
It is hoped the Voluntasker platform will prompt conversations around generosity and concern for one another, encouraging Australians to give back.
“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,” Shah said. “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 practice and reinforce the notion that ultimately, we are on a path of togetherness, not otherness.”
