Futureproof

Futureproof is all about helping community organisations futureproof (get it?) their awesome mahi and lowering the barriers to get more young people into volunteering.

What is Futureproof?

Futureproof is a new programme run by the Social Impact Studio at the University of Otago in collaboration with Volunteer South. In the recent 2022 State of Volunteering Report, almost half of community organisations identified that their ageing pool of volunteers was their single biggest challenge. In response we've created Futureproof, a consultancy-style programme where tertiary student collaborators work together with a local community organisation to come up with solutions that help the organisation adapt and create diverse and flexible volunteer experiences that continue to stay relevant and meaningful to young people, hopefully futureproofing that organisation’s community of volunteers. For the purposes of this programme young people are the age of tertiary students, 18 to 24 years old.

Organisations

We’re passionate about serving and supporting the amazing organisations that serve our community. Organisations are recruited with assistance from Volunteer South at the beginning of the programme - if your organisation is interested, please register your interest via the below form and we will be in touch. Organisations are partnered with a team of talented and passionate student collaborators who will spend eight weeks exploring helpful ideas. Participating organisations are asked to orient the student collaborators to their volunteer systems and processes, and then continue an ongoing relationship with them as they work on their findings, followed by a celebration and programme evaluation at the end. The time commitment required from organisations is approximately four to six hours: a few hours for orientation, then fortnightly meetings and/or consistent email contact, until the in-person celebration session. At the conclusion of the programme, organisations will receive from the collaborators a report summarising their findings and detailing some recommendations that will help futureproof their volunteer base! Organisation’s are supported through the programme by the Social Impact Studio and Volunteer South.

Student Collaborators

We recruit two teams of Otago Uni student volunteers to be collaborators and work with some awesome and keen community organisations. This is a really fantastic opportunity for students to engage with the community in a unique way and use their experiences and insights to help organisations stay successful and up to speed with the needs and preferences of young volunteers. Student volunteers gain experience, a look into how not-for-profits work, and the opportunity to help local services stay relevant to young people. If you’re interested in being a student collaborator, stay tuned with our Instagram for when we’re recruiting for the next round! The total time commitment of collaborators is approximately 12 hours across a semester, including a 3 hour training session.