Volunteers have perceived credibility with clients, donors, government officials, and others for the very reason that they do not receive a salary from the organisation and are therefore seen as having no financial vested interest in what they are advocating. It often makes a difference to the recipient of a service that the provider is there purely because he or she wants to be. Because they give a few hours at time, volunteers have a broader point of view than the paid staff, who may be too close to the work to 'see the wood for the trees'. Volunteers extend your sphere of influence and access to additional people, businesses and organisations in the community. Even the volunteer who helps you once a year becomes another person with knowledge about your work.
Volunteers bring the 'luxury of focus' to their work.
While paid staff members must spread their time and efforts equitably among all clients and projects, volunteers can be recruited to concentrate on selected individuals and issues. Volunteers can be asked to work odd hours, in varying locations, and to fill special needs for which staff time cannot be justified yet which are important to individual clients. Volunteers often feel freer to criticise and speak their minds than employees do. Volunteers can experiment with new ideas and service approaches that are not yet ready to be funded - or that no one wants to fund for a wide variety of reasons. Historically, in fact, volunteers have always been the pioneers in creating new services, often against the tide of opposition from more traditional institutions.