Connecting Professionals to Volunteer Opportunities in Finance

Financial literacy is a global challenge, and the need to close this gap is undeniable.

Some people donate monetarily to charities that support their advocacies, but there are more ways to give back. Knowledge can be equally valuable, which puts the spotlight on finance professionals. You can support your cause by sharing your financial insight.

MoneyGeek’s guide explores volunteer opportunities for financial professionals and their advantages. Consider how volunteering your time and services can benefit your career and community.

Knowing how to manage your finances is a skill that will serve you well in all stages of your life. TIAA Institute-GFLEC’s 2022 Personal Finance Index Survey shows that a person’s level of financial well-being is, in part, affected by their level of financial literacy.

Contributing your financial skills through volunteerism is one way to help close the current literacy gap among American adults. It connects you to your community and gives you opportunities to discover various areas where your skills can create a significant impact.

Volunteering can be an excellent way to invest your time and financial know-how. And there are more than enough opportunities. However, finding a good fit for your skills and preferences is best, ensuring that you and your community have a meaningful experience.

MoneyGeek’s guide explores the ways you can put your finance skills to good use. Each of the below areas can benefit from having a finance professional as a volunteer.

Tax Assistance Programs

Whether you’re a finance graduate looking to find your first job or a seasoned finance professional, your community can always benefit from your expertise, especially regarding taxes. For example, the IRS released a redesigned W-4 in 2019, and, in 2020, only one in four people updated their withholding. Two in five said they weren’t familiar with it; some even said they’ve never heard of the W-4.

You can help educate the people in your community who have the same challenges and ensure their tax forms and information are all in order. You can also help people file their returns through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Local Nonprofit Organizations

Many charitable nonprofit organizations are run entirely by volunteers because they don’t have paid staff. You can find one that supports a cause you advocate. One excellent resource is the GuideStar's website.

As a finance professional, you can look at their financial outlook and help them develop strategies to achieve it. Because it’s your area of expertise, you may be able to spot needs or opportunities of which they were unaware.

Small Businesses

You can connect with entrepreneurs in your community who have small businesses. All outfits must have a solid financial plan to keep them viable. Unfortunately, sometimes owners focus on the product or the day-to-day operations because that’s where their expertise and interests lie. You can contribute your skills by looking at their books and ensuring that their finances are in order. You may even be able to help them create strategies that make their businesses more profitable.

Local Community College

You’re never too young to learn about money management. The earlier an individual is introduced to financial concepts, the more likely they’ll be financially literate. Unfortunately, there aren’t many opportunities for students to attend finance courses, so schools are always looking for individuals willing to become financial educators. It’s one of the best options for financial planners and an excellent opportunity to help the youth gain essential life skills.

Tutoring Students

Another option along the education path is devoting some of your time as a tutor. You would provide individualized finance instruction but could expand to other related subjects, such as accounting, economics and math.

You may find tutoring opportunities via organizations like Junior Achievement USA, or it can be an organic offshoot of other volunteerism opportunities. The small business you’re helping out may have an interested child, and they could be your first student.

Participating in Speaking Engagements

You can try to help out by participating in shorter engagements if you can’t regularly volunteer. Being a resource speaker for finance-related subjects is a way to contribute your skills and keep your schedule open for your typical activities. Recruitment and school fairs may be a good starting point. You can also coordinate with trade organizations or nonprofits. They’re always on the lookout for opportunities to attract more members.

Starting a Blog

Creating a blog may not fit your typical volunteer work, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. You can use it to build your brand and establish yourself as a reputable source of financial knowledge. Your content can be another medium of getting crucial financial concepts across, whether articles, videos or infographics.

You can also use it to share your other volunteer experiences. It may help raise awareness and benefit you and the organizations that received your time and efforts.

Deciding that you want to spend a portion of your time giving back is one thing. Finding the ideal organization for your volunteerism efforts is another. There’s no lack of volunteering opportunities in the country, but it’s best to find your fit.

You’ll also need to consider what specific skills or knowledge you want to contribute and how much time you can realistically contribute to the cause.

Your local community is the best place to begin searching for volunteer opportunities. Online resources can help make it easy and convenient.

For example, if you use VolunteerMatch, you can put in your city or zip code, which narrows results based on your location. It also has additional filters that include:

• Opportunity Type: Limits the search to virtual opportunities only or shows everything in your area.
• Cause Area: Limits the results to organizations that share your cause area.
• Skills: Identifies which skills you're planning to contribute. You’ll even be able to narrow it down further after selecting your primary subject. For example, as a finance professional, you can specify if you want to focus on cost analysis, budgeting, financial planning or all areas related to finance.
• Distance: Indicates how near or far you want your potential volunteer opportunities from your location.
• Great For: Determines whether you want to work with specific profiles, such as kids, teens or those 55 and older.

Volunteering your skills should be a wonderful experience. One factor that plays into this is finding the right opportunity for you. Although finance professionals share similar subject-matter expertise, your personal preferences could make one better for you than others.

MoneyGeek’s guide walks you through the areas you should consider when narrowing your options. These include revisiting your objectives, identifying which skills you want to highlight and how frequently you can give your time.

Helping people develop techniques to manage their finances can help them make better financial decisions. It can help youths aging out of foster care prepare for the next stage of their lives or help kids appreciate the value of compound interest.

However, you can’t deny that volunteering can benefit you, too. Finance professionals who contribute their time, experience and effort to others can have a more fruitful career.

There’s no shortage of online resources to help you explore volunteer opportunities for finance professionals. MoneyGeek has gathered several resources, which you can peruse at your convenience. These are different organizations that may help you find the one that shares your cause and allows you to give back to those in need.

International Financial Volunteer Opportunities

• Kaya: Kaya specializes in volunteer projects abroad. You can help microfinance borrowers have a better understanding of saving, budgeting and repayment plans.
• Financial Services Volunteer Corps: This is a volunteer opportunity that requires travel. The FSVC focuses on improving the financial sectors of developing countries around the world.
• Bankers Without Borders: Bankers Without Borders aims to provide people with access to information and knowledge so they can improve their lives. You can become a coach, mentor or participant in pro bono consulting engagements.

Volunteer Financial Opportunities Involving Youth

• Young Americans Center for Financial Education: Young Americans offer volunteer opportunities for corporations and individuals. As its name implies, its main focus is on youth, helping them build healthy financial habits early.
• Financial Beginnings: If you want to help deliver personal finance lessons to those who don’t have access, Financial Beginning may be a good fit. Courses revolve around banking, budgeting, financing college, responsible credit use and more. Schools and nonprofits can benefit from their no-cost finance education program.
• Junior Achievement USA: Junior Achievement is all about empowering the next generation and it acknowledges that financial literacy is one gateway. You can volunteer in a traditional classroom set-up, virtually or participate in its specialized programs like JA Finance Park, JA Biztown and JA in a Day.

Volunteer Opportunities for Tax Preparation

• United Way Tax Assistance Programs: You can help low-to-moderate-income families and individuals by providing free tax assistance. Their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is done in-person and virtually.
• Community Care Alliance: You can volunteer to help low-to-medium-income individuals and families through two types of services. One is through tax preparation, which involves receiving proper training from the IRS. The other is client intake, where you verify intake sheets and make the necessary copies of all supporting documents.
• IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly: More than the usual basic tax return preparation assistance, the TCE program offers tax help specifically for those 60 and older. Discussions typically revolve around pensions and retirement-related concerns.

Websites to Help You Find Volunteer Opportunities

• Catchafire: You can use this platform to find nonprofit organizations that may need your skills in personal finance. You can apply as a volunteer through its system, and its members will do all the backend work, like setting up an interview with the organization of your choice.
• JustServe: JustServe links individuals who are looking for volunteer opportunities to organizations with needs. You can serve in your community and help others improve their quality of life.