Many of us - residents of Kazakhstan or other countries - have a stereotype that charity consists in transferring money to a foundation or a specific person for various needs. However, today such an idea of the whole sphere of human activity is at least incomplete. Modern charity has several varieties, and one of the most important is intellectual volunteering.

What is its essence?
Intellectual volunteers are philanthropists who help others with their time, knowledge and skills. Any person who knows how to do something not only with his hands, but also with his brains can become an intellectual volunteer. If you can translate an article, mount a video, develop a website design and at the same time want to actively and, most importantly, regularly help foundations, this is an activity for you.
Intellectual volunteering has several varieties. The first is pro bono (from the Latin phrase pro bono publico, which means "for the public good") - the provision of free assistance within the framework of one's profession. If a professional does the same work not for free, but at a big discount, this will already be called low bono. Another type - skill-based - implies that a person freely shares skills that are not part of his daily duties.

Of course, charitable foundations still need funds to rent premises, pay employees and purchase supplies, as well as donated food, clothing, household appliances and computers. But as representatives of charitable organizations themselves say, the intellectual support of qualified specialists is extremely important in their business. After all, NGOs have different tasks: draw up a contract, develop an application, set up advertising on Instagram, conduct marketing research, draw a logo or write a sales text. It happens that for a short time or, on the contrary, for a whole season, there is a need for a tutor who will teach employees management, a project manager to accompany the project, a photographer to shoot wards, financiers for fundraising. All of this costs money, just like caring for sick people or cleaning kennels at a dog shelter. Small foundations, especially those operating in the regions, cannot afford to hire expensive, highly qualified professionals, because all the money raised from charity goes to the beneficiaries. This is where intellectual volunteers come to their aid.

To become an intellectual volunteer, you do not need to learn anything - it is enough to understand your business well. Charitable organizations equally need both IT specialists and lawyers. By the way, it was lawyers who became the first intellectual volunteers in history. According to the archives, the French guild of lawyers already in the 13th century obliged its members to help poor citizens free of charge. Abroad, this concept is also widely known: for example, in the United States, the Bar Association recommends that practitioners provide free consultations at least 50 hours a year. Over time, intellectual volunteering has become a key trend of the century.

Today, many large companies, as well as educational institutions and other institutions, are developing corporate volunteering, providing their employees with the opportunity to participate in charitable projects during working hours. Yes, intellectual volunteering, like any other, is not paid, even if such services are usually expensive. However, it brings an intangible benefit to the specialist in the form of experience and acquaintances. In addition, such activities can often help career growth or admission to the best universities. Western statistics note that 82% of recruiters prefer a candidate with experience in intellectual volunteering, and 85% in this case are even ready to forgive him for shortcomings in the resume.

Intellectual volunteering has no written rules. It is important to remember here that intellectual volunteering is a full-time job, albeit without pay. Therefore, it is important to follow the same rules as in the workplace: be correct, meet deadlines, not quit halfway through, choose tasks according to your strength and perform them with the highest quality.
Many NGOs appreciated the value of intellectual volunteering during the pandemic, because many tasks did not require traveling anywhere and still make a serious contribution to the work of foundations. To find a task suitable for their abilities, online communications were enough. Today, the digital approach to this area of charity has been appreciated by many NGOs, including domestic ones.

Intellectual charity in our region is becoming more and more necessary, but a couple of years ago only hands were needed. Such volunteering is in demand when funds become mature and understand what kind of request to business can be made. When the fund realizes that the problem it was trying to solve with money has not disappeared and a different approach is needed.

Intellectual volunteering in Kazakhstan is a direction that is practically unknown to a wide audience. People are poorly informed that there is such an opportunity to realize professional competencies for charitable purposes. Large companies are not always aware of how they can non-financially help non-profit organizations, and NGOs, in turn, do not know where to quickly find specialists who would cope with the task. The purpose of the DOS Foundation is to facilitate communication between intellectual volunteers and NGOs, as well as to increase the level of work of these non-profit organizations.