Here's What You Need To Know About Giving Back To Barbados

A brief guide to a topic that is close to my heart: Caribbean Collaborative, Corporate Social Responsibility and the many meaningful ways in which you can give back to Barbados by way of time, talent and treasure.

An introduction

A couple of weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to speak at the inaugural Barbados Entrepreneur Exchange event, hosted by Catarina of ExplorEquity, co founder of ExplorEquity and one of the Digital Nomads who is here on the Barbados 12 month Welcome Stamp.

The full schedule included a wide variety of interesting topics; from digital marketing to negotiation. The event was organised into series of 10 minute 'presentations' from each speaker, followed by 20 minutes of chatting about the topic.

...Why was I invited to talk about giving back to Barbados?

The introduction of the Barbados 12 month Welcome Stamp has presented an incredible opportunity for the island. The "Welcome Stampers" are all multi talented, highly skilled, passionate individuals who have chosen to make Barbados home.

Through my blog, I've been very fortunate to be connect with this community since they started arriving in Barbados. We've had countless discussions about volunteering and giving back. It's exciting to see that people passionate about working with local organisations that are aligned with their personal and corporate values.

Since moving back to the island a number of years ago, I myself was inspired by the many people in my life who are actively working on making Barbados a better place. This in turn pushed me to get stuck in; by way of community projects, fundraising events and lending my skills wherever I can.

Based on my experiences, I launched a volunteer platform called Caribbean Collaborative to make it easier for people and companies to find meaningful volunteer experiences and connections. By connecting people with the causes that they care about we can all give back in a meaningful way. And so, I was invited to share my experience in the Third Sector so far, and to give the Digital Nomad community a better understanding of the local charity sector in Barbados.

A couple of facts about the local charity sector in Barbados

• Barbados has over 1000 registered charities: Though there are over 1000 registered charities, we have also have additional community organizations and community campaigns, so there are literally thousands of ways to get involved in something that you are passionate about.

• The majority of fundraising is done in person and using cash: Due to a number of factors, online fundraising is out of reach for many local charities and NGOs, but this also presents an opportunity for many of you to be able to assist.

• There is a charity for almost every cause; we are a small but might community! Surprisingly, there are charities and organisations that represent an enormous cross section of issues; from food security, sustainability, entrepreneurship, animal rights and youth development. (I have a list of a few you can check out below!)

• Giving back is a big part of Bajan culture: many locals are involved in a number of community organizations, through programmes at their church and sports groups.

• Stretched thin in a small pool: While we do have the local expertise available to us, most people who are involved in the charity sector are usually involved in 10 organisations. The same can be said for funding opportunities, local philanthropists are usually tapped out.

3 ways in which you can give back by way of Time, Talent and Treasure:

While the Third Sector is very well established here in the island, there are lots of areas that can be improved and further developed.

Herein lies a great opportunity for extra human resource skills and funding sources.

The principle of giving back by way of Time, Talent and Treasure was adopted from my work with the international Giving Tuesday community (We host Giving Tuesday Barbados locally through Caribbean Collaborative) Giving back doesn't have to be about donating money; philanthropy is being democratised and the individual donor has never been more empowered to make a difference. 

TIME

Giving of your time is one of the more traditional forms of volunteering. This is that it can allow you to see the direct result of your contribution.

In Barbados this can include:

• Soup drives with Slow Food Barbados

• Walking dogs at shelters such as The Barbados RSPCA and Ocean Acres Animal Sanctuary

• Planting trees with WIRRED

• Beach clean ups with Dare 2 Care Beach Clean Ups.

• Packing food hampers with one of the many church groups in the island such as the Living Waters community.

We share volunteer opportunities like this via our Caribbean Collaborative newsletter, which you can sign up for here.

TALENT

There are a number of ways in which you can share your talents and skill sets with local organizations; both in person and virtually. Sharing your talent can also be a great way to connect with like-minded peers and gain practical insight into the nuts and bolts of how local nonprofits works. In Barbados this can include:

• Pre teens and teenagers, many of whom are digital natives, can help a local charity with their social media, graphic design work and photography skills.

• Mentorship and skilled volunteering with local mentor ship programmes, such as The Princes Trust International.

• Lending your expertise to an adopted charity. There is a local organization called The ASPIRE Foundation which has a great programmes for charities. It can be seen as a vetting process, as they train organisations and helps them to become more transparent. They also provide certifications. Here is a list of charities that have all successfully completed their incubator programme.

I had the pleasure and privilege of volunteering with the Prince's Trust International last month by facilitating mock interviews. I was blown away by the hard work and dedication from the young people in the programme. They're bursting with passion and enthusiasm.

During their interviews, they all spoke so highly of their work placements with various local businesses. Not only were they able to beef up their CVs with tangible work experience, but they learned a number of transferable skills that they can build on. Internship programmes can provide networking opportunities as well, especially in a small island such as Barbados.

Please consider supporting the team at Prince's Trust International and the up and coming young leaders in the programme by sharing this with business owners you know. 

Malou

TREASURE

Giving a 'Treasure' can be anything from money, goods and clothing, to blood.

• Online Fundraising - When it comes to online fundraising, there is an incredible opportunity to help local charities. Most international charitable fundraising platforms either do not exist here in Barbados. Unfortunately it is near to impossible to host an online fundraiser due to costs and logistics. Many local NGOs are therefore often limited to in person fundraising and cash donations. If you're from the Global North, you have access to those platforms and can host an online fundraiser on their behalf.

• Blood donation - A relatively easy and straight forward way you could give back as a person or company is by donating blood. Our local blood bank is always dangerously low, and you can donate as a non national. The blood bank has strict COVID protocols in place and the process is very quick and efficient. I shared a blog post outlining everything you need to know about donating blood in Barbados.

Jakki Prince, a Canadian travel consultant who is temporarily living in Barbados, recently donated blood for the first time, as part of our annual Giving Tuesday National Blood drive. Jakki shared that she had a positive experience at the Barbados Blood Collection Centre:

"It’s my tenth visit to Barbados but I’ve never had the chance to stay so long. I'm very happy to do something non monetary as a way of giving...I’ve always felt connected to Barbados and since coming here for the first time in 2012, knew it is a special place that I consider my second home."

Jakki Prince

More to come on giving back in Barbados

This article is by no means extensive. There are so many topics I wasn't able to touch on in such a short amount of time. Stay tuned for further discussions on this topic; by way of our volunteer newsletter, the Caribbean Collaborative blog, as well as further workshops and events. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out. Thank you Catarina, for providing the space and opportunity to share this!

While the local charity sector may not be as robust and developed as it is in other areas of the world, there is a lot of opportunity to have a big impact. Barbados is built on a strong sense of community and passion for helping each other. I’m really excited to welcome this international community to Barbados. I hope that we can help you find meaningful and impactful ways to give back to the island we are all privileged to call home.