By Founder, Natalie Banks
Azraq just recently turned three! As I look back, I am so proud of how far we have come in those three years as a purely volunteer-led organisation. I have been so blessed and feel so fortunate to work with some amazing people who volunteer their time for the protection of the oceans. Their input is passion driven; a drive that comes with greater force than funds alone will ever provide.
However a growing volunteer-led organisation comes with many challenges also. There are higher turnover rates and constant inductions. Our customers expect the same level of attention of our volunteers as full time paid resources, some of which work full time jobs and help Azraq out during after hours. And sadly, as a volunteer group, people often mistake that this means free services. While our pricing is kept low due to reduced overheads, our volunteers not only bring with them a great deal of experience, but also incur costs when using computers, printers, their phones, their own vehicles, and as a registered entity - we also incur permit, auditing and notary fees. These need to be recovered or Azraq will no longer be able to provide the services it does to the community. Furthermore, the experience that our volunteers bring needs to be valued... and deserves recognition.
Our biggest challenge as we grow is to ensure a consistent cash flow so that we can be sustainable in terms of longevity. A volunteer led entity like Azraq is not sustainable. It eventually needs to be led by paid resources, but we aren’t quite there yet.
We have had issues with some organisations not paying their invoices on time and our operations are, like most entities, being hampered by social distancing regulations surrounding Covid-19 and we therefore can not host the events and activities that would assist with cash flow.
Additionally, despite being provided a no objection letter from our permit providers at the Community Development Authority, we have not being able to secure a fundraising permit to enable donations to be received. Even as a registered not for profit, we do not receive any financial relief or grants for day to day expenses, whether that be for the required notary services, annual auditing or even banking fees.
Last year, Azraq for the first time ended the year in the red, coming in at just shy of 20,000 AED down. A review of our audit will show that around a third of our overall costs for 2020 were for the mandatory legal services.
Azraq only just recently received its first major sponsor, but we have some ways to go in order to increase our brand recognition and attract the type of sponsorship our colleagues receive.
On this note, we would like to thank ADNOC, Veolia, ALUCOR, Amit International, Garmin and Exalto Emirates for investing and believing in Azraq’s values and mission. Each time an entity likes this invests in Azraq, it motivates our extremely hard working but passionate volunteer operations team. For me personally, it is also an indication we are on the right path.
Azraq is at a cross roads and it certainly feels that 2021 will be the indication year for its future. While it can continue to run as a volunteer organisation, eventually burn out will occur across the team. As the Founder and Managing Director of this growing organisation, my role is to protect our volunteer operations team and ensure that they continue to bring passion to their roles in order to maximize the return to the community.
For the very first time, I am considering a paid resource for Azraq. It’s a scary thought, when consistent cash flow is an issue. We have more mandatory legal costs ahead of us. But Azraq can not afford to burn out its passionate volunteers. We are better than that.
Azraq and the marine environment we are tasked to conserve and protect deserves to be taken seriously and so, 2021 will be the year, that Azraq will morph from a teen to an adult.
It’s time that we consider the return on investment for our volunteer team in terms of the projects we take onboard and that our customers acknowledge the hard work our volunteers provide, by including service fees in our invoices. It time we stop apologizing for charging our customers to help us cover our costs.
It’s time to be taken seriously as a marine conservation organisation that does some fantastic activities for the health of our oceans. And this cultural shift needs to be undertaken internally first. That is my role for the year ahead. It’s quite a task, but I’m up for it. I know only too well what burning out feels like as a volunteer, and I recognize the signs of being overburdened when you don’t even earn one dirham for the work you do. You end up feeling resentful instead of passionate.
It is my role to prevent this from happening. It’s a tough gig, but I’ve never shied away from a challenge before...