The Independence of Altruism.

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My NoSmalltalk session with Ajit Sivaram

by Albert Schiller

The Reward of Commitment

The non-profit sector is built on a central paradox. It runs on the currency of human goodwill, yet the operational cost of human unreliability is often at its center. Systems are particularly resilient if they are predictable and accounted for. The volunteer, the system’s most essential resource, is often its most unpredictable variable. This inconsistency is not a moral failing of the volunteer but the logical outcome of a flawed system. Conventional approaches often treat volunteers as a low-cost, disposable commodity. In such a model, the organization sets a low bar for entry and expects a low level of commitment in return. It is a system built on hopeful altruism that routinely meets its limits in the realities of the non-profit sector. Ajit Sivaram’s philosophy is a radical and unsentimental inversion of this logic. His model is not built on hope but a clear-eyed, transactional principle. An organization will receive precisely the level of commitment it is willing to invest. The currency, however, is not money. It is something far more valuable.

Instruments of Respect

The foundation of Ajit’s volunteer ecosystem is a high degree of friction. Where most organizations seek to make volunteering as easy as possible, his system makes it deliberately difficult. Potential volunteers must navigate a series of rigorous filters before they are allowed to work with a child. This process includes a written test, a formal interview, and multiple rounds of intensive training. These are not perfunctory hurdles. They are instruments of respect. They serve as the first communication to a potential volunteer that their role is not a casual hobby, but a position of significant responsibility. By making the application process as demanding as that of a paid staff member, the system signals the immense value of the work from the outset. This high bar serves a dual function. It filters for candidates with a serious level of intent and begins the process of professionalizing the volunteer’s mindset. Ajit’s philosophy requires that his volunteers be treated with the same accountability as his employees for the time they are present. This is the first half of the transaction: the organization demonstrates its high valuation of the volunteer’s commitment, setting a professional standard that commands an equal level of seriousness in return.

The Reward of Experience

The second half of the transaction is the payment. For their rigorous commitment, the volunteer is paid in a currency Ajit argues is "much more powerful" than money. That currency is a meticulously crafted and professionally delivered experience. This is the core of his critique of the conventional model. When an NGO sees its volunteers as "free service," he states, "they're missing the point". The organization's primary job is not to receive free labor, but to "create a great experience for the volunteer." In his system, every minute of a volunteer's two hours is intentionally curated. The session begins with a structured welcome and a round of sharing positive stories. It ends with affirmations and a clear sense of accomplishment. This is not about superficial perks or making people feel vaguely good. It is a professional engagement designed to give the volunteer an honest and unambiguous sense of their own impact. This is the payment. In exchange for their time and commitment, the organization gives them a high-quality experience that reinforces their purpose and validates their effort. It is this consistent, high-value payment that earns loyalty and performance that a simple appeal to altruism rarely can.

The Return on Investment

The outcome of this transactional model indicates its efficacy. The return on the organization's investment in experience is not merely reliability, but the transformation of a temporary helper into a long-term asset. A respected, valued, and effective volunteer becomes the organization’s "biggest champion". They become advocates, talking about their experience to others and organically growing the pool of high-quality future applicants. The investment also yields a direct financial return. At the end of their teaching year, volunteers actively participate in crowdfunding for the organization, raising funds for the children they worked with. The most significant ROI, however, is in human capital. Many of these volunteers, a large number of whom may have been on traditional career paths like engineering, are so transformed by the experience that they stay on to become volunteer leaders, take up full-time positions at the organization, or pursue careers in the broader social sector. This reframes the concept of volunteerism. It ceases to be a short-term extraction of free labor. It becomes a strategic investment in developing a pipeline of dedicated, experienced, and passionate talent that pays dividends for the organization and the sector for years to come.

5 Lessons with practical values-

Open Questions

1. Ajit’s model professionalizes volunteering by creating high-friction systems that filter for the most committed individuals. Does this approach risk creating an "elitism of commitment," systemically excluding the casual but potentially valuable contributor with less time to offer?

2. If the primary "payment" to a volunteer is a "great experience," how does a leader prevent their organization from designing programs that are more engaging for the volunteer than effective for the beneficiary? At what point does optimizing the volunteer experience begin to compromise the mission itself?