Oranssi

There would be no Oranssi without volunteers

WHO

Oranssi is a non-profit youth organisation in Helsinki, Finland, that provides a free cultural center for young people. Born out of the youth squatting movement, it was established in 1990 alongside a youth organisation that provides communal and affordable housing for youth. To this day, they still share an office and work closely together. Oranssi is almost entirely volunteer-led, managed and run by young people, for young people. As people age out of the core group and new volunteers join the organisation it has naturally evolved, but what remains the same is that Oranssi is an accessible and inclusive space to create, make, and participate in culture and counterculture.  

Anna Kovács, Executive Director, and Minka Yltävä, Volunteer Coordinator, spoke to RECHARGE about how they make sure that Oranssi is a place where young people want to be and contribute to.

WHAT

Oranssi is home to lots of affordable cultural events, including live music performances, workshops, seminars, theatre performances, and circus training. Oranssi leverages their venue, knowledge of running events, and their active youth volunteer community to provide a valuable service to the community and private entities, with many partners returning to organise events at Oranssi. Oranssi also relies on a network of professional organisations related to mental health, substance abuse, self-harm, harassment, etc. to help where they do not have expertise. They also maintain a close relationship with the Department of Youth in the city of Helsinki, and are an example to other grassroots organisations on how to build trust with city authorities.

Oranssi’s volunteers are young people, generally 29 years or younger, who are especially drawn to Oranssi for its counterculture aspects. Over time Oranssi has developed a strong recruitment and retention strategy, which simply put is to “keep them (volunteers) happy” by providing meaningful work. The organisation is supported by a small team of paid employees, which includes two full-time workers, one part-timer, and annually elected board members. For the adults that are running and managing an event at Oranssi, it is quite a big responsibility to be working mainly with minors. To support this intergenerational dynamic, they have recently implemented a safer space policy to uphold rules of conduct. This policy aims to foster trust and mutual respect between volunteers and staff, ensuring that all participants feel safe and empowered in their roles.

HOW

COLLABORATION:

Having little or a low hierarchy is one of the core values of Oranssi, established from its origins. This low hierarchy empowers young people and shows them “that they can do things” and quickly welcomes them into the organisation. However, it can be challenging to organise the structure of volunteer work in the long-term, especially in terms of recruitment and onboarding. Additionally Oranssi is very aware of the potential for burn-out due to the intensive but rewarding work of relationship-building. To address some of these challenges, Oranssi uses the following strategies:

• Collect regular feedback from volunteers and communicate via familiar platforms (such as Discord).

• To prevent potential burn-out as a relationship-builder, communicate your needs and boundaries, rely on your team members, and have regular check-ins , 

• Sincerity is crucial - be clear about the limits you and the organisation have and what promises you make within these limits.

• Have a clear point of contact so that (new) people feel welcome and know who they can talk to.

• Practice active listening to ensure people feel heard.

FINANCING:

Oranssi’s primary source of income is from youth activity grants provided by the City of Helsinki, which are allocated for various activities and expenses. To build this partnership Oranssi tries to find a common language, be persistent but also be realistic in what they ask. In addition to this support, revenue is generated through venue rentals to both private and grassroots organisations, and supplementary grants for specific events. Still, financial resources are “always a challenge”. One of their main priorities is to keep the space accessible for (young) people without them having to pay a lot. They also ensure that they can pay volunteers for their work.

IMPACT:

Measuring impact can be a challenge, especially when it comes to proving that ‘value’ does not always equate with financial profit. It can be difficult for funding bodies to understand the impact and importance of Oranssi, as an accessible, low-threshold space to participate in for young people. For the purpose of reporting to funders, Oranssi tends to track the number of events and the number of visitors and their ages. There are many who can testify to the long-term impact of the organisation, as most people in Helsinki know Oranssi now. It has existed for such a long time and had a lasting impact on the grassroot culture in the city. It is clear for Anna and Minka that the impact for the volunteers is that it shows “young people that they can do things”.