Beyond the "Savior" Complex: Understanding the History of Help

By Niila Hebert, CVA

Executive Director, MAVA

Helping others is often called the cornerstone of American service. We are taught from a young age that "giving back" is a universal good. But beneath the surface of well-intentioned service lies a complicated, often painful history that many organizations have yet to confront.

 As Jerome Tenille outlines in his (still very relevant) blog post from 2020:

“The well-intentioned volunteer whose heart is in the "right place", but whose energy and expectations on how they're involved are misplaced…is just a microcosm of something much, much larger and deeper rooted. I happen to think this is the result of centuries old social and cultural ideals stemming back decades before our nation’s founding.”

At MAVA, we believe that to move forward, we must first look back—honestly and unapologetically.

The Cracked Foundation of Volunteerism

While the seeds of service are often planted with good intentions, the roots have frequently been nourished by white saviorism and white supremacist culture. Nonprofits, while seeking to do good work in the community, have always existed within an American culture steeped in inequity. This idea is commonly known as the nonprofit industrial complex and, according to Professor Claire Dunning, “highlights how the nonprofit sector, far from being independent, serves to reinforce the status quo and discipline efforts to disrupt it.” 

Nonprofits were formed within a cultural framework that catered to those with power and money even as they sought to serve people “less fortunate.” We still see this framework play out today in countless ways: nonprofit board seats with a required minimum giving amount; leadership positions that require advanced degrees but no lived experience; staff and volunteer performance metrics that focus on quantity above quality (thanks to Sue Carter Kahl for her extensive work on this topic).

For decades, the traditional volunteerism model has operated within a system that discounts and overlooks the brilliance, agency, and lived experience of communities of color.

By failing to wrestle with these beginnings, and how they have perpetuated into our current systems and practices, the volunteer engagement field risks continuing to inflict harm on the very communities it purports to serve.

Identifying the "One Right Way"

What does this look like in our daily work? Based on MAVA’s research (with credit to the work of Tema Okun), we often see the harmful theme of "The One Right Way."

This is the belief that there is a singular, "correct" way to do things, and that once people are introduced to it, they will "see the light" and adopt it. In volunteerism, this manifests in:

• Recruitment & Onboarding: Rigid processes that exclude those who don't fit a specific professional mold.
• Position Descriptions: Expectations that prioritize formal credentials over lived experience.
• Resource Shaming: Assumptions about what tools or transportation a "good" volunteer "should" have access to.

When we define "help" through a lens of saviorism, we reinforce a worldview where one group is the "savior" and another is "incapable." This mindset ignores the inherent knowledge and resources already present within communities of color.

Introducing: The History of Help Certification

It is time to challenge the status quo and reimagine what service can look like. MAVA is proud to announce our new certification program: The History of Help.

This bold, three-part series traces the untold history of volunteerism in the United States—roots that include conquest, colonization, and systems of control. This isn't just a history lesson; it’s a call to action.

What to Expect:

• Confront the Narrative: We will name how modern volunteerism often reenacts historical harm.
• Analyze the Systems: Participants will gain tools to identify saviorism within their own organizational structures.
• Explore Liberatory Models: We will move toward service grounded in justice, mutual aid, and cultural truth.

The history of help is complicated, but the future of help can be transformative. We invite you to join us in deconstructing the "savior" model and building a more equitable, respectful, and effective world of service.

Call to Action

Are you ready to challenge the status quo? Explore the History of Help Certification and sign up for our next cohort. Learn more and register here!

Niila Hebert is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement and an established leader in community engagement, program development, and volunteerism. As a long-time servant leader, Niila is a board member and volunteer who is passionate about the impact volunteers and the professionals who work with them can have on their communities. She is a DEI trainer and inclusion champion, bringing her core values of equity, access, and justice to her advocacy for Black and LGBTQ+ communities.