Finding a Volunteer

No nonprofit is an island

Source:  TechSoup.org

May 3, 2000

Before you start out looking for a volunteer, make sure you have a project at which a volunteer can be successful. Do you need to hire a consultant or new staff member to do the job adequately? See the article Whom Do You Need: Volunteer, Consultant, or Staff? What exactly do you want the volunteer to do? See Defining the Volunteer Project for hints on how to choose a set of tasks that a volunteer can complete successfully.

How will you find someone who can help you? Many nonprofits feel isolated in a chaos of technical problems. Fortunately, there are dozens of services which connect nonprofits with skilled volunteers, and there are techniques which can help you if you choose to go it on your own.

• Volunteer Matching Programs:

  A volunteer matching program takes an active role in reducing the burden of managing a volunteer. Matching programs will not only find you a volunteer with the right technical skills, they may help you write a work plan, define the scope of project, and check on progress. Most matching programs charge a small administrative or membership fee per match. See the Volunteer Matching Programs article for more details.

• Volunteer Listing Services:

  A volunteer listing service provides a place for nonprofits to post their volunteer job descriptions, and for potential volunteers to decide which agency to work with. The job descriptions may be listed online, or through a local volunteer center. Listing services are usually free. See the Volunteer Listing Services article for more details.

• Recruit your own:

  If a matching program or listing service cannot find you the right volunteer in your area, you can still find a volunteer by posting a volunteer job description in community spaces, and using your contacts in the community to find a volunteer. See the Recruit a Volunteer on Your Own article for more details.

Copyright © 2000 CompuMentor. This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.