This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001.
The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens.
The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued.
The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED.
Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid.
For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org
.
For new materials regarding online volunteering, see
Jayne Cravens' web site (the section on volunteerism-related resources).
 
 
 
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finding technical assistance volunteers
to involve "virtually"

Often, organizations need volunteers with particular skills or expertise to assist staff or other volunteers. The Virtual Volunteering Project refers to these as technical assistiance volunteers.

Recruiting online volunteers with a specific expertise is best done by a combination of online and offline outreach.

However -- do not begin to recruit volunteers until you have well-defined opportunities they can join in as quickly as possible. It's like advertising a product you don't really have: it can cause hard feelings on the part of potential supporters.

Also, determine if you are ready for virtual volunteering before you try to institute such a program. The number one complaint we hear from volunteers is that agencies saying they needed online volunteers were not ready to put them to work or into an orientation immediately -- or never got back at all to people who e-mailed interest.

To find a volunteer to provide professional or technical assistance for your organization's staff:

  • Send, by postal mail or e-mail, specific volunteer opportunity announcements to appropriate professional groups or online volunteer centers. For instance

  • There are many organizations for senior volunteers, with a membership representing a variety of professional fields and expertise. From computer technology to marketing to human resources to legal affairs, these senior groups have volunteers throughout the United States ready to assist nonprofit organizations with a variety of issues.

     

  • An excellent place to look for Web designers is the Microsoft Site Builder Network - VolunteerKiosk, http://nonprofit.guidestar.org/classifieds/ms_sbn.cfm is a joint project with GuideStar to connect nonprofit organizations with Web developer and designer volunteers. The Microsoft Site Builder Network is a membership program and online resource that supports Web designers and developers with tools, information, and support.

     

  • TechVol is a nonprofit organization that matches volunteer web designers and web technology experts with nonprofit organizations that need them.

     

  • No Wonder has volunteers ready to help anyone via email with computer and software questions.

     

  • For people outside the U.S., there's R.E.CO(T.M.) Retired Executive Consultants International, which matches middle management volunteers, engineer volunteers and any other retired entrepreneurs to help effectively small and medium-sized enterprises.

     

  • Another way to reach retired professionals is by sending an overview of volunteer opportunities to area senior citizens centers, university lifelong learning programs, and local chapters of Retired Senior Volunteers Program (RSVP). A good place to find local chapters of these groups (other than your phone book) is via http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Cultures_and_Groups/Seniors/Organizations/

     

  • E-Corps, a project by the Beacon Project, http://www.beaconproject.org, works to match volunteers with expertise in not-for-profit and business management with organizations that need their expertise. The volunteers provide most of their assistance via the Internet.

     

  • VolunteerMatch, at http://www.volunteermatch.org/ is the primary service of Impact Online, and will allow you to request online volunteers with a specific area of expertise. There are many, many other web sites to register online volunteering opportunities as well.

     

  • Send, by postal mail or e-mail, specific volunteer opportunity announcements to the nearest volunteer center. Call your local United Way to see if they operate such a center, or visit our page of resources for volunteer managers, which provides links to lists of volunteer centers by state.

     

  • People in college are often looking for unpaid internships as a way to get the experience they need for a career. College students are also probably the most wired population of all. Mail announcement regarding volunteer/unpaid internship opportunities to every college and university in your county. Mail these announcements to these departments and offices:

    • career development office

    • student volunteer center

    • English department (because its one of the most often chosen majors, and such students usually have excellent writing skills and attention to detail)

    • departments and offices that are related to your organization's mission or the volunteer opportunity

     
  • If your organization has a Web site, there should be volunteer information on that site! Prepare a page of volunteer opportunities, or at least, directions on how to volunteer with your organization. Make sure that there are links to this page on other pages of the organization's World Wide Web site.

     

  • The company's Web address should be included in all publications (business cards, letter head, newsletters, fax cover sheets, etc.) right next to your organization's "snail mail" address and phone number. In your newsletter, announce that there is information on volunteering on your Web site. On any newspaper announcements, press releases, PSAs, etc., as well as online announcements regarding volunteer opportunities at your organization, note that there is volunteer information on your World Wide Web site as well. Why do all this? Because most people in your target audiences who visit your Web site do so because of something they have read on paper or been told over the phone, not because they are looking for it via a Web search engine.

     

  • Make sure everyone who answers your organization's main phone line, as well as your Executive Director, marketing staff and fund raising staff knows that there is volunteer information on the Web site (so they can make appropriate referrals). Also make sure they know how to say the Web address.

     

  • Post volunteer opportunity announcements on appropriate Internet newsgroups and list servers; one of the best places is local groups, whose subscribers are located in or focused on your geographic area.

     

  • Let your onsite volunteers know that you have online opportunities; some of them may prefer doing some of their support for your organization via their home or work computer.

 

Respond promptly to those who inquire about your organizations volunteer opportunities, both on and offline! The Virtual Volunteering Project has heard from a people who tried to contact an organization via an email address, but never got a answer, even an acknowledgement that the email was received. Such lack of response reflects poorly on an agency.

Based on our research and first-hand experiences, the Virtual Volunteering Project has also developed tips on how to manage technical assistance volunteers "virtually", as well as other volunteer-related resources.

Also see this TechSoup resource for recruiting and involving volunteers for computer/technology-related assistance (when you get to this link, click on the link to "volunteers").

 

If you use this tip sheet to help your organization, please email us and let us know!


 
Information for those who wish to
quote from, copy and/or distribute the information on this Web site

 
If you find this or any other Virtual Volunteering Project information helpful, or would like to add information based on your own experience, please contact us.

If you do use Virtual Volunteering Project materials in your own workshop or trainings, or republish materials in your own publications, please let us know, so that we can track how this information is disseminated.  

Copyright © 1999 - 2000 The University of Texas at Austin


 
This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001.
The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens.
The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued.
The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED.
Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid.
For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org
.
 

If you are interested in more up-to-date information about virtual volunteering, view the Virtual Volunteering Wiki.

about Jayne Cravens | contact Jayne Cravens