Marketing Volunteer Opportunities Online

Marketing volunteer opportunities online offers many benefits for recruiting both face-to-face and online volunteers.

  • It's effective, quick, easy, and doesn't require any additional costs
  • It's an excellent way to reach non-traditional volunteers, and populations that might be under-represented in an organization's volunteer ranks, such as seniors, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities
  • You can reach a very targeted group, such as a particular kind of professional or people in a specific geographic area

Online marketing should not replace your offline recruitment methods, but augment those efforts by reaching new audiences. If you are new to this kind of marketing, consider the following:

  • Wait to begin online recruitment until you have well-defined descriptions of an available opportunity. Be sure to have an immediate next step for people who call or e-mail (a date for a face-to-face meeting or orientation, for instance, even if it is several weeks away). Asking for volunteers but not responding to them immediately, or not having a method to immediately place them into your program, is like advertising a product you don't really have, which can cause hard feelings about your agency on the part of potential supporters.
  • If your organization cannot or does not answer e-mail within 48 hours of receipt (two business days), don't include your e-mail address as a way for potential volunteers to contact you. Instead, direct volunteers to call.
  • Make sure those who answer your agency's phone know you are posting information to the Internet, in case there is an increase in phone calls regarding volunteer opportunities.

When providing volunteer information online, whether in the form of an e-mail announcement, discussion group posting, or Web page, remember to provide:

  • Your organization's name, physical address, phone number, e-mail address (if this is an acceptable way for potential volunteers to contact you), and website URL
  • Information about specific volunteer opportunities, or an overview of the kinds of service opportunities available
  • Information that will educate potential volunteers about the organization's mission, program focus, and value to the community, as well as the value of volunteers to the organization

Where to Post:

Email Mailing Lists

Online Groups

Websites

  • VolunteerMatch: Helps good people and good causes connect. http://www.volunteermatch.org/
  • All For Good: From Google, All for Good provides a single search interface for volunteer activities across many major volunteering sites and organizations. http://www.allforgood.org/
  • Serve.gov: An online resource for not only finding volunteer opportunities in your community, but also creating your own. http://www.serve.gov
  • VolunteerSpot: Enables you to quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in your community, congregation and social network. http://www.volunteerspot.com/
  • Network for Good: Post or find volunteer opportunities that match your interests and geographic location. Keep a record of all your volunteer activity by using the Volunteer Record of Service to keep a private journal of your volunteer time and your experiences. http://www.networkforgood.org/volunteer
  • University of Texas Volunteer Network: http://UTvolunteer.org
  • MeetUp: Create groups around a common interest. http://www.meetup.com
  • Care2 Volunteer Network: Offers hundreds of ways that you can contribute to your local community by volunteering http://www.care2.com/volunteer/
  • Idealist.org: Opportunities for individuals and organizations. http://www.idealist.org
  • YouTube Video Volunteers: Connect to volunteers that want to help you promote your cause. http://www.youtube.com/user/YTVideoVolunteers
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