COMMENTARY:
Please, No More USA Volunteer-Matching Web Sites

by Jayne Cravens

"A new web site has been launched to match volunteers with non-profit organizations."

If the phrase applied to a country other than the USA, maybe I would be impressed. If it served a country in Africa or the Middle East or South America, I would be QUITE impressed. But, unfortunately, new volunteer matching services keep being launched to serve the United States, and offer nothing new. The new sites of volunteer opportunities crowd a field of already-existing volunteer matching sites, most of which are underutilized by volunteer hosting organizations. I always wonder: did the people and organizations who keep launching these new USA volunteer matching sites ever look to see if, perhaps, others already exist?

Organizations that involve volunteers do not have the resources to use all, or even most, of these volunteer matching sites. They are going to choose one, maybe two, and they are usually going to stick with using only that one or those two sites, as they have invested much time in using such and are probably already well-served by such.

Please, no more volunteer matching sites for the USA. There are plenty. In fact, in my opinion, there are too many. If you insist on launching such a site, I offer this advice:

• Research what is already out there. Visit the most popular volunteer matching sites in the USA and assess what audience you think the site is not serving, or what service the site is not offering, but is very much needed.

  VolunteerMatch is, no doubt, the most popular site for listings of volunteering opportunities in the USA (in terms of number of opportunities listed, and number of users). Other sites include:

  Idealist/Action Without Borders

  Change.org

  ServeNet

  Network For Good

  1-800-Volunteer.org

  Do Something

  Volunteer Solutions

  USAservice.org

  And this isn't even a comprehensive list! Plus, online social networking sites allow organizations to recruit volunteers as well.

• Distinguish your service from what is already out there. Make it focused on a more narrow geographic area, or focused only on organizations with certain types of mission statements, or with features that the other services do not have.

• Get agreements with a core-group of volunteer-involving organizations, committing them to use your newly-launched service. Their involvement will add credibility to your effort. Representatives from at least some of this core group should serve on your advisory committee for this volunteer matching service.

• Don't try to create a database of volunteers available to help organizations, rather than a database of opportunities for people to sign up for, unless you can guarantee that the people in your volunteers database will update their information, particularly regarding their availability, at least monthly .

• a site that lists all of these volunteer-matching sites, and allows users to comment about each, rate the effectiveness and usefulness of each, etc. The site could also offer advice on how to use volunteer-matching databases.

• a site with a database of organizations, where each can update their information to talk about the impact volunteers have for their organizations and clients. The information would never be out-of-date, and the information could help other organizations get ideas on new ways to involve volunteers.

• a site that offers a searchable database allowing organizations to share their volunteer policies, forms and other materials as models for other organizations. Organizations would be thrilled to use such a database to find sample volunteer orientations, volunteer applications, and other policy documents.

• a site that offers legal and professional commentaries about state and national laws that could (and do) affect the involvement of volunteers.

Agree with me? Disagree? Why not contact me? Or talk about your ideas with my network!

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