By Maria E. Hinteregger
Ten years ago, potential volunteers would contact a program by phone, mail or even in person. Many of our organizations had no website and some even lacked computers. People could find out about us by connecting with us during work hours and we made time to orient them with what we do and how we might benefit from their time.
Today, the internet is often the first place that people look for information. People of all ages are surfing the web at all hours of the day (and night) to learn about their communities, including where to volunteer. They often start with one idea, and then look at other information in the process.
One way to take advantage of this change is to use VolunteerMaine. This statewide, web resource is free for both agencies and potential volunteers and can be accessed through United Ways, local host sites, links from agencies and www.VolunteeMaine.org. VolunteerMaine.org has multiple resources for learning about the best practices for volunteer management. Volunteer Solutions, the software that facilitates the volunteer matching, is where your volunteer recruitment can excel.
Although the initial time to register an agency, write about its programs and develop and post volunteer opportunities on the website might be considered burdensome by some, there are many benefits to doing it that more than offset the investment in time.
When someone comes to VolunteerMaine looking to find a volunteer opportunity, they will often start out with a simple zip code search to find out what is in their community. The search results allow them to review agencies and find which agency’s mission best fits their own. In their search, they may discover agencies they were unaware of or learn about agency programs of which they were unaware. Now the volunteer will review the volunteer opportunities that are listed. Which ones fit their schedule, their likes and dislikes, their skill-set? At this point, they can either give you a call or send you an automated email if they’re interested or continue their search another time.
Let’s look at the process the potential volunteer has just gone through and how it affects the work you do. First off, even if you never hear from this potential volunteer, they have taken the time to learn about your program. How often do you have someone read through what is basically your brochure (assuming you have a brochure)?
Without VolunteerMaine, you may never have had even this connection since the potential volunteer may have wanted to contact you during non-business hours. The websites busiest hours are 10pm to midnight and there is more activity on Saturdays and Sundays, then on Friday.
And don’t think that not getting a volunteer means that no one is looking at your listings. The United Way of Mid Coast Maine site for October 2009, showed that there were 608.75 Unique Visitors and almost 20% of site visits are for 5 minutes or more and 6 % spend more than 30 minutes.
Now consider that the potential volunteer does contact you. They have already taken the time to orient themselves to the organization and know what you will be asking them to do. They know that they meet the requirements for the position and are aware and comfortable with any pre-requisites including background checks or references. The time you spent registering your agency and creating a complete and accurate job description for each of your opportunities has now saved you the time to orient a new volunteer. Your complete job description has allowed the potential volunteer to envision themselves doing this work, which greatly increased the likelihood that they would follow up with you. It has also saved you the time of working with potential volunteers who might not have been a good fit, as well as the awkward situation of having to turn someone away.
Using VolunteerMaine allows you to do your job more effectively and efficiently. You can use your time to work on meeting your mission rather than on recruiting.
Since VolunteerMaine is administered by sites throughout Maine, contact your local United Way to get connected with an administrator who can answer your questions, guide you through problems, and inform you of various site features and how to use them.
Maria E. Hinteregger is the Associate Director of Community Impact at the United Way of Mid Coast Maine and a guest blogger.
