Create Compelling Volunteer

Opportunities on VolunteerMatch To hear the presentation by phone call:

(415) 655-0051

Access Code: 594-615-399

Jennifer Bennett, CVA, Senior Manager, Education & Training

Matt Wallace, Senior Associate, Nonprofit Relations

Join the conversation on Twitter! #VMLearn

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VolunteerMatch Overview “VolunteerMatch strengthens communities by making it easier for good

people and good causes to connect.”

92,206 nonprofits… 75,444 Active Opportunities…. 6,811,091 referrals since 1998

• VolunteerMatch has been around for 14 years, and is the top-ranked website for online

volunteer recruitment and employee-volunteer programs

• Our Learning Center offers over 20 webinar topics focused on volunteer management

and VolunteerMatch tools, serving an audience of over 6,000 attendees each year

VolunteerMatch & Walmart: Fighting Hunger Together

What are our goals?

• Support nonprofit organizations that are working to end

hunger in local communities.

• Provide hunger relief organizations with the resources

they need to deploy, manage and expand their volunteer

engagement program.

• Support, train and share best practices for engaging

volunteers, and creating a multi-faceted relationship with

volunteers – donors, advocates.

• Increase visibility of the need for volunteers at hunger

relief organizations.

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Agenda

• Introduction

• Use Best Practices to Create Compelling Opportunities

• Put Community Leader Tools to Work for You!

• Review Real Opportunities Using Best Practices

• Things to Remember

• Q&A

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Get Started with Online Recruiting • Introduce your program and your work!

– Set the stage – tell your story

• Have a “virtual” conversation

– Answer the question “what do volunteers do at your

organization?”

• Prioritize the information you share

– What does a volunteer need to know to decide if

they’re the right volunteer for your program?

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Create Great Opportunities • Make the Title Work for You

– Catchy, Fun, Interesting

• Keep it Brief

– One Opportunity, 100 words

• Word it Simply and Make it Easy to Understand

– No Jargon, no acronyms

• Make an Impact

– Include a Strong Call to Action

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• Provide Direction and Support

– Time Commitment, Training, Restrictions

• Make it Visually Appealing

– Include Pictures, Graphics. Make use of White Space.

• Remember to Edit

– Grammar, Spelling

• View your Listing as a Volunteer

– Use a Critical Eye.

Create Great Opportunities

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Best Practices for VolunteerMatch • Title Stands Out

– Call to Action

• Make Good Use of First Sentence – Visible to prospective volunteers

• Brainstorm and Use Keywords – What kinds of volunteers do you want to find you

• Keep Referrals on VolunteerMatch – Information is only useful if volunteers click ‘I Want

to Help!’

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Make

Your Title

Work For

You

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Review Real Opportunities Let’s take a look at some examples of good descriptions

and those that could use some work.

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Using

Best

Practices

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A Listing

that

Needs

Work

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Remember… Your VolunteerMatch listing may be the first time a

volunteer learns about your organization:

• Use language that is welcoming

• Clearly state needs and impacts

• Outline any potential ‘deal breakers’

• Craft opportunities that will attract the

volunteers you need

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Resources Fighting Hunger Together Resources Page Visit this page for up-to-date training resources and program information

http://www.volunteermatch.org/fighthunger

Learning Center Find upcoming webinar dates, how-to videos and more

http://learn.volunteermatch.org/training-topics/fighting-hunger

VolunteerMatch Community Ask and answer questions after the webinar – use keywords Fighting Hunger Together,

Volunteer Management

http://community.volunteermatch.org/volunteer

Questions?

FightHunger@VolunteerMatch.org

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Thanks for attending! Join us online:

Like us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/VolunteerMatch

Follow us on Twitter: @VolunteerMatch

Visit Engaging Volunteers, our nonprofit blog:

blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/

For any questions contact:

Jennifer Bennett

(415) 321-3639

@JenBennettCVA

jbennett@volunteermatch.org