Jayne Blog (Volunteerism, Nonprofit Tech, Civil Society, etc.)

Jul. 15, 2008 - Walking the talk: managing online volunteers for AWN

I'm currently coordinating online volunteers for the Aid Workers Network (AWN), an organization based in the United Kingdom, but staffed entirely by online volunteers who are all around the world (Bangladesh, Sudan, Germany...). AWN is an online resource for professionals working in aid, relief and development. It features an online discussion forum, advice pages relating to aid, relief and development, and links to blogs by aid workers all over the world. I've been participating in the forum for many years now, per my own work in development (that's development as in human and community development, NOT fundraising). In December 2007, I agreed to recruit and coordinate online volunteers to support AWN operations, and I'll do this through December 2008. See how AWN involves online volunteers.

Email remains the application I use most to interact with volunteers, although my video online welcome for new volunteers on You Tube has proven very popular. I also communicate with online volunteers via instant messenger. No volunteer has taken me up on a live audio or video conversation via iVisit or Skype. The online orientation is done via email, and online volunteers have to complete it before they can begin the assignment; this has proved fundamental in screening out people who aren't ready to make the very real commitment that is online volunteering, and screening in people who are excellent online communicators and are ready to get going on the assignment ASAP.

My first line of recruitment for online volunteers has been the AWN forum itself. I've also used the UN's Online Volunteering service, with mixed results; for every one person that signs up and turns into a great volunteer, I have three others who aren't qualified for the position they've signed up for, or never respond to my first email. That's surprising, as even five years ago when I used the service for other online volunteering recruitment, at least 50% of candidates successfully engaged in assignments.

It's nice to once again put the best practices regarding online volunteering to the test, and to find that, once again, those best practices are all still valid!

-- Jayne Cravens

About Jayne

This blog (web log) is by Jayne Cravens, and is primarily focused on resources and news regarding mission-based organizations: nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, and public sector agencies, as well as development issues and humanitarian efforts. It promotes resources and opinions relating to volunteer management/community involvement, tech use by nonprofits, and outreach strategies for nonprofits. There are also some personal postings (such is the nature of blogs), regarding travel, causes I personally support (like women's empowerment, urban biking, etc.). To comment on this blog, you must register on forumer.com.

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