15 Myths About Online Volunteering (Virtual Volunteering)
08:54, 5 January 2010
.. Posted in Volunteerism and Volunteer Management.. Link
I've been working with online volunteers for 15 years. I didn't know I was doing anything special back in 1995: I recruited two university students to build web pages for the nonprofit I was working for, one of students asked if she could work from home most of the time, and I said sure. I started offering the opportunity to volunteer from home to new interns who came later, and told a few people how well it was working out. Word spread, I got asked to make a presentation at a local nonprofit support center about how I was using the Internet with volunteers, word continued to spread, and a year later, I was leading the Virtual Volunteering Project (unfortunately, the web site is in transition right now, so I can't link to it).
Also unfortunately, myths abound about online volunteering still abound -- like that it's a very new practice (it's more than 30 years old). Or that online volunteering is great for people who don't have time to volunteer (there's nothing virtual about the commitment an online volunteer must make to be successful).
Read the list of 15 myths about online volunteering. Which surprises you the most? Share here.
