Collaborating With Volunteers (and Others) Online

It's new name is cloud computing, but it's been around for many, many years before it got its snazzy name.

Sharing and collaborating over this kind of information online in a private space where only those you choose to see it may do so (such as volunteers) cuts down on email for everyone, prevents anyone from losing a file, and means those of your choosing can view the information from any computer with web access.

And the good news is that there are many FREE tools you can use to get started.

In addition, learning how such free, simple applications work means you will be training yourself and those you work with to use more advanced, customized systems down the road. It means that, when a technology professional starts talking to you about an advanced sharing system or other technology tool, you will understand more about what he or she means -- and be able to express YOUR wants and needs.

Sharing files and collaborating online takes a very different way of thinking that comes from a commitment to being open in your work, more than it takes any technological expertise. You will be letting other people see and comment on your work, something that only the marketing manager used to have to deal with at a nonprofit organization! This is a new way of working for most people, and it can feel scary. But the potential benefits far out weight the risks.

For instance, a volunteer manager might

• post the entire volunteer policy manual to a private shared space and invite volunteers to comment on any section they think should be rewritten,
• create an online calendar that shares volunteer work/event schedules with all volunteers,
• post drafts of a new logo and invite feedback, or even take a poll regarding which volunteers prefer, and
• invite further discussion online about an issue brought up at a face-to-face meeting.

Tools

In most cases, tools specifically for online collaboration allow you to make a work space as public or as private as you like, and allow you as much control you want: you can be the only person allowed to change or add content, you can allow only certain other people to do so, you can allow people to submit information that isn't shared until you approve it, etc.

My favorites:

GoogleApps is a suite of free web-based applications (you can pay for an upgrade to more advanced features). The most popular free tool among GoogleApps is Gmail (which gives you an email address and various email-management functions). There's also GoogleGroups (for creating and managing online discussion groups or email distribution lists), GoogleCalendar (which can be entirely private, or can be shared with a small group, or even with everyone), GoogleTalk (which allows for instant messaging) and GoogleDocs (which allows collaboration on documents and spreadsheets), and GoogleFriend connect (which I'm using, but I'm not sure I understand it yet). They are also currently beta-testing GoogleWave.

Google is encouraging GoogleApps use by nonprofits. Over on TechSoup.org, a site about computer and Internet technologies for nonprofits, there is a thread asking for GoogleApps success stories.

Yahoo! also has a suite of terrific web-based applications for free. The most popular is also the mail program, YahooMail. My favorite is YahooGroups, which I prefer to GoogleGroups, because of its integrated features, like a shared calendar just for the individual group, and tools that allow members to share information and photos, allow group owners to configure the group a number of different ways, and allow each individual group member to decide exactly how he or she wants to relate to the group (via individual emails, via digest, or via the web). Yahoo also has a very popular Instant messaging tool (which can be used cross platform with other company's chat tools, including Google's), and a calendar associated with your Yahoo ID.

You can set up a YahooGroup for all those at your organization you want to have access to your online information. This can be volunteers, a particular group of volunteers, remote staff, or people in your department. You can set up the group to be completely private, allowing only those who are members to see the messages and resources, and putting all requests for membership in a queue for you to approve for participation. You may be tempted to create several different groups for different teams or different projects; don't do so, however, until you have successfully launched one, and everyone who should be using it is doing so. With your online group set up, you now not only have a discussion group/mailing list; you also have tools you can use with members:

-- an area to share files
-- an area to share photos
-- an area to share links
-- an area to share databases (spreadsheets)
-- polls (surveys)
-- shared calendar

If you require all volunteers to join a YahooGroup or GoogleGroup, you have an easy way to contact them all. Members can decide to receive messages via individual emails, via a digest email, or web-only.

What I like about either of these suite of tools, other than all the features they offer and that they are free:

• You can pick and choose which apps you want to use, a la carte; you can use YahooMail but Google for your calendar. You can use your Yahoo email address to log in to your Google account.
• These are great tools for training yourself in how to collaborate online with no financial investment required.
  
• These are great starter-tools that will help you make more informed choices about fee-based software in the future, should you find yourself needing such.

volunteers_audubontheater
cowcreekchildhelp
valleygarden_helpers

 
But as is said at many presentations by Jayne Cravens, the author of this web site: building it does not guarentee they will come. You must make a commitment to use these tools regularly if you want other people to use them as well. For instance, you must keep the calendar regularly up-to-date if you want volunteers to find it of value. You have to log in to your instant messaging account if you want volunteers to see you online and know they can send you an instant message.

Also see:

• These resources from TechSoup:
  • Why Should Nonprofits Care about Cloud Computing
  • Cloud Computing: Why Should Nonprofits and Libraries Care?
  • 10NTC: Cloud Computing Buzz
  • What is Cloud Computing and How Will it Affect Libraries?
  • Cloud Computing Buzz
  • Cloud Computing: Is It More Secure?
  • Twitter Hacking and Cloud Security
  • How Do You Collaborate with Staff Online? Google Docs Can Save Time, Money, and the Planet
  • Reduce Travel with Online Collaboration
  • Is Cloud Computing Greener?
  • Greenpeace International Campaign to Green Cloud Computing
  • TechSoup Products that Live in the Cloud and Reduce IT Energy Consumption

• How People In Remote Locations Can Work on the Same Document
  The key to sharing documents among people in remote locations isn't your computer technology; it's how your humans save and share information.

• Stages of Maturity in Nonprofit Orgs Using Online Services
  What does a networking technology-savvy nonprofit organization look like? To help nonprofits think about networking tech standards they should pursue, and possible goals for the future, I've created this assessment of the states of maturity for a nonprofit organization's use of networking/online technologies.

• Handling Online Criticism
  Online criticism of a nonprofit organization, even by its own supporters, is inevitable. It may be about an organization's new logo or new mission statement, the lack of parking, or that the volunteer orientation being too long. It may be substantial questions regarding an organization's business practices and perceived lack of transparency. How a nonprofit organization handles online criticism speaks volumes about that organization, for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come. There's no way to avoid it, but there are ways to address criticism that can help an organization to be perceived as even more trustworthy and worth supporting.

• Online culture and online community
  It's becoming the norm for mission-based organizations (NGOs, NPOs and others) to use Internet tools to work with volunteers (including board members), staff, donors and others. This section of my site has been greatly updated, providing even more ideas and resources on how to work with others online, in language that's easy to understand for those considering or just getting started in using online technologies with volunteers, donors and other supporters.

• Internet discussion groups for volunteers
  Many agencies use e-mail-based discussion groups or newsgroups (USENET) to communicate regularly with their volunteers. This resource chronicles the benefits of such groups, and offers tips for set up and management.

• Using Real-Time Communications With Volunteers
  A growing number of organizations are using real-time communications -- including video conferencing, online phone calls, chats and instant messaging -- to hold online meetings with volunteers, to allow volunteers to interact with staff, clients, or each other, or to involve volunteers in a live, online, real-time event. This resource provides more information on real-time communications with volunteers -- what the various tools are, how agencies are using them to interact with volunteers, and tips to encourage and maintain participation in synchronous communications.

• How People In Remote Locations Can Work on the Same Document
  The key to sharing documents among people in remote locations isn't your computer technology; it's how your humans save and share information.

• Getting the Most Out of Yahoo!Groups
  I'm the administrator for several Yahoo!Groups, and I've created several customized help files for users of those groups. I share them all online. In addition to encouraging Yahoo!Groups members to use these files to help improve their online experience, any Yahoo!Groups owners out there are welcomed to use them and adapt them as they like. (this resource was originally published in my monthly email newsletter Tech4Impact).

• How To Successfully Move an Online Discussion Group
  Originally published in Tech4Impact.

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