FAQs
About the Virtual Volunteering Project
http://www.libertynet.org/
Victoria Pellegrini Cooper, Community Service Manager
Pete Golden, Volunteer Coordinator
When LibertyNet became an affiliate of the Project, it was a not-for-profit organization based in Philadelphia. Its mission was:
- to empower community-based organizations and small businesses through access to telecommunications resources;
- to be a leading source of Philadelphia regional information for citizens, community organizations, and educational institutions; and,
- to provide access to these resources for citizens and organizations located in economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Libertynet was interested in encouraging non-profit and social change organizations to make use of the World Wide Web for meeting specific organizational goals: increasing membership, recruiting volunteers and employees, fund raising, publicizing special events, providing a forum for community feedback, soliciting equipment and other donations, conducting media outreach, etc.
LibertyNet shared and trained collaborating nonprofits on how to recruit volunteers on the Internet. LibertyNet hoped to teach the nonprofits in the greater Philadelphia area a better and more concrete way to use the Internet as a powerful tool to recruit much needed volunteer resources. LibertyNet provided extensive information to the Project and its affiliates about how they recruited and involved volunteers via the Internet, and provided information on what's worked and what hasn't. Much of their advice has been incorporated into the Virtual Volunteering Project web site.
Vicki Pellegrini, who began at LibertyNet as a VISTA, said in 1997, "When I set up LibertyNet's volunteer web site and mailing list, I had no idea what I was doing. It has taken a while for LibertyNet to figure out all the management behind a volunteer program and it would have been easier if we had some guidance. I hope my experiences will help others who are just starting to think about the Internet as a way to reach out to volunteers. I also know that a lot of what we are doing needs improvement because it was originally done on the fly. I want to use the expertise of the people involved in this project to re-think how to better serve our volunteers and to make this a great experience for everyone."
She said that, because of her association with the Virtual Volunteering Project, "I have a better mailing list welcome message and much richer resources on our web site for volunteers. We have improved the way we educate our volunteers. I require that all our volunteers read:
- General tips for volunteers working on virtual assignments
- Dos and don'ts for technical assistance volunteers
- General Advice for volunteers for both online and offline opportunities.
The Virtual Volunteering Project Manager, Jayne Cravens, was on LibertyNet's list for its volunteers for two years, observing how the staff at LibertyNet interacts with its volunteers electronically. This first-hand look at their online volunteer management systems, as well as advice from Vicki, contributed to information developed by the Project to help other agencies use the Internet to communicate with all volunteers. As a result, the Project set up its own list for its online volunteers based on the LibertyNet model.
A section of LibertyNet's Web site was devoted entirely to potential and current volunteers. This section included:
- Volunteer Registration Form
- A list of types of volunteer opportunities at LibertyNet
- A list of online and offline volunteers, with details how each person's contributions have helped the organization
- A project update form for volunteers to use to report progress
- Recommended Readings, that includes:
- Virtual Volunteering Project Materials for online volunteers
- LibertyNet's web design tips and tools
- LibertyNet's technical support
- How to announce a new site on LibertyNet
- How to announce something new on an existing site
- How to add an event to LibertyNet's Calendar of Events
- LibertyNet's Mission and History
- Virtual Volunteering Project Materials for online volunteers
