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Why Your Nonprofit Needs Volunteer Management Software

Written by Team Golden | Aug 1, 2022 1:33:18 PM

Did you know that 85% of nonprofits believe technology is key to their success? Are you aware that nearly a quarter of nonprofits have long-term plans of using technology within their organization? In a world where technology makes processes easier, volunteer management software has increasingly become essential for nonprofits to streamline their work.  

Volunteer management is not an easy job, as your nonprofit would know. Its operations range from basic processes, such as attracting and recruiting volunteers, to more complex tasks, such as running background checks, live-tracking events, scheduling, and finding innovative ways to communicate with your volunteers.

Gone are the days when organizations relied on tedious manual processes, such as building paper records and trying to track and manage volunteers physically or over the phone.

Today, thanks to technology, it's easier to streamline the volunteer management process. Nonprofits can now use volunteer management software to be more efficient and effective with time and resources.

In this article, we'll explore how your organization can leverage volunteer management software and streamline processes and why Golden, the world’s most rewarded platform, is precisely what you need.

What is Volunteer Management Software?

Rewind 20 or 30 years and organizations were using tedious processes that are now outdated.

For instance, when organizing charitable events in the past, plans had to be written down on paper, notes had to be taken, invitations were sent out by mail or given out by hand, and organizers tracked things like donations and volunteer hours manually.

Today, as the saying goes, "there's an app for that," which is precisely what volunteer management software is designed to be.

Rather than waste time fiddling with time-intensive manual processes, volunteer management software is meant to simplify virtually everything nonprofits do, from recruiting volunteers to coordinating with them to tracking volunteer hours. 

So the essential role of volunteer management software is to introduce practices that leverage tech to make life easier, and take us past manual processes such as orientation, interviewing, etc.

Software with Ease of Use? Think Golden

Whether you work for a small nonprofit, volunteer center, high school, university, multinational NGO, or any other volunteer-run organization, Golden's volunteer management software is one of the best tools you can have in your arsenal.

With Golden's turnkey solution, you can easily connect your employees and workers to thousands of fantastic volunteer opportunities. At the same time, you'll also be able to track their contributions and volunteer hours automatically and gauge their impact on their community.

The best part is that you'll be able to do all this in just three easy, user-friendly steps. 

  1. First, you'll use Golden's volunteer management software to smoothly onboard your colleagues, employees, and volunteers.
  2. Second, you can swiftly promote local volunteer opportunities and events to your team.
  3. And third, the software can be used to automatically track engagement, volunteer hours, and more.

That being said, it's also important to understand that there are many other volunteer program management tools and apps. These platforms often have similar tools and features.

However, none of them have gone as far as Golden has in terms of building a powerful platform that can be used by virtually anybody. Ease of use is precisely one of the key things that separate Golden from the rest of the tech tools. Its volunteer management system is as practical, simple, and visually appealing as possible.

7 Powerful Benefits Of Golden's Midas’ Touch

By choosing Golden’s volunteer management system, you'll put the keys to your nonprofit's future success in the palm of your hand. Let's take a deeper look at its many benefits for organizations.

  1. Free Up Your Time
    Time is one of the most valuable resources for nonprofits and charitable organizations. Please don't waste it with outdated technologies for managing volunteer opportunities and contributions. With Golden, you'll have access to a full suite of volunteer management tools that will make your organization more effective and efficient, leaving you with more time to focus on growth!
  2. Easy Accessibility
    Golden has ensured that its software solution is as simple and easy to use as possible. You can manage and monitor your volunteer opportunities, create groups and add time slots, leverage powerful insights and volunteer analytics, and all from the easy-to-use dashboard in your mobile app.
  3. Simplified Administration
    When dealing with dozens of individuals, volunteer scheduling and administration can become chaotic and complicated. However, Golden’s software is designed to simplify your organization's administration process so that tasks such as volunteer recruitment, volunteer scheduling, and event coordination are easy to manage.
  4. Track Using Deep Influence
    Golden’s platform is designed to make networking for volunteerism easy. That's why every volunteer opportunity you post on Golden can instantly be shared via SMS or social media apps such as WhatsApp, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, Slack, and more. Plus, with its award-winning proprietary tracking technology, Deep Influence, you can track who signs up through your shared links, how many hours those individuals volunteer, and how much is donated to your cause, all in real-time. So you'll be able to build deeper, more powerful connections within your community.
  5. Communication Hub
    Communicating and coordinating with dozens of volunteers can be tiresome for larger organizations. With Golden's integrated communication hub, communication woes are a thing of the past. It allows you to create and share volunteer opportunities easily, contact potential volunteer recruits, and simplify the entire volunteer administration process
  6. Online Background Checks
    When planning volunteer opportunities, you need to know that the people you're recruiting are genuinely who they say they are. Fortunately, Golden’s volunteer management software enables you to swiftly perform online background checks, ensuring that your team will consist of the best, safest, and most reliable volunteers you can find!
  7. Works on All Devices
    A huge benefit with Golden’s volunteer manage software is that it works on all devices, such as desktops with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, and other leading web browsers using mobile responsive websites; native mobile apps for iOS/iPhone and Android; communications via email, SMS text, push notifications; and API integrations with other software systems of note, including CRMs like Salesforce, Blackbaud, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.

What to Look for in Volunteer Management Software

Let's look at a few prominent tools and features to look for as you plan to select a suitable volunteer management software. 

  • Brand Focus, Total Control
    Ensure your organization can leverage the software using a branded, volunteer-facing web portal. In other words, while you handle all your processes using the software, you should be able to use your own branding prominently and have complete control of the content.
  • Groups and Time Slots
    The platform should ideally have a provision for groups to allow organizations to create lists of participants, which you can sort based on experience, credentials, skills, etc. You should also be able to add time slots to your volunteer opportunities, which can be based on the maximum number of participants needed or the exact time of day or duration of the event.
  • Seamless Integration
    If you have an existing volunteer database, volunteer portal, event management system, or scheduling software in use, the volunteer management software that you choose should be able to easily integrate with other software, such as Salesforce 2.0, Microsoft Dynamics, Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Kindful, and Nation Builder.

You’ll find these features in Golden’s volunteer management software. It ticks all three boxes regarding what modern-day organizations need for running their volunteer platforms!

It’s time you discovered Golden. Try out the world's most awarded volunteer platform now!

Request a Demo

Best Practices For Effective Volunteer Management

When it comes to managing your volunteers’ efforts, you must do everything you can to improve your nonprofit's reputation while empowering your volunteers to be the best they can be. To be able to do that, capitalizing on the best tech platform is the way forward.

An easy-to-use volunteer management software solution makes it easy to oversee your volunteer efforts. So whether you need to attract and recruit volunteers or need a hand monitoring and tracking volunteer contributions, Golden can help!

Does the Software Benefit Volunteers, too?

One of the best things about Golden’s volunteer management software is that it's not only designed to simplify and facilitate the way organizations operate. But it's also designed to provide benefits to volunteers, such as allowing them to track volunteer hours - which they might need later in their career - and gain rewards and recognition for their service.

When organizations use Golden’s software for volunteer management, their volunteers gain the exclusive ability to earn and collect what are called ‘Karats’ - it’s like a social currency that isn't just about getting more but being more!

It works like this. Volunteers earn Karats when they complete volunteer opportunities or network with other participants in the Golden community. They can then choose to collect Karats, or they can send Karats to their family, friends, and other volunteers as a way to recognize the work they do together!

Finally, volunteers who hold Karats are entered into bi-weekly drawings for once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as sitting courtside to watch the Lakers or attending a one-on-one meeting with celebs like Billie Eilish!

‘Tech’ Our Word for it!

It's essential to recognize the importance of what nonprofits and their volunteers do for the world. After all, volunteerism has an estimated value of more than $184 billion, and about 25% of Americans take time out to participate in community services.

It's clear how valuable the act of volunteering is for the greater good and how seriously people take it.

Winston Churchill had famously said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” Given the growing significance of volunteerism in a world where more and more people are willing to serve their community, Golden’s volunteer management software is precisely what your organization needs.