A volunteer could give their time and skills to help you build your website. However, you need to think carefully about your expectations and their motivations, be realistic about what can be achieved and how quickly, and plan for the inevitable time when your volunteer decides to quit. Here are some thoughts on how to find and manage website volunteers.
Voluntary doesn’t mean amateur
Don’t ask a volunteer to design your website unless they have the same skills as a professional web designer. Interview them and ask to see other work that they’ve done, until you’re satisfied they can do the job properly. If they can talk confidently to you about web design without talking over your head, that’s a good sign. Don’t be afraid to reject volunteers if they’re unsuitable.
If you need a volunteer to help keep the site’s content up-to-date then techie skills are less important: look instead for someone with good grammar and spelling, fairly good basic computing skills, the ability to copy text accurately, and plenty of spare time on their hands.
The better organised you are, the more likely your volunteers are to do a good job for you. Always provide them with a short, clearly written project brief and state what standards you expect.
Get free advice
Web design is a constantly shifting area of technology and you may sometimes need advice. Many consultants and web professionals are happy to give some pro-bono advice, particularly if it can be done quickly. If your website isn’t getting many visitors, ask an expert in search engine optimisation to give an hour or two of their time to help you figure out what the reason and solution might be. If you don’t know which content management system to implement on your new website, find an expert to help you decide. It doesn’t hurt to ask and if they decline, thank them graciously for getting back to you. If they agree, ask for a short written report and remember to thank them.
Find a geek
In the UK a charity called IT4Communities can help you find a suitable volunteer. I’d definitely recommend you contact them rather than use your local Volunteer Centre: IT4Communities specialise in matching you with technically adept volunteers and will help you define your needs properly.
What’s their motivation?
Volunteers need to get something out of the work they do for you: a sense of achievement, sharing skills, socialising. If they do a good job, send them a thank you letter, provide them with a reference or recommend their work to other charities.
School kids and university students are often given a project to create a simple website. They may decide to ‘help’ a charity by using them as their project. Remember, by definition a student is someone who hasn’t yet learned to do something, so why let them loose on your site? They almost certainly won’t be available to fix any problems afterwards.
Watch out for wannabe web designers who want to build up their portfolio by creating you a free website. An organisation I know once had a volunteer design their website. He became angry when they later altered the colour scheme because it no longer matched the picture in his portfolio. Volunteers should be doing the work primarily for your, not their own benefit. Also, very few beginning web designers can design standards-compliant websites.
Your volunteers won’t be around forever
Many are between jobs, retired, on holiday from university, employed part-time or on long-term sick leave and their situation may be subject to change with little notice. Therefore, don’t give long-term projects to volunteers unless the work could easily be taken on by someone else when they leave. Don’t give volunteers urgent work and tight deadlines, that’s unfair.
You’re in charge
If you’re not a very technically-minded person it can be tempting to leave everything in a volunteer’s hands, but this has its dangers. For example, I know a charity that fell out with their volunteer web designer, who then claimed copyright of their website, deleted it and changed the passwords. Ouch. When working with volunteers on websites, ensure that the charity has ownership of the domain name and the hosting account, retain all passwords, and make clear to the volunteer that you own copyright on any work they create for you. Ideally, put this in a simple, short contract that they sign. Try to communicate regularly with your volunteer about progress and any concerns you or they have.
Right, that’s enough from me. I’m giving some pro-bono consultancy this week to a not-for-profit organisation that owns a big square-rigged sailing ship. Their website doesn’t quite get across how magnificent the ship looks, there’s plenty of room for improvement and I’m looking forward to getting on board. If you’ll excuse the pun.
No related posts.
Thank you for giving this information. I am a VSO volunteer and looking for a volunteer who can help us build a website for a health organisation we are establishing. If you know of anybody, please let us know through the above email
Obel Dennis
on October 18th, 2007
Hi – more than happy to get involved in helping a charity or two out on the side with web design work – have done a few CMS for people. Please get in touch
)
ki105@ic.ac.uk
Kay Cee
on February 18th, 2008
Hi Kay
My name is Robert Gray from Castle Point Volunteer Centre
I am looking for a volunteer website designer to help our local group RUG Opera. RUG put on concerts and shows to raise funds for charities mostly based in Southend, but have also visited Suffolk, Brighton and Jersey.
RUG are putiing on a Charity Gala Production of Die Fledermaus in November in support of Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund and Far Havens Hospice and would like to set up a website so that we can sell lots of tickets and and support these charities.
So a few thoughts:
where are you based, would it be practical to help,
what are the costs of buying a site and hosting it?
I would be realyy grateful if you were able to help
With best wishes
Robert Gray
Robert Gray
on April 8th, 2008
Hi,
I’m Cornelius and live in a small town near the famous Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya. I run a small business training centre with several volunteers requseting the wesite and see if they will assist us in training our poor youths.
We will like to get a volunteer to assist us to build a simple website to assist us get global awareness.
Thanks in advance.
check http://www.marahills.blogspot.com for waht we are doing.
Cornelius
email me: marahills@gmail.com
Cornelius
on August 28th, 2008
Im always on the lookout to build up my ‘portfolio’. If anyone wants a voluntary web designer/builder email me on the address below. I have designed websites and will happily answer any questions you might have.
email: saam_1@hotmail.co.uk
Robert Gray
“what are the costs of buying a site and hosting it?”
it depends what your after, a simple forum site you can get for free (www.proboards.com). But if you want a full site it does cost, the best thing to do is to look around and see what suits you the best. There are plenty of different web hosters so you will find what you want, or you can get someone like me to do it for you.
sam
on August 31st, 2008
How do you retain volunteers
tchewe
on December 7th, 2008
I am in need of a web designed that can help me create a website for a 501 c3 that was started in 2005.We are devoted to the education and medical research for a genetic disease. I am based in Los Angeles, Calif.
Bonnie Pastor
on December 27th, 2008
I have just finished building a site for a non profit org and so am now free to take on another project.
Please email me at the.brit@ymail.com
sam N
on April 12th, 2009
Hi, I’m looking for a volunteer to design and build a community web site that will work similarly to the BBC-i web site. Is anyone interested?
Thanks
Clarkie
on May 8th, 2009
We are a local charity organisation in Uganda looking for a volunteer to buid a website. We work with the local community children infected with HIV/AIDS and are trying to rebuild the lives of many whe were displaced by the civil war.
Hope Okeny
on June 20th, 2009
Hope Okeny,
If you could email me at: the.brit@ymail.com, i will be more than happy to work with you to get a site. I can also show you previous sites I have built for other NPO’s.
Sam
on July 9th, 2009
YES, I can definitely contribute my tech skills helping Dulles SHRM website. For any questions or help, please email at thankyou@hotmail.com.
Alex
on August 6th, 2009
Hi, A Homeless Charity, who provides temporay cold weather accomadation for homeless people are looking for someone to build them a website. We are happy to provide a reference and assist in any other way, for who ever designs our website.
Thanking You
Ed Linehan
on October 8th, 2009
Hi,
I’m looking for a volunteer to design and build a web site for European paediatric formulation initiative (EuPFI). EuPFI is discussion forum of experts predominantly from industry, as well as academia and clinical pharmacy. Its main aim and objective is to identify/scope issues and challenges in paediatric formulation in order to raise awareness and facilitate preparation of better/safe medicines for children.
We wish to develop a new website. We are seeking a volunteer to help us with this task. This is good opportunity for the students who are keen in taking on the projects to gain experience and to add to their portfolio.
Please let me know if anyone anyone is interested?
Is anyone interested?
Smita Salunke
on January 5th, 2010
Hi,
We’re starting a children’s home for HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. It is called O’brien Homes named after O’brien Family (Founder and President of O’brien Homes International)whoa are both HIV Positive.
The Homes will provide orphanage services to over 60 orphans who are from families or victims of HIV/AIDS parents.
It will create a home away from home with full facilities like School, Residence, Market and fully serviced 30Acre compound.
Thank you for the assistance and acceptance.
Jordan O’brien
Jordan O'brien
on January 8th, 2010
I am interested to do a volunteering jobs to design a website.
I could help if anyone needed a job. Just text me back.
akhil
on January 27th, 2010
Hi
I am looking for a volunteer to help me build my charity website on free help on depression, loneliness, relationship etc. I also want to build a ahop on;line selling videos
angel
on February 16th, 2010
Please, anyone from a charity in the UK that needs a volunteer to help them, contact IT4Communities.
Jason King
on March 8th, 2010
Hello, I have a health and beauty consultant company, we do volunteer work for the community for hospitals and schools I am in need of help to make a website for the company we will be having an event in the summer of 2010 and we have a lot of media and other organizations teaming up with us especially now that we are campaigning for World Empathy. we are a really positive company we work will hair-loss patients if there’s any help out there it would be greatly apreciated.ebsobers@gmail.com
Ebony Sobers
on April 11th, 2010
Hello,
Our organisation “THE AMERICAN AFRICAN YOTH CENTER” based in USA mission is to help schools and charities in Africa to fulfill their needs. Actually, we are looking for a volunteer to build a website for a school in Cameroon. If you can help, please email for more information at mcascorg@yahoo.com
Thank you,
Brigitte
Brigitte
on May 28th, 2010
Hello!
The Pixel Project, a volunteer-staffed 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organisation working to end violence against women is in need of a web designer who would be able to assist us for the duration of our current campaign.
Volunteer period spans from now (ASAP, actually) to March 2011.
Please email us for a full job description. We estimate an average of 5 to 8 hours per week required.
Thanks!
Regina
Regina
on July 14th, 2010