Finding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
/ Online Micro volunteering
credits and disclaimer and Why should you trust the information on this web page?
Contents:
Volunteer or community service means actions, activity, engagement -- doing something that needs to be done and that helps the community or a cause. People engaged in virtual volunteering undertake a variety of activities, such as:
It is so easy to say yes to volunteering via the Internet that many people sign up to do so before really considering their schedule. Most volunteers who take this approach end up never having that spare time originally envisioned and do not complete an assignments they committed to doing, leaving the organization scrambling to get the work done by others. Saying yes to virtual volunteering but then not completing an assignment also affects the organization's view of online volunteers: staff may decide online volunteers are not trustworthy nor reliable, and challenge or even halt attempts to expand virtual volunteering at an organization. Most volunteering that you can do from your home or a school computer, or even a handheld device like a smart phone, requires a certain degree of expertise, such as designing flyers, maintaining a web site, translating text, editing video, designing a database, writing press releases or funding proposals, managing online social networking activities, writing code for software, etc. The Virtual Volunteering Wiki has a long list of what online volunteers do. Even if you have the expertise necessary to volunteer online, in some cases, you may have to go onsite somewhere to meet face-to-face with a representative of the organization you want to help, to introduce yourself, to go through their orientation, to meet staff, and maybe even to convince them to allow you to volunteer online. Below is a list of organizations that recruit online volunteers specifically, some even exclusively, and you do not have to go onsite to volunteer online with any of them. Some of the sites are individual nonprofit organizations, university-based programs or government-based programs, and you will assist that particular program as an online volunteer. Other sites are volunteer recruitment sites that allow organizations to post virtual volunteering assignments and allow you to sign up for them. Many of the assignments don't talk about virtual volunteering, but that's what they are - instead, they might use phrases like "citizen scientists." Most of the organizations listed on this page will NOT track your volunteer hours - you will have to do that yourself in most cases. The only way to know for sure is for you to ask each individual program you are interested in if they will provide such documentation. If you need the organization to write a letter for you confirming your service hours for a court or a school, you will have to ask BEFORE you start volunteering if the organization will do this. If you explain how you will track the time you volunteer online, and agree to a probation period of, say, a week, that shows you will get a lot done, many organizations will agree to sign such a letter that attests to your hours. What is NOT below is a list of every organization involving online volunteers. There are many thousands of organizations involving online volunteers. MANY THOUSANDS. And there is no database of every organization that involves online volunteers. The majority of online volunteers assist traditional organizations, from their local council office or service unit of the Girl Scouts of the USA to the local library. Animal shelters, organizations that mentor young people, organizations that support immigrants and refugees, homeless shelters, communities of faith (churches, mosques, temples), community gardens, community theaters, nonprofit zoos, YWCAs and on and on involve online volunteers, to create web pages, to write articles for a newsletter, to test an online tool, to translate text from one language to another, to moderate or facilitate an online discussion group, to research a subject online and gather information, to make regular posts to Facebook, to Tweet regularly, to mentor people, and on and on. And most of these traditional organizations that involve online volunteers may have never really thought, "Hey, these are online volunteers! What we're doing is virtual volunteering!" Do not limit your search for online volunteering to the list of organizations on this page. Ask at organizations in your neighborhood, town or city if you can offer your services as an online volunteer. Write them and offer to:
Look at organizations that mentor or tutor young people, immigrants, refugees, new entrepreneurs, etc. Look at their web sites. You may find that they have a virtual program, an online program. Look into your local library. Because of COVID-19, the public library in Piscataway, New Jersey, converted its entire teen volunteering program online. Maybe your library has done something similar. Maybe your local public library has online volunteering opportunities like those that Piscataway has for teens in that town: Book Club Leader, Reading Buddies, Talk It Out, Tech Support, Teen Advisory Board, Virtual Program Assistant, Book & Movie Reviews, Skills Tutorial. To log completed volunteer hours, teens use the Teen Volunteer Hour Log form. Some opportunities require that a volunteer have a library card. Some require volunteers attend training sessions. Some require a basic understanding of Zoom, Hoopla Digital or Google Meet, or a strong willingness to learn. Just one requires the volunteer already have an understanding of the library's electronic resources (eLibraryNJ, hoopla digital, RB Digital, etc.). More information about these opportunities. Many organizations in your geographic area would be happy to involve you as an online volunteer, but they may want to meet you face-to-face first, have you go through their onsite training, etc., first. And they may never use the term virtual volunteering - and may not want to. Note: the vast majority of online volunteering opportunities are FREE - meaning you do NOT have to pay anything at all to participate - there are no costs other than in terms of your time. However, a few organizations do require you to join the organization as a member, and that membership may include a fee, which helps to cover their costs (the salary of the manager of volunteers, Internet access for the organization, etc.). Stay away from organizations that say you can pay a fee to them and they will give you community service hours for a court, or where you raise a certain amount of money for them and they give you a letter saying you did a certain amount of community service, or where your community service is just watching videos about traffic accidents and speeding, or caffeine, or whatever. THIS IS NOT VIRTUAL VOLUNTEERING. It's not community service. Read these comments by a person who paid for online community service from one of these companies and had it rejected by the court. That blog also links to blogs that links to TV stations that have investigated these schemes. Do NOT pay such companies - they are SCAMS. Below are legitimate virtual volunteering / online community service gigs, with real nonprofits.
Note: Web addresses / URLs change regularly, projects and organizations come and go. If a URL is broken, the program probably no longer exists - type the name of the program into Google to see if, perhaps, the program still exists but has moved somewhere else on the Web. If there is a fee: If a program charges you for "training" or "registration", please contact me if that fee is more than $25 - please include the name of the program and a link to the page that says there is a fee (or a screen capture of the email that said you must pay). If it's $25 or less, I'm not concerned. But if it's more than that, I would like to investigate further. The virtual volunteering assignments listed below are in four categories:
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Zooniverse is probably the largest database of virtual volunteering activities. It has everything from counting penguins in aerial photos, which is important for conservation efforts, to tagging images to transcribing historical documents. For instance, they recruited online volunteers for the Decoding World War I Punchcards, who helped tag digitized punch cards that represent soldiers in World War I served by the YMCA, housed at the Kautz Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries. 25,926 men and women are represented by these cards. By digitizing these cards and having them properly tagged, this project sheds light on these individuals and make freely available the biographical and demographic information contained within these cards. The list of virtual volunteering opportunities on the page you are reading now is in alphabetical order except for this entry for Zooniverse, and that's because Zooniverse has such a big list of projects to choose from. HOWEVER, note that, like most transcription and tagging opportunities, most of these initiatives will NOT track the time you spend as on online volunteer on these projects and will NOT provide a letter to a probation officer or high school or anyone else to confirm your volunteering hours - the only way to know if they do is to ask the individual program you want to help. Some of these activities could be done with children working with an adult.
AARP Create the Good is a volunteer matching platform that includes opportunities at a variety of nonprofits for remote volunteers. Anyone can use the site to find virtual volunteering activities in support of a variety of organizations.
Amava "is a member-centric organization dedicated to keeping people active and socially engaged — proven keys to fulfillment and longevity," offering "services for people who may be thinking about what’s next." Among their online offerings is a list of volunteering opportunities at various programs, many of them online.
Catchafire is an online volunteer matching service, and most of the assignments are very short (microvolunteering).
Chezuba is a platform to match online volunteers with nonprofits that need them (virtual volunteering). Chezuba means "thank you" in Burmese. "To become a volunteer with us, you will need to sign up with us. Once you sign up and fill in your details, you can select a project of your choice. When you’ve completed the project, you get a certificate at the end."
Communiteer.org, a matching service for nonprofits and online volunteers. Launched in 2019. "Communiteer is the facilitator that combines the technology behind social media platforms and job sites to form communities based on social good."
Democracy Lab. A nonprofit organization connecting skilled volunteers and tech-for-good projects. "We are open to projects from individuals, community organizations, non-profits, social purpose companies and government agencies. Our platform helps volunteers give back and develop new skills, while accelerating the evolution of new technologies that empower citizens and help institutions become more accessible, accountable, and efficient." Not all of their projects are entirely online.
Goodera KarmaHub. Based in India, it's yet another site of online volunteering roles and activities at a variety of organizations. Goodera does not charge the NGOs for using the platform to recruit volunteers, nor volunteers for searching or signing up.
HacesFalta - Oportunidades de voluntariado virtual. La mayoría de oportunidades está en España, pero algunos están en otros países. Note that this is the first European volunteer site to talk about virtual volunteering.
HacesFalda Mexico Oportunidades de voluntariado virtual ayudando a organizaciones en México.
Fast Forward is a nonprofit that matches volunteers and donors with tech-savvy nonprofit organizations who need online volunteers and/or funding.
ForGood, an online volunteering site focused on South Africa, launched around July 2014.
Helpful Peeps allows anyone to ask for help online from anyone. Askers do not have to be nonprofits. This site will NOT track your hours nor give you any certificate for volunteering.
Idealist/Action Without Borders has many volunteer tasks listed on its site that can be completed online. To find them, do keyword searchings using online and virtual on the Idealist site. You will have to read each assignment carefully to ensure it is actually virtual (many that will come up in your search are not).
United Nations Online Volunteering Service lists at least a few hundred online volunteering opportunities at any given time, at organizations working in or for the developing world (not just UN agencies).
Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) internships (unpaid) are online volunteering opportunities at various US government agencies, including US Forest Service agencies, US National Parks, the USA Geological Survey (USGS), the USA Delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, USA consulates in various countries and firefighter associations. These online volunteering opportunities are open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents in "student status." These positions are 10 hours a week. If your university or college agrees, you can get course credit. Every year, employees from across the federal government register as “mentors’ on the vsfs.state.gov site. They submit projects from May 1st - June 24th for interns to do through this program. Students apply in July. They choose three of the hundreds of projects and introduce themselves - virtually - to those mentors by writing a personal statement. August is matching month, when mentors get to see all the students who have picked their project. Through interviews and emails, mentors make their selections and work begins in September.
VoluCulture,
a Kenya-based initiative that promotes volunteering and
partnership opportunities with Kenya-based NGOs, and many of those
volunteering activities are virtual.
Voluntarios en la red; online volunteering in support of Mexico-based organizations.
VolunteerMatch has many of the volunteer tasks listed on its site tagged as virtual volunteering. However, read each assignment that interests you carefully, as many assignments (often most) are not virtual (many are mistagged).
BookShare.Org offers thousands of books to people with reading disabilities. As an online volunteer you can either scan books to be added to the collection or edit books that have been scanned. Tags: accessibility, accessible, disability.
Carnamah Historical Society virtual volunteering initiative (Australia) - Online volunteers help with transcription and indexing projects to make historical records more discoverable and searchable. Tags: history.
Boston Public Library's Anti-Slavery collection. Contains roughly 40,000 pieces of correspondence, broadsides, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and memorabilia from the 1830s through the 1870s. The extensive body of correspondence records interactions among leading abolitionists in the United States and Great Britain over a fifty year period, thus creating an archive that comprehensively documents the history of the 19th century anti-slavery movement in Boston as well as abroad through the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Through the participation of citizen historians, we now stand on the threshold of having available — free to all — the entire contents of the Boston Public Library's extraordinary Anti-Slavery Manuscripts collection: the personal papers of women and men who joined together, across barriers of race and class, in the Abolitionist crusade.
Climate Cardinals. An international nonprofit working to translate climate change research and information, making the climate movement more accessible to those who don’t speak English. "We aim to educate those who are unaware of climate change and provide them with information on how we can help combat this crisis." Here's the description of what volunteers do. Tags: science, global, scientists.
Colored Conventions, hosted at the University of Delaware. From 1830 until the 1890s, already free and once enslaved Black Americans came together in state and national political meetings in the USA called "Colored Conventions." Before the Civil War, they strategized about how to achieve educational, labor and legal justice at a moment when Black rights were constricting nationally and locally. After the Civil War, their numbers swelled as they continued to mobilize to ensure that Black citizenship rights and safety, Black labor rights and land, Black education and institutions would be protected under the law. Online volunteers transcribe newspaper accounts of these meetings, to allow this historical records to be more easily accessible and searchable for students and scholars across disciplines and for community researchers interested in the history of activist church, civil rights, educational and entrepreneurial engagement. "This project seeks to not only learn about the lives of male delegates, the places where they met and the social networks that they created, but also to account for the crucial work done by Black women in the broader social networks that made these conventions possible."
DIY History is an online volunteering project from the University of Iowa’s Digital Library. Online volunteers transcribe digitized artifacts related to Iowa history so that they become searchable, allowing researchers to quickly seek out specific information, and general users to browse and enjoy the materials more easily. Scanned documents that need to be transcribed and tagged include diaries, letters and newspaper articles from war time and manuscripts related to early Iowa lives, social justice, fanzines, recipes and cookbooks.
Digital Volunteer program at the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian seeks to engage the public in making its collections more accessible. "We're working hand-in-hand with digital volunteers to transcribe historic documents and collection records to facilitate research and excite the learning in everyone." Transcription turns handwritten and typed documents into searchable and machine-readable resources, creating an incredibly valuable asset for art, history, literary and scientific researchers across the globe. From high school to graduate studies, transcription allows students to engage with primary source materials – a key part of the learning experience. Transcription preserves these historic documents for future generations.
Distributed Proofreaders. These online volunteers turn public domain books into online books, mostly for Project Gutenberg. Many volunteers work on a book at the same time. Volunteers proofread each others' work. Tags: transcription, transcribe.
Grand Canyon Oral Histories. The project involves the taping of oral interviews with any number of people who lived or worked in the Grand Canyon or the nearby region. Online volunteers transcribe them. The recorded interviews and transcriptions are being stored in the Museum Collections at Grand Canyon National Park and made available online. "It is our hope these interviews will become a lasting record for the personal histories of the Grand Canyon, to be used in future research endeavors." Tages: history, historical.
FamilySearch. Transcribe scanned family records (census records, property deeds, marriage records, etc.). Tags: history, historical.
The Freedom on the Move (FOTM) public database project at Cornell University is a major digital database effort to make the search of North American fugitive slave advertisements in newspapers from regional, state, and other collections from the 1700s and 1800s easy to search and the data easy to evaluate. Online volunteers add data tags to the screened entries and transcribe the ads. Here is an excellent article on about the database, from which Dr. Mitchell's quote is taken. Note: this initiative will not track the hours you spend transcribing and tagging these historical advertisements. Tags: history, historical, transcription, transcribe.
Indiana World War I Service Record Cards is a project by the Indiana Archives that engages online volunteers in transcribing service record cards that detail the military service of Indiana men and women who served in the armed forces at the time of World War I. It also goes by the name of Indiana Archives and Records Administration Virtual Volunteer Program. Tags: history, historic.
Learning Ally, formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Many audiobooks are created with text-to-speech software that scans text from computer files and uses synthesized human voices to read the text aloud. However, illustrations or figures used throughout the books are not included. Online volunteers type those figure descriptions into the text, enabling students to receive ALL book material, not just the text. Tags: disabilities, disabled, transcription, transcribe.
Library of Congress By the People (crowd.loc.gov). Launched in the autumn of 2018 at the LOC's very first transcribe-a-thon and on the 155th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Online volunteers can transcribe, review and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library’s collections. These transcriptions improve search, readability and access to handwritten and typed documents for those who are not fully sighted or cannot read the handwriting of the original documents. The site also offers a free guide (PDF) on How to host a transcribe-a-thon (PDF). Note: I wrote the LOC folks on Twitter about all you students wanting letters to confirm you are doing this service. They responded: That's awesome! We have a few spots on our "About" page explaining how to obtain service documentation. e-mailing us at crowd@loc.gov is the best way to get specifics. We provide verification for students all the time! Tags: history, historic.
Mapping Prejudice. We cannot address the inequities of the present without an understanding of the past. Your help is needed to map racial covenants in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Structural barriers stopped many people who were not white from buying property and building wealth for most of 20th century throughout the USA. In Minneapolis, these restrictions served as powerful obstacles for people of color seeking safe and affordable housing. They also limited access to community resources like parks and schools. Racial covenants dovetailed with redlining and predatory lending practices to depress home ownership rates for African Americans. Contemporary white residents of Minneapolis like to think their city never had formal segregation. But racial covenants did the work of Jim Crow in northern cities like Minneapolis. This history has been willfully forgotten. The Mapping Prejudice was created to shed new light on these historic practices. The project relies on volunteers to read deeds and create the database needed to plot these covenants. The project has employed optical character recognition (ORC) to identity over 30,000 property deeds containing racial language in Hennepin County. But computers can only do some of the work. We need humans to examine the text flagged by the computer and answer a series of questions. We are using a digital platform that allows community members to contribute to this research. Volunteers sign in and see an image of a deed and a series of questions. They read over the deed in just a few minutes and answer these questions, entering the necessary data. The information that you enter will then be exported to our database and used to finish our map of racial restrictions. The results will be used to create a database and learning tools similar to the Segregated Seattle project. Tags: history, historic.
New York Public Library's collection of historic restaurant menus. If menus have been transcribed by other volunteers, then online volunteers can review transcriptions for errors, or can geotag the location of restaurants on a global map. Tags: history, historic.
1947 Partition Archive is "a grassroots, non-political, 100% volunteer run effort to document and preserve eye witness accounts from the partition of British India into present day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1947." Online volunteers can help with transcription of interviews (many interviews are in English), translation of interviews and other materials from/into Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Sindhi, and English, video editing, online outreach or legal advice. Tags: history, historic.
New York Public Library building inspector transcriptions. Online volunteers are helping to annotate digitized insurance atlases that map the history of the city's buildings and streets. Online volunteers can help to draw and check borders of property lines and buildings, enter addresses written on the maps, classify colors, and find place names. "Imagine if maps had a magic switch that let you explore the geography of the past. The Library wants to do this for New York City, turning historical atlases into time machines. To do it we need to harvest all the fantastic detail from the original maps: building footprints, addresses, place names, construction materials etc. — clues that will help unlock a million stories. With this information organized and searchable, you can ask new kinds of questions about history. Peel back the layers of the city and replay its growth. 'Check in' to vanished establishments and meet their ghostly proprietors. Or discover related historical documents (newspapers, photographs, business directories…) linked by place and time." Tags: history, historic.
Old Weather project: online volunteers transcribe hand-written weather observations made by Royal Navy ships around the time of World War I; using old weather observations can help predict our climate's future. Tags: history, historical, climate, science.
Royal British Columbia Museum Transcribe project (Canada). Online volunteers transcribe various collections from the museum, including diaries, government papers, and more. "The transcriptions you create will become searchable data, facilitating learning and research around the world. Whether you choose to transcribe one page, one hundred pages, or just browse our collections, you’re helping us share the stories that matter." Tags: history, historic.
Bpeace is a USA-based nonprofit that recruits business professionals to help entrepreneurs in countries emerging from war, like Rwanda and Afghanistan, to create and expand businesses and employment (particularly for women). You will need a particular area of expertise regarding business development or project management, or know where to recruit American-based businesses who will host entrepreneurs who travel to the USA for the program, and pay the annual membership fee, in order to volunteer with BPEACE online.
Career Village. An online platform where students ask career questions that are answered by people working, or that have worked, in that field. "Share your experiences directly with students on CareerVillage when your schedule permits—whether you're at home or on the road, whether it's day or evening, whether it's a weekday or the weekend. You control what types of questions you want to answer, and how often you are notified of student questions. Your answers can be one sentence or many paragraphs. All you need is a LinkedIn account to start helping students become better informed about the decision they are facing."
Cherie Blair Foundation Online Mentors. Online mentors are successful business women in the U.K., and mentor online women entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Cricket Together (formerly IntoBooks) is an online mentoring program where students and their adult mentors read the same books and then discuss them online. It's part of the ePals program.
Crisis Text Line is a free 24/7 national crisis-intervention / counseling service conducted exclusively through SMS text. Texting has become a fundamental way to communicate, particularly among people under 20. Volunteers use the nonprofit's web-based platform to provide emotional support to texters who are dealing with a wide range of issues– bullying, self harm, suicidal thoughts, and more. This is NOT micro-volunteering; candidates go through screening and accepted candidates go through a 34 hour, eight week training, which can be done at the volunteer's own pace from anywhere and includes: video lessons, quizzes, live role plays, on-platform observations, and trainer mentoring. Volunteers that complete the training then sign on to take one four-hour shift each week for a year. Note: the majority of people who apply to volunteer do NOT get to volunteer. This program has far more volunteer applicants than it has openings for such.
Empower Work is a nonprofit that supports people in need of confidential support with a trained peer counselor via SMS text or live chat at critical moments in the workplace, when guidance or even just a sympathetic ear is needed. It's for anyone who feels the need to talk about anything that feels challenging, overwhelming, or tough at work. Empower Work's peer counselors are volunteers that are screened and trained to provide appropriate, immediate support, and these volunteers utilize their robust training not just on the line, but in their own workplaces. "Our training is based in core coaching areas including establishing trust, active listening, powerful questioning, and forward momentum. We also delve into key management, rights, and workplace dynamics." Volunteers are asked that you commit at least two hours a week for six months.
Heart Math Tutoring. Based in and serving Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Virginia Schools. For citizens and green card holders only (and preference for volunteers in the area where students are). In response to COVID-19, Heart Tutoring is preparing for a virtual tutoring model for the 2020-21 school year. According to the web site: "We appreciate volunteer sign-ups throughout the school year! Ideally, volunteers begin tutoring in late September and continue through April in order to provide students with as much time in the program as possible. However, when a volunteer signs up later in the school year, we are normally able to add students to the program. Many students need extra help in math, and every time a volunteer signs up, an additional student can be tutored... That 98% of over 1,500 students to date have demonstrated significant growth in math is evidence that the curriculum is easy to follow and anyone can be an effective tutor through this program." Volunteers commit to weekly tutoring sessions that last either 30 minutes or 1 hour. The first of those weekly sessions is an hour long orientation, where Heart introduces volunteers to the curriculum and session logistics and equips volunteers with a beginning knowledge of the broader context of student and school need. Thereafter, volunteers receive email communication between sessions, support during tutoring sessions, and optional training workshops on selected weekday evenings. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Virginia Schools requires all volunteers to complete a background check at cmsvolunteers.com.
Hire Heroes USA works to create job opportunities for U.S. military veterans and their spouses. The majority of its volunteers participate remotely, as online volunteers, helping with mock interviews, career counseling, job search guidance, guidance for preparing resumes and filling out applications, and marketing programs to veterans and spouses. "Professional experience in an industry or field is definitely a plus for most of our volunteer opportunities where you will be working directly with clients. However, there are always needs for support functions like fundraising, special events, social media, etc."
Grow Movement. Online volunteer business consultants from around the world work via Skype, phone and email to empower African entrepreneurs in Uganda, Rwanda and Malawi, helping them with business skills, enabling them to run their organizations more effectively, increase profitability and create jobs in their communities. "Our [online] volunteers are global business professionals with skills in marketing, finance, strategy and business development who offer their 12 consultancy sessions for free."
icouldbe.org is meant to connect the energy and expertise of mentors from various professions with the most vulnerable students in the US educational system - those that are most at-risk or most in need. However, note that you will receive very little training as a mentor in this program, and when the author of the page you are reading now participated in the program, not one of her emails sent to the organization seeking guidance was ever answered.
Infinite Family, an online mentoring program matching adults and families in the USA with at-risk, impoverished children in South Africa.
MicroMentor matches small business owners with business mentors. If you want to be a volunteer mentor, you should have three years of business ownership experience, or five years of management experience, or several years of professional experience in a specialized skill, such as marketing, web site development, accounting, financial planning, etc. The program is part of MercyCorps.
National Archives Citizen Archivists (USA). Online volunteers add tags or transcriptions to records and this helps improve search results on Google, Bing and other search engines, which helps to make these historical and artistic records more discoverable online. The added benefit is that transcriptions unlock the sometimes difficult to read text so that more people can find it and read it. "We like to say that as we tag and transcribe, we are unlocking history."
National Archives (USA) Flickr site, where you can help to tag historical photographs and documents that have been scanned and uploaded, so that they are easier to be found by students, scholars and others.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has a program mobilizing online volunteers to transcribe its Correspondence Collection which includes personal and professional letters, military cards, thank-you notes, and speech transcriptions relating to various subject matter that aids in documenting and describing the history of baseball.Shout is a non-profit organization providing a free, text-based support service for anyone struggling to cope or experiencing distress. It's available 24 hours a day and is staffed by volunteers from the UK or New Zealand. Shout supports people with depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, stress and anyone feeling overwhelmed and needing support. Volunteers must be over 18, commit to 25 hours of training and then commit to 200 hours of volunteering in a year, be ready to help people in distress in a non-judgemental way and have empathy, have access to a computer or laptop (volunteering is not done via a mobile even though it is a text service), volunteer from the UK or New Zealand, provide two references and go through and pass a background check. A volunteer in her blog notes, "On every shift you have a supervisor who supports you in conversations when needed and is there to flag any safeguarding concerns to. They also provide support and advice if a texter is suicidal. Alongside that support volunteers help each other. We have a chat room for volunteers to ask questions and share resources."
Sidelines, a USA-based non-profit organization providing international support for women and their families experiencing complicated pregnancies and premature births. Most of this support is provided by online volunteers who have experienced complicated pregnancies and premature births themselves.
Skills for Good has volunteer tasks listed on its site for a variety of organizations that are tagged as virtual volunteering or online volunteering. This site is to connect women volunteers with nonprofit organizations.
TeenCentral.Net, an online help site for teens to counsel teens in crisis. It is managed by the nonprofit KidsPeace.org.
The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) Mentoring Partnership supports newcomers to Toronto by matching them with mentors that help them finding meaningful employment.
Trevor Project operates TrevorSpace, an online, social networking community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 13 through 24, and their friends and allies. Online volunteers monitor the TrevorSpace site in an effort to maintain a safe space for young LGBTQ people online. Trainings for online volunteers are provided quarterly. Online volunteers are also needed on a one-time or continual basis to write program content for TrevorSpace. Note: the majority of people who apply to volunteer as counselors do NOT get to volunteer here; this program has far more volunteer applicants than it has openings for such.
United Way / Vello online mentoring program. United Way agencies use the Vello platform to bring together corporate-based teams of online volunteers to tutor students in classrooms in their area. A company sponsors a classroom at a school in its area and forms a volunteer tutor team to support students at that school. Vello undertakes the background checks for the volunteers, trains them and provides support. Tutors login to the classroom schedule and sign up for a 30 min reading session. Volunteers commit to one session each week. Through the Vello platform, which provides screen sharing and audio, tutors and students read e-books, complete comprehension quizzes and write summaries.
W.TEC (Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre) is a Nigerian nonprofit focused on encouraging girls to pursue technology careers and supporting both girls and women to use technology confidently for entrepreneurship and to speak about issues affecting their lives. They provide technology literacy training, technology-based projects, mentoring and work placement. W.TEC works in partnership with local and international NGOs, educational and research organizations and engages volunteers in much of its work, including online volunteers. Read over all of their programs and activities carefully and then contact them with specific ideas of how you would like to volunteer, emphasizing your IT skills and online training experience.
WorldPulse. You can read through the needs of women and women-focused NGOs in the developing world and, if that need could be addressed by an online volunteer (such as mentoring someone regarding digital literacy), you can express your interest via the WorldPulse community board. World Pulse itself also has specific roles/responsibilities for online volunteers. You will need to create an account on WorldPulse to get started.
Note: I no longer link to the site "7 Cups of Tea". To know why, look up 7 Cups on the volunteer subreddit (a Reddit community for the discussion of volunteering and volunteerism). The reports by people who volunteered there convinced me it is not a quality program.
Amnesty International Decoders are online volunteers, or digital volunteers, that help the organization expose human rights abuses. Volunteers receive a brief description of a person or people who have suffered human rights abuses years ago and needed support. The volunteers then use an AI tool to identify key details about the people involved and whether there was a positive result. The information is compiled and used by AI in its research and data tracking about human rights abuses and responses. "With your contributions, we can decode the results of numerous Urgent Actions from the early ‘70s to the present day. This will help us understand when and where our campaigning has been most effective." Tags: human rights.
Association of Internet Research Specialists promotes the value, integrity, education, science and art of internet searching. "A qualified Internet Research Professional (IRP) is expected to identify problem, make reasonable assumptions, find information, tabulate data and identify qualitative and quantitative aspects of it - They make meaningful presentations and derive inferences as a result of their research while using Internet as a primary information retrieval tool." The organization has numerous online volunteering opportunities, including website content editing and auditing, auditing of an education course and examination procedures, technical edits and testing of online research techniques, assistance in teaching material development, assistance in educational video development, research assistant - course development, AIRS technical assistance, forum moderators, and technical blogs and article writers.
betterplace.org is an online platform where individuals, organizations and companies present development/humanitarian projects for which they need support. Anyone can observe, discuss and evaluate these projects, and choose to support any they wish, with money, in-kind donations, or donated expertise (volunteering). Also available in German (Deutsch).
Code for America has online volunteering opportunities that utilize web site and software development, design and writing skills of volunteers working from home. These contribute to civic technology projects across the country. Tags: coding.
Crisis Commons / CrisisCamp mobilizes technology volunteers to work together to create crisis / disaster response and learning events with volunteers, who collaborate to aggregate crisis data, develop prototype tools and train people on how to use technology tools to aid in crisis / disaster response. To be involved as an online volunteer, you need to be an experienced, credible IT expert and you need to establish a relationship with this organization BEFORE a crisis. If you cannot figure out how to contribute as an online volunteer after visiting the web site, you probably don't have the level tech skills needed for this organization's initiatives. To see what kinds of online volunteering opportunities offered through Crisis Commons, join their GoogleGroup.
CrowdDoing recruits online volunteers to engage in capacity-building activities for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, through the practice of what it calls "micro-leadership." It aims to "achieve systemic change through compound intrinsic leverage for impact."
Cuso International E-Volunteering. Cuso International is a development organization that works to reduce poverty and inequality through the efforts of highly skilled volunteers, collaborative partnerships and compassionate donors. Most of its volunteers serve online, but they also have this e-volunteering program. Tasks include translating, web site design, brochure design, logo design, editing, and advising on specific businesses, such as coffee processing and marketing. However, note that many tasks are available only to online volunteers that are Canadian citizens (can be anywhere) or people living in Canada.
Doe Network. Devoted to to assisting official law enforcement agencies in solving cold cases concerning unexplained disappearances and unidentified Victims from North America, Australia and Europe. Online volunteers also help translate documents into various languages. The Doe Network has been recognized as part of the Responsible Volunteer Community by the U.S.A. Department Of Justice. Tags: police, crime.
ebird database, supporting the National Audubon Society. You go "birding" or bird-watching, observing birds with your eye or binoculars, and then enter into the database when, where, and how you went birding, completing a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. Tags: science, environment, climate.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Volunteer Monitoring Program - this is a mix of online and remote volunteering. Volunteers collect data from the environments around them at their homes or work and submit the information online to the EPA. Tags: science, environment, climate, weather.
eVidyaloka is an NGO/not-for-profit organization working to help students in rural India. Online volunteer teachers support local teachers in their classrooms, primarily in the subjects of mathematics, science and English. eVidyaloka orchestras the involvement of online volunteer teachers in local classrooms, and teachers use Skype to deliver their courses. Online volunteers can also help develop lesson plans and resources for the classroom, design teaching tools, support IT Systems supporting the class operations, and help with administration of the program. Online volunteers can be based anywhere, including outside of India; at minimum, they need a reliable computer, webcam, headset and broadband connection.
FLOSS Manuals Online volunteers produce free manuals about Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in their own language. "Today we have more than 120 books in more than 30 languages and more than 3,000 contributors over 5 independent language communities (French, English, Farsi, Dutch, Finnish)."
Global Owls: organizations send an email to the organization to request their marketing or web design question or need to be posted on the platform. After the project is posted, anyone can comment on it to give advice. The platform favors very simple questions and needs, like "How do you like my website?" Hours and contributions are not tracked in any way.
GLOBE Observer App: allows you to record environmental observations to compare to NASA satellite observations to help scientists studying Earth and the global environment. The app includes Clouds, which allows you to photograph clouds and record sky observations and compare them with NASA satellite images. Mosquito Habitat Mapper, asks you to identify potential breeding sites for mosquitoes, sample and count mosquito larvae, and with optional equipment, examine and photograph a specimen to identify its genus. Your observations are contributing to a global database that will be used to by scientists to verify predictive models of mosquito population dynamics based on satellite data. In addition, public health authorities have access to this mosquito data for use in managing disease risk in communities. As soon as the eclipse part of the app is released, it will automatically update in GLOBE Observer. Future versions of GLOBE Observer will add additional tools for you to use as a citizen environmental scientist.
Humanist International is a nonprofit based in the UK and is the global representative body of the humanist movement, uniting a diversity of non-religious organisations and individuals. We want everyone to live a life of dignity in a world where universal human rights are respected and protected, and where states uphold secularism. We work to build, support and represent the global humanist movement, defending human rights, particularly those of non-religious people, and promoting humanist values world-wide. HI recruits Translation Volunteers to translate from English into other UN languages (you can help on an ad hoc or ongoing basis) and Country Researchers to help produce The Freedom of Thought report, which surveys discrimination against the non-religious around the world (skills and experience in writing, research, or policy work would be beneficial). Use of email and online documents/online collaboration spaces is required. Information on how to apply.
Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). Key data needed by humanitarian workers addressing critical needs during a crisis, such as a natural disaster (flood, epidemic, etc.) or man made disaster (war, industrial accident), as well as data needed by other development workers and researchers, is often trapped in PDF documents; the needed data often appears in a summary table or as part of a dashboard or infographic. There is a great need to extract this data into a database so that it can be much more easily found, helping anyone to visualize trend lines across regions or countries and compare this data to other indicators. HDX is creating a structure for sharing this data. "We are asking for the support of volunteers to collect the data from the over 177 appeal documents published from 2004 to 2014. The task involves identifying the figures in each appeal and entering them into a form. The appeals are typically written in English or French." No special technical skills are required."
Humanity Road volunteers use Internet and mobile communications technology to collect, verify and route information online during sudden onset disaster. Using the Internet, they provide public safety information as well as directing the public to governmental and aid agencies that are providing assistance for the disaster.
Instant Wild web site and app is a project from the Zoological Society of London that online volunteers use look at wildlife pictures and videos from around the world and identify certain animals— wildcats in Costa Rica; otters in England; bears, wolves, and lynx in Croatia; jaguars in Mexico; critically-endangered Príncipe Thrush on the island of São Tomé; black and white rhinos in in Kenya—all of which saves scientists' time and helps conservation efforts. Seems like a fun online volunteering opportunity to do with children.
Internet Archive's Wayback Machine welcomes your submission of digital artifacts - old versions of web sites, copyright-free text, software and recordings, even movies. If a copyright has not expired, permission from the author must be provided as well.Knowbility, a nonprofit in Austin, Texas, hosts an annual online hackathon called the Accessibility Internet Rally where teams of web designers, all volunteers, work remotely over a five-week period building accessible web sites for nonprofits, NGOs and artists who may be a few miles or hundreds, even thousands, of miles away from them. Volunteer designers and developers need to either be professional web designers or students of web design or development, and ready to devote many hours each week over the five week design period.
Learning Ally, formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Online volunteers can record audio versions of books and other text. You could also be an online volunteer “Listener,” listening to juvenile and popular fiction or use your subject area expertise to listen to textbooks. You'll provide feedback to narrators, highlight issues with fluency and tone, mispronunciations, and audio quality.
LibriVox is a nonprofit that coordinates online volunteers to record audio versions of public domain books. You need to have software already that allows you to make such recordings (LibriVox does not provide such).
Map Rectifier Project by the New York Public Library. This geo-rectification toolkit creates layered digital maps utilizing all of the information available about a certain geography from sources as varied as Google's satellite imagery and fire insurance land maps that are two centuries old. Citizen geo-rectifiers index information that records how many floors a building once had or what a street was named at different points in time, and the resulting layered digital map shows the aggregate results.
MapSwipe. Online volunteers pinpoint where critical infrastructure and populations are located, allowing mappers to focus only on areas where they know features need to be mapped. You can also volunteer with your kids 13 years and older.
MarineBio E-volunteers - MarineBio seeks online volunteers to serve as science content producers/editors to write new content about marine biology, conservation and science. "We are looking primarily for proactive, independent, biology, zoology, marine biology, etc. students and graduates who wish to help us with our mission and goals. We are also interested in talking with you if you simply have time, energy and an interest in marine life and would like to help make a difference. We also need help with marketing and PR, networking with similar groups, and researching various topics involving marine conservation and marine life."
Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3): trained online volunteers providing assistance to the state in times of emergency cyber incidents. Individuals who wish to join must have IT and cyber security skills. To ensure that MiC3 members have the skills and expertise to successfully respond to cyber incidents, accepted volunteers are provided with access to OnDemand cyber security classes from the Michigan Cyber Range (MCR) and hands on exercises each year. And, yes, you have to be in Michigan to participate.
Mozilla/Firefox. Did you know that this web browser is produced by a nonprofit organization? "We believe in the power and potential of the Internet and want to see it thrive for everyone, everywhere." Mozilla involves hundreds of online volunteers, and "You don't have to be a C++ guru (or even know what that means!)" to contribute as an online volunteer.
The National Map Corps (TNM Corps), part of the U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). USA citizens collect data on structures and use it to add new features, remove obsolete points and correct data for The National Map database. Structures include schools, colleges and universities, fire stations, law enforcement centers, prisons, state government offices, hospitals and clinics, cemeteries, and post offices. Here is an excellent case study about the program.
New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault - Social Media Ambassadors. This online volunteer program empowers social media activists in New Jersey to support survivors, start conversations about sexual assault prevention and create safer online spaces. These online ambassadors like and comment on the coalition's social media content, share coalition online announcements and events to further boost awareness of its projects and helpt to initiate critical online conversations about prevention, awareness and more.
NOAA weather volunteers. Volunteers serve as storm spotters and daily weather observers. They record their weather observations online. You can join a national network of Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) volunteers.
The OpenMRS community is a worldwide network of volunteers from many different backgrounds including technology, health care, and international development. Together, they are working to build the world's largest and most flexible technology platform to support delivery of health care in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. "No matter what your background or interest, we'd love to have you help us save lives with Health IT."
OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by online volunteers. Anyone can contribute to its geographical database. However, note that the project will not record your hours of service nor provide any documentation to a school, class, probation officer, court, etc. re: your record of online service.
Perverted Justice involves far more online volunteers than onsite volunteers, mostly as forum / Virtual Office contributors and moderators, providing links to resources, news stories and other information relating to Perverted Justice's mission of investigating, identifying, and publicizing adults who solicit online sexual conversations with adults posing as children or underage teenagers. Volunteers must be over 18. Volunteers who prove themselves as reliable and committed on the forum after several months become eligible for the Junior Contributor training program and higher-responsibility roles with the organization.
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline. Online volunteers who staff the online hotline have to complete a training course facilitated by RAINN, complete a background check, and be on time for shifts.
Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), is a global community of technologists dedicated to solving problems for charities, non-profits and social enterprises. Different independent groups all over the world organize these hackathons. The main web site no longer functions but typing Random Hacks of Kindness will find events in various cities. Not all involve online volunteers.
Reddit initiative to make Reddit more accessible: join the Reddit community (free to do so) and join other online volunteers providing transcriptions for those who rely on text-to-speech or other assistive software - mostly these are people with disabilities. This is a terrific microvolunteering opportunity as well, as it takes only minutes to transcribe something as a part of this initiative.
Safe Passage is an NGO based in London that helps refugees all over Europe who are fleeing conflict and extreme poverty" Safe Passage recruits volunteer interpreters and translators with fluency in a variety of languages, including Greek, Tigrinya, Amharic, Dari, Pashto, Farsi, Somali, Sorani and Kurmanji. These volunteers facilitate communication between legal and advocacy teams and the young people and families they support. Volunteers might interpret legal calls to help lawyers in London, Athens, and Paris complete the casework necessary to transfer a young person to safety in the UK, or translate documents and reports, or facilitate communication in groups. Volunteers must also be fluent in English. Volunteers should also have strong interpersoal skills, understand confidentiality and safeguarding protocols, be aware of cultural diversity, have a commitment to professional boundaries, have emotional resilience and ability to act impartially at all times. Training is provided.
Statistics Without Borders (SWB), an Outreach Group of the American Statistical Association. Comprised entirely of volunteers, it provides pro bono statistical consulting to organizations and government agencies, particularly from developing nations that do not have the resources for statistical services. In support of non-partisan and secular activities, SWB promotes the use of statistics to improve the health and well-being of all people, and its projects have included those in the areas of emergency and disaster management, humanitarian aid, child welfare, animal welfare, health services and education of girls in developing countries, among others. SWB has over 1,000 statisticians supporting our projects. To find out about how you can become a SWB volunteer, visit the web site.
Taproot Foundation recruits online volunteers for Taproot Plus, its consulting service for nonprofits. Volunteers can provide pro bono support for nonprofits, helping with projects like developing a social media strategy, developing an employee handbook development, guiding on business plan creation, providing a financial analysis or technology assessments, etc. Online volunteers also help nonprofits brainstorm, troubleshoot, and diagnose challenges in a one-hour, one-on-one virtual consultation sessions regarding marketing, human resources, strategic planning, finance, technology and more. Volunteers also lead lightening round consulting, teaming up with a small group of skilled volunteers to address a nonprofit’s challenge—from scope to deliverable—in one day.
Tarjimly
means “translate for me” in Arabic. This online tool, founded in
2017 in response to the Syrian refugee crisis, is designed to
increase the efficiency of humanitarian services by reducing
language barriers for those giving and receiving help. When a
situation arises for an emergency translation — from Farsi to
French — users can ping a virtual volunteer translator. Tarjimly
is used by the Seattle Flu Study, Harvard Medical School and the
Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Tor is free software for enabling anonymous communication, concealing a user's location and usage from anyone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis. Tor enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. It's a fundamental tool for activists all over the world who could be harmed for their work, and is sometimes used by women who are being stalked. The Tor Project is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is primarily responsible for maintaining Tor software, and it involves a lot of online volunteers.
Translators Without Borders, for volunteers who want to translate texts for NGOs and nonprofits (note that these kinds of volunteering opportunities are available at many of the other sites listed on this page).
US Digital Response
connects volunteers who are skilled in technology, data, design,
communications and operations to rapid-development tech project to
help governments and nonprofits improve their COVID-19 response
(tech to help with web sites or databases associated with testing,
vaccine appointments, drastic increases in unemployment filings,
etc.), food assistance, elections and more. "Our shareable tools,
practices, and pro bono expert volunteers can adapt to the
specific needs of any state or local government." For instance, for
Memphis, Tennessee: because of the effects of COVID-19 on
the economy, thousands of residents of Memphis, Tennessee are
struggling to pay rent, and the city faces risks of mass
evictions. To improve housing stability, NPI Memphis, in
partnership with Memphis Area
Legal Services and the University
of Memphis Law School, put in place a program to match
volunteer legal assistance and CARES Act funding with renters
and landlords so they could reach settlements and improve
housing stability in the area. To
streamline the hundreds of applications for legal aid that were
overwhelming NPI legal clerks, US Digital Response volunteers
built an
automated intake process that could
screen applicants, collect required files and signatures, and
generate case files so that legal clerks could focus on client
interactions and efficiently hand off cases for assignment.
US Digital Response volunteers
also built a grant tracking and reporting tool that makes it
easier for states to apply for and document spending of federal
stimulus funds. This free, secure tool has been implemented in
Rhode Island and Ohio, and can be reused across states and
government agencies within days.
We Make Change. "We are a global online volunteering community that creates online volunteering communities." It is a nonprofit, founded in 2017.
WeDigBio Lite: Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections, or WeDigBio, is a global data campaign, virtual science festival, and local outreach opportunity that mobilizes participants to create digital data about biodiversity specimens, including fish in jars, plants on sheets, insects on pins, and fossils in drawers. During the main WeDigBio event every October, some participants are at onsite events hosted by museums, field stations, universities, science classrooms, or other organizations. Other participants are distributed individually around the world and participate in a virtual meeting space and interact with scientists and others. The main WeDigBio 2020 event is in October, but online-only WeDigBio Lite events have been launched as of 2020. Find upcoming projects here.
Wikipedia, the largest online volunteering initiative in the world. To volunteer, you simply find an article you have some knowledge of and add information to the entry. You can also add brand new entries, if they meet the standards of Wikipedia regarding being "worthy." Note that Wikipedia now strongly encourages all additions to any entry be attributed to a verifiable source, and for each item in a new entry to have a cited source as well. In addition, note that Wikipedia will not record your hours of service nor provide any documentation to a school, class, probation officer, court, etc. re: your record of online service. One thing you could do in conjunction with Wikipedia and doing something impressive: Create an edit-a-thon, where you get a group of people together to edit Wikipedia to help improve particular content. For instance, look at how your city or neighborhood is represented on Wikipedia. Is there information lacking? If so, contact your local historical society and propose how you could organize a group of volunteers to help improve how your city or neighborhood is represented on Wikipedia. For instance, for the Wikipedia entry for my home town back in Kentucky, the history starts in the 18th century - yet, there were settlements here, of American Indians/Native Americans, prior to that. It's also lacking information about civil rights-related events in the city, which were substantial. Using the historical society resources and the local library, a group of volunteers could spend a few hours improving the entry for the town with this and more, through research, writing, and working with the historical society staff. You could also do edit-a-thons that improve or add entries regarding important women in your city, your region, your professional, your area of expertise, your culture, etc. (Wikipedia is severely-lacking in profiles of women).
Where Else To Find Virtual Volunteering / Microvolunteering
Opportunities
Do NOT limit your search for online volunteering to the aforementioned list on this page. You should ask at nonprofit organizations and government programs in your geographic area if you can offer your services as a volunteer to:
Don't send an email to nonprofits and say, "I want to microvolunteer" or "I want to do some virtual volunteering." Instead, say what it is you want to do: "I can help you with your web site, I can translate your newsletter, I can research subjects online," etc. Walking in and talking with someone, or calling, might be better than just sending an email, even if most of your work will be online.
For instance, there may be troops of Girl Scouts in your area that need help with designing fliers, moderating online discussion groups, writing press releases and sending them to the local press, update a web site and helping to maintain Facebook activities. Contact a local organization and ask how you can help with these kinds of tasks with local service units or troops - and be prepared to pay to join the organization as a member (very affordable) before you begin volunteering.
Look at how your city or neighborhood is represented on Wikipedia. Is there information lacking? If so, contact your local historical society and propose how you could help improve how your city or neighborhood is represented on Wikipedia. For instance, for the Wikipedia entry for my home town back in Kentucky, the history starts in the 18th century - yet, there were settlements here, of American Indians/Native Americans, prior to that. It's also lacking information about civil rights-related events in the city, which were substantial. Using the historical society resources and the local library, a volunteer could spend a few hours improving the entry for the town with this and more, through research, writing, and working with the historical society staff. The amount of improvement, and the amount of hours, can be determined by the volunteer.
If you are in Europe, this wiki, produced in 2013, has a list of more than 60 organizations involving online volunteers in EU countries. Countries represented include Spain (España), the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany (Deutschland), Poland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, France, and more.
Also see:
Home-Based (in your own home) Volunteering Where Your Service is NOT via a Computer or the Internet (at least not to actually DO the volunteering service, but you may need to report your work online).
Again, some courts and schools will NOT count online volunteering or home-based volunteering as part of your community service. You must get permission from them first before you embark on online volunteering or home-based volunteering to meet your community service obligation. It is your responsibility to understand the court's or school's or university's requirements for documenting your community service.
And keep in mind that an organization has every right to fire you / let you go as a volunteer, no matter how urgently you need to complete your community service. They are under no obligation to keep you -- especially if you have missed shifts, violated policies, etc.
Ideas for High
Impact Virtual Volunteering Activities
This resource is for people seeking ideas for an online project
that will mobilize online volunteers in activities that lead to a
sustainable, lasting benefit to a community or cause, particularly
for a community or audience that is at-risk or under-served. It
was created especially for programs looking for ways to engage
online volunteers in high-responsibility, high-impact tasks
focused on communities in the developing world, when onsite
volunteering abroad is not an option - which is what happened
because of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious
disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2). These ideas absolutely can be adapted for remote
volunteering within the same country where the online volunteers
live as well - "remote" could mean across town rather than around
the world.
Also see
Volunteering in the time of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19: how to find opportunities and how to stay safe, and keep others safe, while volunteering.
Home-Based (in your own home) Volunteering Where Your Service is NOT via a Computer or the Internet (at least not to actually DO the volunteering service, but you may need to report your work online).
Detailed information on Finding Community Service and Volunteering for Teens.How to Find Volunteering Opportunities, a resource for adults who want to volunteer
Using Your Business Skills for Good - Volunteering Your Business Management Skills, to help people starting or running small businesses / micro enterprises, to help people building businesses in high-poverty areas, and to help people entering or re-entering the work force.
Volunteering In Pursuit of a Medical, Veterinary or Social Work degree / career
Advice for volunteering as a group / volunteering in a group
Creating or Holding a Successful Community Event or Fund Raising Event.
Fund Raising For a Cause or Organization
Volunteering To Help After Major Disasters.
Volunteering with organizations that help animals and wildlife.
How to Make a Difference Internationally/Globally/in Another Country Without Going Abroad
Advice for family volunteering - volunteering by families with children and, related, advice for teaching children compassion & understanding instead of pity with regard to poverty.
You are NOT too young to volunteer! Ways you can volunteer, no matter how young you are
Advice for Finding Volunteer Activities During the Holidays
Details on how to quickly fill a community service obligation from a court or school.
Ideas for Leadership
Volunteering Activities
These are more than just do-it-yourself volunteering - these are
ideas to create or lead a sustainable, lasting benefit to a
community, recruiting others to help and to have a leadership
role as a volunteer. These can also be activities for the Girl
Scouts Gold Award, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (U.K.), a
mitzvah project, or even scholarship consideration.
Ideas for Creating Your Own Volunteering Activity.
Donating Things Instead of Cash or Time (In-Kind Contributions)
Ideas for Funding Your Volunteering Abroad Trip.
12 Reasons Not to Volunteer
Abroad
These are the most common reasons people say they want to
volunteer abroad. And they are not good reasons. In fact, they
often hurt people and animals in other countries, rather than
helping.
Details on ethical volunteering abroad (volunteering internationally).
Group Volunteering for Atheist and Secular Volunteers
How to complain about your volunteering experience.
How to Get a Job with the United Nations or Other International Humanitarian or Development Organization
Careers Working With Animals (for the benefit of animals)
How you can advocate for an issue important to you
Helping People Address Their Problems
with Plastic
How to mobilize a community to clean up plastic bottles, plastic
bags and other plastic waste from their environment, and how to
reduce their use of such items in the future
Home page for those that want to help Home page for this entire web site,
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consulting services & my
workshops & presentations my
credentials & expertise My
research projects My book: The Last Virtual
Volunteering Guidebook contact
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The Last
Virtual Volunteering Guidebook 
