Agencies Who Recruited Online Volunteers:
Responses April 2000

We've listed the feedback from the other 10 organizations who completed the survey below. Like last year, however, not all of these organizations understood that they had listed themselves online as having virtual volunteering opportunities available, not did some of these organizations understand, despite our careful wording of the survey, that we were asking ONLY about online volunteers (also true of last year's survey).

Findings from this survey are summarized here on our Web site.

April 5, 2000

Each year, the Virtual Volunteering Project http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/ selects a group of organizations that have used the "big three" online databases (ServeNet, VolunteerMatch, Action Without Borders) to recruit online volunteers. We then survey these selected organizations, and use the feedback to help advise nonprofits, schools and others about using the Internet to recruit and involve online volunteers.

You can see responses to previous surveys at:
http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/admin

Below the signature line of this e-mail is our short survey, which we would like for you to complete NO LATER THAN Monday, April 24. It should not take more than 10 minutes for you to complete this survey.

Your organization name or other identifying information will NOT be made public without your written consent.

PLEASE NOTE:
These survey questions are ONLY about your involvement of online volunteers, not volunteers who spend their service time onsite at your organization.

Thanks for your time.

1. The city & state your organization is based:

2. The geographic area served by your organization:

3. Your position:

4. Your role in working with volunteers
   (online volunteers as well as volunteers that come on site):

5. How many responses have you had to your virtual volunteering posting via VolunteerMatch, ServeNet or Action Without Borders?
   (remember, we are asking ONLY about responses to ONLINE volunteering opportunities, not opportunities that are onsite at your agency)

6. For those individuals who responded, saying that they were interested in volunteering with your organization -- what was the next step after you received this e-mail of interest?
   (did you call or e-mail them with more information about the assignment? direct them complete an online application? immediately send them the assignment to get started on?)

7. How many of these respondents are currently working on an online assignment, or, have completed an online assignment for you? (approximate numbers are fine)

8. If there are respondents who never received an online assignment, please detail the factors that has/have kept this from happening:
   the e-mail address of the respondent no longer worked, you weren't sure what the next step should be, you have not had time to send the potential volunteer more information, etc.)

9. For those online volunteers who found you via VolunteerMatch, ServeNet or Action Without Borders, AND are currently working on an online assignment for you OR have completed an online assignment for you, what was the nature of the assignment(s) performed or currently being performed?

10. How did you screen/orient the volunteers you involve(d) via the Internet?
    (how do you evaluate their skills, do you do reference checks, how do you tell them more about your organization and what its like to volunteer with your agency, etc.)

11. How do you/did you supervise and recognize/reward online volunteers for their contributions?

12. What factors in your organization have promoted the success of involving volunteers virtually?
    (having written task descriptions, having a volunteer manager, getting staff buy-in, etc.)

13. What factors in your organization have impeded the success of your virtual volunteering program?
    (staff reluctance to work with "unseen" volunteers, lack of pre-planning, etc.)

14. In what areas do you need the most assistance in working with online volunteers?
    writing task descriptions, developing an online orientation, knowing how to evaluate people online, how to record online volunteer hours and progress, etc.)

15. Please add any other comments you would like to send to us: