This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001. The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens. The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued. The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED. Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid. For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org. For new materials regarding online volunteering, see Jayne Cravens' web site (the section on volunteerism-related resources). |
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FAQs About the Virtual Volunteering Project
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managing technical assistance volunteers "virtually" This information was last updated on November 6, 2000 NOTE: These tips are focused on working with technical assistance volunteers -- those who work directly with staff on assignments such as research, writing, design, etc., rather than those who work with clients on an organization's behalf. The following is also most appropriate for organizations who have already
A technical assistance volunteer is a person who provides support to an agency's staff members or other volunteers (such as help with building a Web site or explaining a legal issue) rather than an organization's clients (such as mentoring young people). Technical assistance volunteers are greatly valued by nonprofit and public sector organizations. Picture these scenarios in a nonprofit setting:
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Also see our resource Working with Web Volunteers.
TechSoup has resources for recruiting and involving volunteers for computer/technology-related assistance (when you get to this link, click on the link to "volunteers").
The Christian Macintosh Users Group (CMUG) has a page on How to Work with Volunteers in Desktop Publishing at http://www.c-mug.org/H/yp.workvolunteers.html ; this page has additional information for both volunteer managers and volunteers themselves.
CompuMentor, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, has an online version of its handbook to prepare its mentors for what to expect in volunteer situations. It's available at:
http://www.compumentor.org/cm/resources/mentor/default.html
Also see Organizing A Technology Volunteer Program In Your School District for detailed advice on
assessing a volunteer technical team's resources, recruiting and screening volunteers, and creating effective communications between school coordinators and volunteers. While this is a school-focused resource, it is more than applicable to nonprofit settings as well.
Phil Agre has posted his excellent publications about computing's impact on community and social practice on his Web site at http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/. Phil Agre's comments are from How to help someone use a computer, an article available at CompuMentor's Web site, which was adapted from The Network Observer.
NetDay, a national effort to wire schools, has a How-To Guide at http://www.netday.org/how-to/, with information on how to coordinate volunteers to "wire" a school for Internet access and networking, sample checklists and follow-up systems for organizers, volunteers, and partners, advice on public relations, and a sample waiver form. The information is helpful to anyone coordinating technical assistance volunteers.
Some of this information is from The (Help) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management, a book by Katherine Noyes Campbell and Susan Ellis. Susan is president of ENERGIZE, Inc., an international publishing, training and consulting firm specializing in volunteerism, and is documenting this Project. See Susan's Web site at http://www.energizeinc.com/.
If you use this material to help your organization, please e-mail us and let us know!
If you find this or any other Virtual Volunteering Project information helpful, or would like to add information based on your own experience, please contact us.
If you do use Virtual Volunteering Project materials in your own workshop or trainings, or republish materials in your own publications, please let us know, so that we can track how this information is disseminated.
This is an archived version of the Virtual Volunteering Project web site from January 2001. The materials on the web site were written or compiled by Jayne Cravens. The Virtual Volunteering Project has been discontinued. The Virtual Volunteering Project web site IS NO LONGER UPDATED. Email addresses associated with the Virtual Volunteering Project are no longer valid. For any URL that no longer works, type the URL into archive.org. |
If you are interested in more up-to-date information about virtual volunteering, view the Virtual Volunteering Wiki.
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Jayne Cravens