I hear it all the time:

• The web master says he doesn’t have time to format our new pages thanking volunteers or explaining what volunteers do.
• The IT manager says he doesn’t have time to set up a private online discussion group for our volunteers.
• The systems manager says she doesn’t have time to find out if the volunteer management software I want to use is compatible with our other systems.

It’s why Susan Ellis and I put this in The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook:

Those working with volunteers should not have to beg for a spot on the IT staff’s to-do list or argue for basic functions they feel are necessary. If you encounter resistance, go higher and make your case to a manager above both functions. Detail in writ­ing your technical needs to work with volunteers and explain why you are asking for certain post­ ings or functionality. Just as the author of a book has more say over its contents than the printer, the content and priorities of a Web site or other Inter­ net outreach should be determined not by IT staff but by those directly involved in what needs to be accomplished. While it is fair to mutually deter­ mine deadlines with IT staff, your tech-related requests should not be answered with “when we have the time.” Settle for nothing less than real dates for completion of work, getting upper management to back you up. (page 17)

What are the consequences of not having the web pages your program needs regarding volunteer engagement? Or not having a private online discussion group for volunteers? Or not having volunteer management software? Write those out, explicitly – it’s part of the business case you need to have in writing, the evidence you need to shut down arguments against IT support for the IT you need to effectively recruit, engage and support volunteers.

In addition, you have every right to circumvent reluctant IT staff who aren’t doing what they should in terms of support for what you need. There are ways to mobilize volunteers to debunk their arguments against doing what you need in terms of IT.

For instance, if you have new pages you want added to your organization’s web site, and your web master says he doesn’t have time to create and add them, recruit a volunteer to design those pages for you, using your organization’s own web pages as a template, then present the finished pages to your web master: “Here are the pages we want added to the site, all prepared exactly the same as our current page, plus our current main page regarding volunteering with us, with updated links.” With the pages complete, the only thing the web master has to do is upload them to your site – nothing more. If he refuses? Time to have a sit down with HIS supervisor!

Another option: recruit volunteers to build your own free WordPress site with all of the information you regarding volunteer engagement at your program: requirements, accomplishments, recognition, application process, etc. Then ask the web master to link to those pages from the appropriate places on the organization’s web site. If he refuses? Time to have a sit down with HIS supervisor!

Need a private online group for your volunteers? You can do so for free with GoogleGroups – a much better option than a Facebook Group (many people like to keep their Facebook activities and their profile there separate from volunteering and professional activities). A volunteer could be recruited to create such a GoogleGroup for you and help you use it. Get it set up, start using it, make it an essential part of your work, and report on how it’s become essential and how you are using it to your supervisor – and make sure that supervisor knows that it was volunteers who made it possible, not the IT staff at your organization. If you use the group for a year or more and find you need something more advanced later, you will have a track record of success to show that it’s a worthwhile endeavor worthy of investment, one that the IT staff will need to support.

If you want volunteer engagement at your organization to be treated at the same level of importance as fundraising at your organization, you have to insist on it, not just hope for it. It’s so easy to recruit volunteers with the IT skills you need to better engage and support all volunteers. Want to be seen as a leader? Then LEAD. No one knows what you need to do your job better than YOU. And tech-savy volunteers are out there, ready to help you make it happen!

Also see:

• How Volunteers Can QUICKLY Help Your Program To Be More Accessible Online.
• Finding a Computer/Network Consultant.
• One(-ish) Day “Tech” Activities for Volunteers.
• Dos & don’ts for technical assistance volunteers / volunteers donating expertise.
• Marketing staff: either help promote volunteer engagement or GET OUT OF THE WAY.
• Infuriating statements about volunteering.

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