Matching App for Volunteering

📖 The Story

Who, When, and Where — Context

Through its digital platform, a US-based organization has made volunteer-nonprofit matching easier for years. Earlier in 2025, they announced an upcoming merger with a similar platform.

Why — Challenge

Despite the growing global interest in volunteerism, nonprofits have difficulty recruiting qualified volunteers and placing them in the right positions. Prospective volunteers also have trouble finding an ideal opportunity among numerous “job postings” across various channels. In the end, potential mismatches or lost opportunities may occur, weakening the impact of both sides’ work.

What and How — Tech Solution

The US-based organization has developed VolunteerMatch, an online platform that helps match nonprofits and volunteers. As a job search engine, the platform can be a go-to place for those seeking meaningful work — potential volunteers. Meanwhile, nonprofits can supplement their volunteer recruitment and marketing efforts by registering their organization and available opportunities on the platform. To ensure a good match for both parties, users can filter the list of volunteer opportunities e.g., by in-person vs. virtual, location, type of cause, and required skills.

💡 Key Insights

• 🗒️ Volunteer recruitment is as hard as a for-profit business’s search for full-time employees. The challenge needs a technological intervention just like any other online job posting platform like LinkedIn and Indeed.

• 🛑 Mismatched assignments or missed candidates have direct negative impacts on organizations. They slow down their work in the field and damage their relationships with their partners and local communities.

• 📥️ The positive impact can be amplified when multiple parties collaborate. VolunteerMatch, for example, is a nonprofit by itself, and they partner with other nonprofits that want to advertise their volunteer opportunities. The nonprofit-nonprofit partnership allows each player to work beyond their internal capacity.

✅ Try This

Search for a volunteer opportunity at VolunteerMatch and observe what you discover (in your area of expertise).

📊 Did You Know?

In the United Nations’ 2022 State of the World Volunteerism Report, it is estimated that volunteers’ contributions globally are equivalent to approximately 61,000,000 full-time workers monthly, assuming a 40-hour week.