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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

• determined they are ready for virtual volunteering
  
• set the internal groundwork and first steps for such a program, and
  
• reviewed our tips on managing offsite volunteers via the Internet

Technical assistance volunteers are greatly valued by nonprofit and public sector organizations.

Picture these scenarios in a nonprofit setting:

• a volunteer lawyer explaining a legal issue dealing with human resources

• a volunteer helping someone use a computer, use software, or use the Internet

• a volunteer accountant explaining complicated financial practices

 
To keep the volunteer experience beneficial rather than frustrating for everyone involved, we offer these suggestions, to be used in conjunction with our other Virtual Volunteering Resources

• Ask the volunteer to review Dos and Don'ts for Technical Assistance Volunteers here on the Virtual Volunteering Project Web site, and tell them why these suggestions are particularly important to your organization.

• Communicate your agency's budget and staffing limitations for this assignment. Many volunteers do not understand that not-for-profit organizations and public sector agencies operate in a world of very limited resources, or that they don't have a staff member devoted solely to human resources, another to legal issues, another to computer systems, etc. Defining these limitations up front can help the volunteer develop an appropriate strategy for your organization before any action is taken.

• If this person is going to help with Web site development or maintenance, is he or she going to have access to your Web server? If so, make sure the volunteer understands that the password information is confidential, and be sure to set up criteria for when they can put information online (who should review it beforehand and give the final okay?). Also, be sure to change the password immediately upon the end of the volunteer's tenure (for more information, see Working with Web Volunteers)

• Ask the volunteer to provide technical documentation (e.g., how parts of a database relate to each other) and user documentation (e.g., how to do the data entry and how to solve the most common problems faced by the user) for the first piece before moving on to the next piece of a volunteer assignment. This way, if the volunteer must discontinue work on the project, the staff has the documentation needed to easily integrate a new volunteer into the project.

• If this person is going to do research, can he or she contact organizations on behalf of your agency? Do you want to be copied on any such e-mails sent? If the organization is going to do outreach via the Internet for your organization, give the volunteer a sample of how you would like e-mails written and signed.

• Do you understand what the volunteer is telling you or suggesting? If not -- ASK. The volunteer's professional expertise may involve language that's outside of laymen's terms, just as you use terms that people outside your field of expertise may not understand.

• Be patient, be supportive, and remember that not every volunteer job is right for every volunteer. The better your screening, orientation and supervising process, the less chance there is for misunderstandings or incomplete assignments. Remember that it is easier to start small and increase assignments than to start big and risk overwhelming your volunteer.