Volunteer Global

I read some time ago about a volunteer who was a little disappointed that her host organization didn’t keep in touch with their former participants. On her project, she assisted with renovation and restoration of a historic building – and would have loved to hear updates in the two years since she returned home.

Unfortunately, the organization didn’t provide the opportunity to connect with its past participants, either through a listserv, newsletters, or even periodic updates on the website.

While many groups offer these options, I’m curious to know how many don’t. And related to that, I would be very interested to know how many volunteer organizations out there offer the chance for their prospective, current, and future participants to connect with one another. For example, I know Earthwatch provides a list of volunteers who have given permission for those with questions to contact them (in fact, I have a friend I found through that same list!).

I understand there is a privacy concern, as well as an issue as far as man hours and capabilities go. Once you create a listserv or an online database, you’ll have to make sure you have the time and ability to add, delete, and update everyone on there; and some volunteer organizations just don’t have the capability to take on this task.

I’m kind of wondering though, before I really delve into my own research – do you know if anyone else has compiled statistics on the following?:

• Percentage of volunteer organizations that maintain listservs for periodic updates to former volunteers only (i.e., group writing to volunteers; no contact information from volunteer to volunteer)
• Percentage of volunteer organizations that have the capability for their volunteers to connect with one another
• Percentage of volunteer organizations that provide regular project updates on their websites

If you have any ideas or suggestions – please leave ‘em in the comments!