- conducting on-line research
- providing professional consulting
- designing brochures, newsletters, logos, etc.
- translating documents
- maintaining a database
- electronically "visiting" people in hospitals or homes
- providing on-line mentoring or instruction
- supporting group members via chat rooms or newsgroups
In 2002, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada) published a study, Virtual Volunteering: Current Status and Future Prospects. At that time, the study revealed, only 16% of volunteers reported volunteering in a virtual capacity. Of those, only 11% of virtual volunteers were involved in fundraising, and social networking was not even on the radar screen - at least not as its own separate "task".
Today, we are surrounded by virtual volunteers - most of whom have no "formal" relationship with, or assignment from, a particular charitable organization. They are the Facebookers, the bloggers, the Twitterers, and the thousands of everyday people advocating and raising money and awareness online on behalf of their communities and the entire planet.
For charities, there exists a great opportunity to tap into the vast resources available through virtual volunteering. And for many potential volunteers, the virtual world has opened a door to volunteer opportunities that may not have been accessible to them before - due to physical limitations, geographical separation, scheduling conflicts, or a host of other impediments to on-site volunteering.
More on engaging, supporting, and recognizing virtual volunteers later this week. In the meantime, check out the February 2009 Twestival, which raised more than $250,000 for charity:
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