Volunteers needed is a common phrase and challenge that nonprofits know all too well. With the lack of data on Alberta volunteerism since 2013 and the migration to the digital age, Alberta nonprofits have been left in the dark on how to reach volunteers today, especially youth.
But, thanks to Propellus, Calgary’s volunteer centre, Alberta’s volunteer recruitment landscape is changing. In 2018, Propellus officially launched a new website called VolunteerConnector, Alberta’s first platform that connects volunteers with available opportunities shared by nonprofits across Alberta.
Propellus creates Alberta’s largest online volunteer recruitment platform
On VolunteerConnector, volunteers can search by region, causes they care about, time commitment, and skills they can provide! And, the number of regions across Alberta grow each day; currently, there are nonprofits sharing volunteer opportunities from Calgary, Campbell River, Cochrane, Cold Lake, Comox Valley, Edmonton, Hanna, Innisfail, Lethbridge, Okotoks, and St. Albert, just to name a few!
“VolunteerConnector is a simple and easy to use tool that helps nonprofits with recruitment in multiple geographies,” says Janet Rock at Propellus. We provide micro-sites for every organization, so that means even organizations that don’t have websites have a web presence. We also get to do the heavy lifting of marketing volunteering so organizations don’t have to!”
Thanks to the support of the Alberta Volunteer Centre Network (AVCN) and Propellus’ hard work on the platform, VolunteerConnector is now Alberta’s largest volunteer recruitment platform.
“VolunteerConnector is one of Google’s top landing pages and in the top 10% of websites in Canada, says Janet. “That means it gets a lot of visits – 885,000 in 2018 in fact. It demonstrates that it does what we hope it does – connect people to opportunities to volunteer, easily.”
What VolunteerConnector’s data can tell us about volunteer trends in Alberta
But VolunteerConnector is more than a volunteer matching platform, it is also a valuable resource of volunteer data for nonprofits across Alberta. In 2019, Propellus released three unique reports from data they collected from the platform:
- Representing Volunteers in Alberta (April).
- What are Volunteers Interested in Doing? (May).
- Economic Value of Volunteering (July).
According to Janet, up-to-date reports like these can support nonprofits by providing information on volunteer recruitment trends; research that can spark new ideas and ways of reaching the volunteers you want and need to reach.
“Implement our research in training for volunteer engagement and recruitment. It’s the first time real-time information has been available in our province, so it means we can help people learn about volunteerism as trends change.”
Specifically, Propellus’ recent data provides insight into volunteer opportunities that volunteers are interested in now, how to recruit volunteers in unpopular areas of interest, and what motivates Albertans to volunteer.
“Volunteers want to be part of causes in a way that I think we’ve really not understood before. In the past volunteers wanted to see the impact they were making,” says Janet. “Now I would articulate that volunteers want to belong to a cause, to find personal meaning in a volunteer role. So, organizations should be asking themselves if that’s the currency they are dealing in. Are they able to provide meaningful opportunities for volunteers?”
Propellus’ next steps for 
And, Propellus plans to use their research and feedback from volunteer centres to continue to update and enhance VolunteerConnector. In the next eight weeks, upgrades to the platform will include:
- A simpler search that focuses on causes and skills including easier to find flexible opportunities.
- Dashboards with real-time reporting information for volunteer centres.
- Volunteer centres as landing pages in the regions they serve. This will help increase volunteer centres’ profile to share more information about their centres.
- Online applications for volunteers to apply directly to organizations. Volunteers can use their profiles to apply to any organization of their choosing, making their experience more seamless between organizations.
- Automatic tracking for volunteer hours which will then be reported back to the volunteer centres’ dashboards.
Are you interested in posting your volunteer opportunities online? Learn more about how your nonprofit can get started with VolunteerConnector!
Propellus is the Volunteer Centre of Calgary that connects nonprofits with volunteers. Their biggest project is VolunteerConnector which is Alberta’s largest volunteer recruitment platform and Alberta’s up-to-date data source for trends in volunteerism! They are also one of the founding members of the Alberta Nonprofit Network (ABNN).