Bridging the Digital Divide - Connecting Volunteers
Short handbook developed for volunteers in Brazilian charities in Sao Paulo providing basic, practical information for making the most of e-mail and the Internet in their service. Available in English and Portugese versions.
The
Virtual Volunteering Guidebook (pdf file): How to Apply
the Principles of Real-World Volunteer Management to Online Service
by Susan J. Ellis and Jayne Cravens.
Comprehensive look at how to develop and manage an online volunteer
program.
Available in Spanish (la
traducción de la Guía de Voluntariado Virtual
de Susan Ellis
y Jayne Cravens) at:
http://evoluntas.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/guia-de-voluntariado-virtual/
Impact of Information and Communications Technology on Volunteer Management
http://nonprofitscan.imaginecanada.ca/files/kdc-cdc/harrison_report_eng.pdf
Study by Vic Murray and Yvonne Harrison of the University of Victoria, for the Canadian Centre on Philanthropy, 2002 (free PDF).
Volunteering in the Information Society
Report by Manuel Acevedo on worldwide involvement of volunteers in information and communications technology (ICT), especially related to human development.
(October 2005)
Youth as E-Citizens Report
Report by American University's Center for Social Media (155-pages, 2004) about how an online youth civic culture, largely unnoticed by the general public, has taken root on the Internet and is fostering Generation Y's participation in U.S. politics and community affairs.
About Online Volunteering
http://www.mys.ca/aov/
Macdonald Youth Services in Canada has been a leader in virtual volunteering for some time, and coordinator Randy Tyler offers this site with many links, podcasts, and videos to help organizations do it right.
Armenia School
Connectivity Program
http://www.ascp.am/docs/tot/tot_content.html
Seven chapter guidebook
explaining the how-to's of online interaction and facilitation,
from the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs.
Convio Connection
http://www.convio.com/site/PageServer?pagename=news
_newsletter
Sample articles from
free bimonthly newsletter for nonprofits on how to attract
constituents, drive action, and build loyalty through online relationship
management.
Coyote Communications
Technology Tip Sheets
www.coyotecommunications.com/whatsnew.html
Jayne Cravens, the guru
of virtual volunteering, has been maintaining this personal Web
site since 1996 amd offers a wealth of tips sheets on all sorts
of Internet-related subjects for nonprofits in general and volunteer
program managers in particular.
Always on the cutting-edge of technology, Jayne has provided a wonderfully welcoming and informative podcast, talking about how podcasts can be used by nonprofits, and just how easy it is to do. http://www.coyotecommunications.com/podcasts/jayne_01.mp3.
Handbook for Online
Volunteers
http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/handbook/
Reference information
and tools to help online volunteers during their service with nonprofit
organizations. Other agencies are welcomed to use this handbook
as a resource for their own online volunteers, per the credit request
at http://www.serviceleader.org/new/virtual/2003/04/000122.php.
Handheld Technologies
and Volunteering
http://www.unites.org/Html/Resource/unites/unites0.htm
Information compiled by the United Nations Information Technology
Service (UNITeS) on how PDAs or handheld computer technologies are
used around the world in community service/volunteering/advocacy.
NetAction / The
Virtual Activist
http://www.netaction.org/
Site dedicated to helping
activists use Internet technology. Includes an archive of
articles from 1996-2003 and a self-guided training course on "Using
the Internet for Outreach and Organizing," available in English
and Spanish at: http://www.netaction.org/training/versions.html
NetAid
http://www.netaid.org/
Site for online activism
to fight global poverty. Former host of the Online Volunteering
project, now coordinated by UNV at http://www.volunteeringonline.org/.
Network for Good – Social Networking Learning Area
http://www.fundraising123.org/social-networking
Articles, updated tips, and case studies on how to use blogs, social networking sites, and other online tools to raise and communicate with supporters.
nfpSynergy
http://www.nfpsynergy.net/freereports
Download the excellent
free reports on "Virtual Promise -- From Rhetoric to Reality" and "Touch & Go: The internet, digital TV and mobile telephony as tools
for maximising the impact of charities" from this UK consulting
and rersearch firm.
Online Community Toolkit
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm
Although not written for
volunteer managers, provides a wide range of materials on fostering
"online community." A nice tool for fostering volunteer community.
Online Volunteering
(OV)
http://www.volunteeringonline.org/
A free service provided by the United Nations Volunteers programme that connects development organizations with online volunteers. The site contains many tips about online volunteering, both for volunteers and host organizations.
Publicus.net
http://www.publicus.net/articles.html
A site devoted to "public
strategies for the online world," this link takes you an archive
of articles about e-citizenship. Also see archive of postings
to DoWire.org --"Democracies Online": http://www.publicus.net/dowire.html
Reaching Volunteers on the Internet
http://1800volunteer.blogspot.com/
Search Engine Optimization, Marketing and Mass Email tips and best practices on using the Internet to help volunteers find their perfect volunteer opportunity. From 1-800-Volunteer.org.
Sanchez Elementary
School Online Mentoring Program
http://www.coyotecommunications.com/sanchezov/index.html
This resource was developed
by Jayne Cravens for Sanchez Elementary School in Austin, Texas
through the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at
Austin. This online mentoring program is no longer operational
but these Web materials have been preserved to help other schools
develop their own online mentoring programs.
Senior Corps Tech
Center
http://seniortechcenter.org/
Resources for American
Senior Corps programs focusing on the use of the Internet for recruitment
and training.
ServiceLeader: Virtual
Volunteering
http://www.serviceleader.org/new/virtual/
Home of the original Virtual Volunteering Project and still a major
site focused on online service, with information on all aspects
of virtual volunteering.
SixDegrees.org
http://www.sixdegrees.org/
Any one person is connected to any other person through six or fewer relationships, because it's a small world. SixDegrees.org (founded by Kevin Bacon and Network for Good) is about using this idea to accomplish something good (social networking with a social conscience). Support favorite charities by donating or creating fundraising “badges” — as well as check out the favorite causes of other people, including celebrities.
TechSoup.org:
Volunteers
http://techsoup.com/articles.cfm?topicid=7&topic=
Volunteers&cg=nav&sg=content_topic7
The "technology place for nonprofits" -- an overall great
site -- describes how to find and work with technology/ Web-savvy
volunteers.
Virtual Volunteering
Project Archive
http://energizeinc.com/art/subj/VVArchiveCon.html
The Service Leader Web
site was revised in 2003 and older information--particularly about
online mentoring-- was removed. Energize has received permission
to archive these pages here.
Volunteer Calgary Virtual Volunteering Site
http://www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca/virtual_vol/index.htm
Guide to managing virtual volunteering.
Volunteerism and
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Library
http://www.isv2001.org/en/library/index.cfm
Extensive collection of
original papers written for the for the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) Conference on Volunteering and ICTs, December 2003.
Wiki That!
http://www.wikithat.com/
This site proclaims itself "a simple, seamless, enjoyable PROCESS for civic and enterprise groups that actually DO stuff!" It's a blog that introduces "wikis"--a form of online interaction for nonprofit and enterprise organizations to improve the effectiveness of groups and activities.
Youth as E-Citizens
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/index.htm
Online "tour" identifies and analyzes almost 400 websites, created for and in some cases by young people, that engage youth in civic activities.