A new way to manage volunteers

One of the most time-consuming jobs that non-profit organizers come across is arranging for volunteers to help keep their agencies running.

Whether it is trying to recruit more people to volunteer their time or to manage and communicate those who already do, the task is so large that many organizations have created a full-time staff position to fulfill it.

However, a new site, VolunteerSpot, is trying to change that.

This free website, www.volunteerspot.com, provides a simple online portal for volunteers and volunteer organizers to coordinate coverage for anything from staffing a table at an event to serving lunch at the soup kitchen.

Coordinators simply use an online calendar to create opportunities, post descriptions, even items required, and then enters the email addresses of their current volunteer base.

Then, each volunteer receives an email to create an account, a quick and painless process, to have access to that same calendar. With the click of a mouse, volunteers can sign up for the activities they can cover, and can also see who else has already done so.

But VolunteerSpot doesn't stop there. In an effort to avoid the often tiring task of sending reminders to volunteers who signed up to play a vital role in the day's operations, the site sends automatic reminders.

Whether the site is used for college campus programs to increase follow-through with volunteer commitments or traditional non-profit agencies, VolunteerSpot has the potential to save a great deal of time and frustration to redirect energies towards what really matters - serving those in need.