The world of technology that has developed in the last 1, 5, 10, 20 years, has revolutionised the way volunteer brokerage takes place.
While 30 years ago a team of people would have sat in an office welcoming perspective volunteers through the doors, now most people find out about volunteering online.
The use of websites, social media, AI and emails has changed the way people want to engage with volunteering opportunities. While we will always campaign for those who are not technology minded, we can’t ignore a world where it dominates so much for our lives.
The use of AI to suggest volunteering roles is now commonplace, along with search engines and websites. There are so many ways to find opportunities it can be quite confusing for volunteers, who sometimes just want to chat it through with someone.
At OCVA we are always happy to talk to people about volunteering, and this normally happens at our volunteer fairs, events and by phone. We occasionally meet people in our office, but this is usually when someone has a need for extra support.
The Oxfordshire offering
Our main focus for advertising volunteering roles is with our website Oxon Volunteers. It’s gone from strength to strength, and we see around 3,000 – 4,000 visits each month with people coming directly to the site or via search engines or local websites.
If you are looking to volunteer, please check it out – there’s currently over 350 opportunities listed.
Partnership work for success
Our relationship with TeamKinetic, the company behind Oxon Volunteers goes back to 2017. They continue to support volunteering; Chris recently spoke at our online Let’s Talk Volunteering session. They regularly update their offering, produce digital toolkits and have their own Communities of Practice.
It was a pleasure to meet Chris for the first time at a conference. While digital may be a great tool in volunteering, sometimes the human touch is what is needed.
If you wish to discuss volunteering please get in touch.
