The iOS platform for the iPhone and iPad is notoriously closed for apps dedicated to fundraising. Some companies have found ways to use the mobile software to reach volunteers and grow networks of potential donors (or donors via other platforms). One such nonprofit is VolunteerMatch, whose iPhone app offers opportunities to search for local projects looking for volunteers for the day or for the duration of a project.
But the folks at VolunteerMatch are doing more than offering a great mobile app to complement their website and to reach out to constituents and potential funders.
Search Screens In VolunteerMatch iPhone App
As for the app itself, one registers an account and plugs in one’s ZIP Code, which gives the user access to various projects and directions to get to them. Search can be done by distance from your location, length of commitment, or type of volunteering (from cleaning up a garden to helping design a VolunteerMatch app for the Android market). VolunteerMatch makes it easy to navigate their database, and they offer online support to get you to the projects you want to find.
Of course, your nonprofit or charity should register with VolunteerMatch. The process takes about fifteen minutes and is free.
But the good folks at the social/volunteer-networking site are not just getting their tech on with the iPhone (and developing Android app). They have taken advantage of a fabulous online package called Prezi, which turns Powerpoint slides into dynamic online videos and collaborative presentations – again for free! An account even offers opportunity for online meetings to prepare such presentations from various locales, which could be a real time- and cost-saver for your organization.
Here is a sample of what can be done, the 2009 Annual Report by VolunteerMatch:
We shall soon return to explore Prezi as a means to share great presentations about your good work in a future posting. For now, get yourself or your nonprofit signed up with VolunteerMatch.
