Online Volunteering Guidelines
If an organization responds to your application to volunteer
online and says they would like for you to take on the assignment,
then you have been accepted as an Online Volunteer. Congratulations!
No two organizations manage online volunteers exactly the same
way. Styles and methods vary, depending on the organization
culture, the nature of assignments, and the organization's
experience in managing volunteers. No one system will work
for all organizations. These are basic guidelines that can
help Online Volunteers using our service maintain good relationships
with hosting organizations:
1. Clarify expectations and deadlines
Once you have been chosen as an online volunteer, you need
to review the assignment with the host organization to make
sure expectations and deadlines are clear. Ask what the first
thing is that you should do in completing this assignment.
Also ask: When should you get started? In what format should
you submit completed work? Will you need text from the organization's
existing materials (old funding proposals, annual reports,
etc.)? How does this assignment support a particular organizational
objective and goal?
An organization can ask a lot of a volunteer, so make it your
job to be clear about what you can and cannot do. Do not overcommit
yourself.
Ask for an end date to every assignment. This gives you a
natural "out," in case you need to withdraw from
volunteering online for a while. And this won't leave the host
organization without a volunteer, as they can start to recruit
someone new if you need to withdraw as of the end date.
2. Get more information!
If you organization does not give you some kind of orientation
about their work, ask for it! Learn the organization's mission,
get an overview of the organization's programs and current
events, and have a list of the staff and their roles, in
case you encounter these people in the course of your service.
3. Report in to the organization weekly via email
Send the organization a simple email every week (most volunteers
send these every Monday or Friday) that provides an update
on your progress -- even if you haven't progressed at all.
In this email, tell the organization:
- the number of hours
worked (even if it's none)
- what percentage of the assignment
is left to do (is it half done? 75% done?) and how "on
track" you feel
regarding this assignment
- what tools and resources are
proving most valuable in completion of this assignment
- any
problems/obstacles you have encountered in completing this
assignment.
Save these emails! This is how you can keep track of
your own hours and accomplishments!
4. Stay in Touch and In Tune!
Because you aren't working with these organizations onsite,
and because Online Volunteering can seem intimidating
or strange to those involved, there are a number of things
you should do and to keep in mind to ensure the relationship
is successful:
- Reply to email as soon as possible.
Make every attempt to read and respond to emails, faxes and
phone calls within 48 hours or two working days of receipt.
- Be frank in your communication.
Be clear about what is important to you. Open communication
is imperative, especially in an intercultural context,
to avoid misunderstandings. If you have any doubts or bad feelings,
always ask for clarification.
- Be polite.
Negative comments, observations and criticism have to be
posed, of course, but in ways that will not offend any
party in order to be constructive.
- Respect others' expertise.
You may know more about a staff person at an organization
you are assisting, but there are areas where they are
the experts and you aren't!
- Respect differences.
Different backgrounds and sets of values should enrich the
quality of collaboration rather than become an obstacle.
- Respect limitations.
Organizations serving developing countries operate in a world
of very limited resources and ever-shrinking budgets.
Don't be surprised if they don't have a staff member devoted
solely to human resources, legal issues, computer systems, etc.
Also don't be surprised if they don't have a budget to
buy and maintain a large computer system. Respect those limitations
by helping them to do as much as they can with their
available resources.
- Exude quality in your service.
For instance, if you are inputting information into a database
and misspell a name or input the wrong phone number,
the work you've done is not just useless, it can be damaging!
- Be patient.
Online Volunteering is still very, very new to everyone!
Mistakes and misteps will happen! Remember that everyone
has been a beginner at some point in their life, and
that no one dances the waltz perfectly on the first try!
5. Follow the policies of the organization.
Every organization has policies on chain of approval,
confidentiality of information, how you may represent
yourself on behalf
of the organization, etc. These policies are meant to
be taken seriously! When in doubt, ask for guidance.
6. Completing an assignment
Upon completion of an assignment, report one last time
to the agency. Tell them:
- The number of hours you worked to complete the assignment,
- What tools and resources are proved most valuable in completion
of this assignment,
- Any problems/obstacles
you have encountered in completing
this assignment,
- What you
learned from the assignment, and
- What you liked and disliked
about the assignment.
Always save these final
reports! This is
how you can keep
track overall of
your Online Volunteering
activities
7. Keep
us informed!
To manage and improve
our Online Volunteering
service, we need
information about
your experiences.
Write us and tell
us about your Online
Volunteering assignments
-- what you have
liked about them,
what you have learned
from them, what
you believe you accomplished
as a result, what
impact you think
your work will
have, and how the experience
could have been
improved. We may include your
experiences on
our web site! (with your
permission, of
course). Contact
us and tell
us about your experience.
Also, read the guidelines in Privacy
and Safety
and adhere to them during your assignment.
8. Our responsibilities to volunteers and hosts
The UN Volunteers program, based in Bonn, Germany, facilitates
the initial relationship between the host and the Online
Volunteer. However, UNV assumes no responsibilty for any
problems that arise during the assignment, and will not make
any referee's decision. UNV will investigate complaints about
inappropriate or harmful activities in connection with users
of its site, and encourages both Online Volunteers and organizations
to share their experiences about both using this web site
and working together online. Feedback from volunteers and
organizations helps UNV improve its Online Volunteering service
and provide continuously improving support. Please contact
us in such cases.
UNV may use personal information in aggregate form that is
not personally identifiable, for analytical or statistical
purposes. Any other use of personal information (e.g., email
addresses for a mailing list) will require documented permission
from the individual or organization.
Financial obligations
No financial obligations are entailed from this service,
not from or towards UNV nor between the host and the volunteer.
These terms of our policy are on the our Privacy pages.
