Planning Briefs

Website Matches Volunteers With Nonprofits In Need

Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at: 7:00 AM EDT

Does your nonprofit organization need staffers with special talents? Now you don’t have to spend hours recruiting and vetting candidates with a hit-or-miss approach. A New York City-based service named Catchafire.org has launched a website that matches nonprofits to volunteers with the requisite skills.

Access to the list of volunteers is free, but nonprofits must pay a fee averaging about $200 for each “match” found through the website. Catchafire is the brainchild of CEO and founder Rachel Chong, a former investment banker. According to Chong, nonprofits typically need volunteers skilled in public relations, marketing, social media, and design (including web design).

Volunteers can use Catchafire.org for free by logging in to Facebook and importing details about their professional experience and education from a LinkedIn profile. Those not quite so social media-savvy can input their information manually, providing details about availability, location, interests, and skills. The website features video “success stories” of volunteers who have found positions through Catchafire.org, and volunteers can browse a list of current opportunities. Those who sign up will be quizzed briefly about their backgrounds and to verify their skills. With about 2,000 volunteers who have registered, the site could help you find enthusiastic recruits willing and able to pitch in.

This article was written by a professional financial journalist for Preferred NY Financial Group,LLC and is not intended as legal or investment advice.

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