Posting volunteer opportunities on ivo

If you’re looking for volunteer help then you can post volunteering opportunity listings on ivo.

A few thoughts about what you might include in your opportunity listing:

Sell, sell, sell
Posting an opportunity is a pitch for people’s time. So make it attractive. Start with the opportunity itself – is it something anyone will actually want to do? What can you offer? How flexible can you be? Keep your content brief and to-the-point. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Lots of sub-headings.

A clear, punchy title
People tend to scan content online, so it’s important that a title catches their attention and provides enough information for them to decide whether it’s worth clicking on to read more.

Most important information first
If the title looks interesting, people will want to know the key elements straight away. Things like whether the opportunity is one-off or ongoing, in a location or virtual and what the key tasks and requirements are. Include cut-off dates for applying if appropriate.

Who benefits?
Don’t oversell, but make sure you state clearly what the benefits of the role are – how will it help your organisation, and what can the volunteer expect to get out of it.

A clear process
It’s really important that people who see your opportunity know what the next steps are if they’re interested – and that you are able to respond promptly. When volunteers apply you will be notified via your ivo homepage Upddates plus you'll be sent an email digest of applications too.

Photos and videos
Don’t restrict yourself to text. On ivo you can enhance your recruitment message with pictures and YouTube or Vimeo videos and we know that volunteers view video listings more - click here to see some examples. If you don't have a video how about getting some existing volunteers to do one for you - eg explaing why it’s such a great organisation to give time to. No need for a fancy production, just a simple video (even done with a phone) will do and will help your opportunity to stand out.

Ask for feedback
The best way to recruit people is word-of-mouth. If you interact positively with people on ivo then your reputation will spread, your followers will increase, and you’ll soon build up a small army of online advocates. So be bold and invite people to comment on and rate your opportunities. Why not ask your existing or former volunteers to come on here and give you a smiley? The more feedback you have the more likely volunteers will want to get involved.