How to Find Volunteer Opportunities
March 6, 2023 | Written by Branden Waggoner
Volunteering is a fantastic activity to add to your life, as you are able to help others, your community, and yourself all in one. Many people already understand the importance, benefits, and results of volunteering, but they don’t know where to start finding opportunities. Sometimes they can feel stuck in place and need guidance in actually getting a volunteering routine started. If that’s you, here are some specific tips and suggestions if you feel stuck and want to start volunteering.
Evaluate Yourself and Decide What Works for You
When it comes to volunteering, you want to use your personal skills, passions, and availability to decide what kind of volunteering you would like to do. We recommend taking 15 minutes to think about how you would like to volunteer and why. When reflecting some good questions to ask yourself are:
Do you want to work with people or alone?
What skills do you have that would make you a good volunteer for a specific kind of opportunity?
What do you like to do? (Passion makes volunteering much more rewarding)
How often are you willing to volunteer? (Weekly? Monthly?) When are you available to volunteer? (Evenings? Between classes? Weekends?)
What do you actually want from this experience?
All of these questions will allow you to identify what kind of experience you want, and the only thing left to do is find the opportunity and take it!
Start with School
If you are currently a student or live by a school/university, this is an amazing place to start! Schools tend to have many different kinds of opportunities for volunteering (some even could count for credit!). Search “community service” or “volunteering” on your school’s website to find the relevant department or office. Look for names like “Center for Community Engagement” or “Office of Community Relations.” Drop by in-person, give the office a call, or see if they have an online portal/hub where you can get all the information you need to get started!
Check Local Boards
You would be surprised how many bulletin boards actually exist when you’re actually looking for them! Bulletin boards are a very common place for niche local volunteer opportunities that are especially fulfilling. We recommend going to local stores, coffee shops, recreation centers, and other places where your community gathers! Keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and about and there’s a good chance you’ll notice bulletin boards loaded with community engagement opportunities.
Check with The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is one of the largest volunteer communities in the entire world, and most cities have local chapters where they do a lot of the work in finding incredible opportunities for you! Just simply go to their website and find a group close to you!
Explore Opportunities Online
The internet allows for incredible and fast communication between organizations that need volunteers, and the volunteers themselves. A few useful websites include:
Cincinnati Cares (for those in the Cincinnati region)
Reconnect with Nonprofits You Already Know
If you’re an alumnus of the Magnified Giving program or of Camp Give, you likely researched and advocated for a specific nonprofit to receive a Magnified Giving grant, and you maybe even visited or volunteered there. Consider reconnecting with this organization! Pick up the phone and give them a call - this is usually the quickest way to get connected with the staff member who manages volunteer engagement. You can also use their website to submit a contact form or find email addresses for a staff member. If you’re in a new city where that nonprofit doesn’t have a presence, look for similar organizations, and when you reach out, you can build rapport by sharing about your experience working with a similar organization and mission through Magnified Giving.