The Internet is changing the way that people volunteer

Citation

(2007), "The Internet is changing the way that people volunteer", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2007.07724aab.002

The Internet is changing the way that people volunteer

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore

The Internet is changing the way that people volunteer

During election season, numerous committed young people visit homes in the USA to support their political candidates. They usually are well prepared, earnest and energetic. In addition to leaving campaign literature they can discuss their candidate’s strengths and weaknesses and portray them against their opponents. One wonders how these individuals were recruited and how they were trained to interact with the public effectively.

Some of these people are born to the task and volunteer when the time is right. Not all of them are so prepared. As a matter of fact, young people have the reputation for being self-absorbed and tied to their computers and video games. Recently an organization has decided to exploit the power of the Internet to harness the latent spirit of voluntarism in the world.

CharityGuide.org – The Internet Antidote to the “I’m Too Busy to Volunteer” Syndrome[http://charityguide.org]

CharityGuide.org is based near Chicago, IL. Its goal is to increase national volunteerism rates. Its approach is to leverage the Internet to reach “would-be volunteers” on the cause of their greatest interest and at their moment of greatest willingness to act. The organization provides an almost bewildering array of volunteer opportunities. They are highly flexible volunteer prospects that allow the Internet generation to make a difference. The site cleverly communicates that the difference can come at anytime, from anywhere, in as few as 15 minutes. Avoiding the initiative sapping need to schedule, no advanced planning or registration is required. The company calls its approach “Volunteering On-Demand.” Their website, CharityGuide.org, cites four major benefits for public service minded individuals. The site states that it makes it possible for:

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  busy office workers to volunteer during lunch breaks;

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  busy college students to volunteer between classes;

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  busy parents to volunteer after their kids go to sleep; and

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  busy business travelers to volunteer from their hotel rooms.

The key to the site’s success is the variety of carefully crafted volunteer projects. Instead of asking people to volunteer with some kind of vague request, prospects are presented with clear, well explicated projects that highlight the benefits to the target volunteer as well as the target receiver. The website is designed around the time involved in volunteering. There are three levels of volunteer projects: “in 15 minutes”, in a “few hours”, or the more extensive, “on a volunteer vacation”.

One might ask how the projects are created. CharityGuide.org states that its volunteer projects are developed by investigative journalists who provide specific “how to” instructions and hyperlinks that make it possible to accomplish the service projects in the time promised. The importance of this point is hard to underestimate. Too many volunteers are annoyed by unrealistic performance times. For example, the American Red Cross had to address unrealistic estimates of blood donation time. The blood donors were willing to donate but many had busy schedules and knowing the donation time accurately was important. After one or two longer than promised donation sessions, some experienced volunteers refused to continue since repeated unforeseen delays upset their busy schedules and annoyed them. Finding time to participate became increasingly difficult. CharityGuide.org practices marketing with a keen understanding of consumer perceptions.

CharityGuide.org avoids the problem with rather accurate estimates of the total commitment of time and expense. Full disclosure avoids disappointment. Moreover, the projects are designed to fit into complex personal schedules. With considerable marketing skill, CharityGuide.org states that now, busy people with unpredictable schedules are finally able to volunteer for their favorite cause, including animal welfare, children’s issues, community development, environmental projection, healthcare, and poverty. They have crafted three major types of volunteer projects. The easiest to complete successfully is called the 15 minute project. The next project level can be finished in a few hours (once, or each week). The project with the most concentrated commitment level is the volunteer vacation which might mean a concentrated period of work in a distant location. The site’s management possesses sophisticated public relations skills. They supply numerous press releases for the media. It is remarkable how much of a typical release ends up in news stories. In some cases, the bulk of the release is printed. The secret is in the use of the journalists who designed the volunteer projects. They craft the communications releases as news stories. That is not news; all PR firms try to do it. Perhaps the journalistic skills, combined with the uplifting content, are the reason for the large amount of publicity they generate. As an example, consider their treatment of the way their search engine works. They describe the situation as “search engine optimization”.

Search engine optimization

Charity Guide uses search engine optimization and other advanced internet promotion techniques to reach and appeal to prospective volunteers. Most people find the volunteer opportunities featured at CharityGuide.org when searching for related topics at Google, Yahoo, or MSN. Others are inspired to volunteer via social media links in blogs, forums, and web portals.

Trudy Kuehner of Philadelphia found CharityGuide.org via a search at Yahoo. Charity Guide has “changed her life”, and, thanks to the volunteer work she has done since then, the lives of many others. “With Charity Guide, nobody has the excuse anymore of not knowing how to volunteer”, Kuehner said. “And now, we all have the time.”

The press release is written just like a feature story, including a quote from a real person.

Volunteering on-demand

CharityGuide.org pioneered the concept of convenient volunteering. Their Volunteering On-Demand concept translates into discrete opportunities that are designed to be fulfilling but not overwhelming. This means that all of the “15 minute” and “few hours” service projects featured at CharityGuide.org are entirely flexible and immediately actionable. They can be accomplished at anytime, from anywhere.

It seems likely that the approach would be accepted by volunteers. In fact, the organization reports that more than 600,000 “would-be volunteers” per year are inspired enough by Charity Guide to act. The site is peppered with volunteer testimonials. One example, describes how Charity Guide showed how to quickly make a real difference in a sick child’s life. The volunteer decided to send inspirational cards to hospitalized children. That project made her smile and probably touched many children’s hearts and just took 15 minutes.

Michael Organ, Executive Director and founder of Charity Guide, says: “We recognize that volunteering does as much for the volunteer as it does for the recipients. So, our focus is leveraging the Internet to make it possible for busy people to achieve a greater sense of meaning and fulfillment in their lives, by helping others.”

The keys to its success are reaching the right target volunteer audience, presenting acceptable and achievable project opportunities, and making the process win-win. This may signal more intelligent applications of the Internet to other unlikely content areas. Marketers may wish to monitor this kind of site for new applications in their own area and good examples of implementation in this one.

In our next issue, we will investigate other informative sites and invite readers to submit their favorite Internet sites for our consideration.

Reader requests

Please forward all requests to review innovative Internet sites to: Dr. Dennis Pitta, University of Baltimore, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-5779, USA. Alternatively, please send e-mail to: dpitta@ubalt.edu for prompt attention.