Skills-Based Volunteering: The Ultimate Guide for Nonprofits

There's a real talent for putting together a dynamic team of volunteers. But, volunteer leaders are so busy that there may not always be time to consider whether they are deploying each volunteer to their highest and best use for the organization. 

In this article, we cover the most important information on skills-based volunteering, including explaining what skills-based volunteering is, the benefits of it, and how to make it an essential part of your organization.

What is Skills-Based Volunteering?

Skills-based volunteering (SBV) is a type of volunteer management that focuses on using the unique skills and experiences of volunteers to further your mission.

Instead of offering general support, volunteers use their specialized knowledge—such as marketing, IT, legal services, accounting, or graphic design—to contribute meaningfully to align with their talents and the nonprofit’s needs.

These are some other examples of skills-based volunteering of matching volunteer skills and causes:

• A horticulturist advises and assists in planting and maintaining a community garden
• A professional writer teaches volunteers how to write grants
• A doctor sets up EMT training certification for your team
• A coach gets a sporting goods store to provide equipment for a summer camp

Why is Skills-Based Volunteering Important? 

There's a unique harmony when a volunteer's talents meet the needs of an organization. 

It's about creating roles that fill a gap and allow volunteers to use their specialized skills. This method is a win-win: volunteers engage in work they are passionate about, and organizations benefit from professional expertise.

Benefits for organizations

For organizations, skills-based volunteering can help nonprofits:

• Save time, money, and effort: Adopting the SBV approach is like extending your team's capabilities without the additional costs. This method is not about replacing your dedicated employees but rather supporting your team's reach with skilled volunteers.
  
  
• Enhances efficiency: Research shows that skills-based volunteers were significantly more likely than traditional volunteers to increase the organizational capacity of the nonprofits they were serving.
  
  
• Enhance volunteer retention: SBV significantly improves volunteer retention. By aligning volunteers' skills with specific needs, SBV fosters a sense of purpose and belonging, crucial for long-term engagement.
  
  
• Simplify the onboarding process: With SBV, volunteers can quickly integrate into roles that match their expertise, reducing the time and resources needed for training. 
  
  
• Assess board service: Skills-based volunteering is an organic way to assess your entire volunteer corps for future leadership positions within the organization. 

Benefits for the volunteers

For volunteers, skills-based volunteering can:

• Enhance skill and career advancement: Volunteers gain practical experience and develop new skills, which can be instrumental in career growth. This hands-on approach allows for applying existing skills in new, challenging environments, fostering professional development.
  
  
• Offer networking opportunities: Engaging in skills-based volunteering opens doors to new professional connections. Volunteers often work alongside industry professionals, offering a platform to build relationships and expand their professional network.
  
  
• Positively impact one’s mental health: Volunteering leads to improved mental health, with a “warm glow” effect, especially beneficial for ages 16-25 and 55-74. This emotional uplift is attributed to the sense of accomplishment and community connection experienced through meaningful volunteer work.

How to Implement Skills-Based Volunteering into Your Organization in 3 Steps 

Step 1. Get the Right Tools

The building blocks for an SBV corps start with the right software to track and match your volunteers and projects. A comprehensive suite of software tools can help your team consolidate outreach, recruitment, and onboarding efforts to make your SVB simple and easy.

With Get Connected, volunteer leaders can:

• Check and review volunteer qualifications 
• Collect data from skills-based volunteers
• Automatically review, approve, and reject volunteer qualification submissions
• Create groups and private opportunities based on their qualifications
• Restrict access to opportunities until qualifications have been approved
• Store volunteer data, including training expiration dates and certifications, securely
• Monitor and analyze the outcomes of volunteer opportunities

Step 2. Start Opportunity Matching 

A critical component of skills-based volunteerism is the effective assessment and matching of special skills for volunteering. This process involves identifying the specific talents and expertise of volunteers and aligning them with the needs of organizations.

To do this, nonprofits must:

• Identify their needs: Start by clearly defining the specific skills your nonprofit needs, such as marketing, legal, web development, or project management. Break down tasks and projects that require specialized expertise.
  
  
• Create a volunteer skills survey: Develop a detailed skills survey for volunteers to complete, asking about their professional background, certifications, and specific skills they are willing to offer. Include questions about their availability, preferred project types, and past volunteering experience.
  
  
• Conduct volunteer interviews: Hold brief interviews to better understand the volunteers’ skillsets, interests, and goals. This helps ensure that their expertise aligns with your organization’s needs and gives you a chance to assess their commitment.
  
  
• Develop profiles: Create profiles for volunteers, listing their specific skills, qualifications, and potential areas where they can contribute. This makes it easier to match volunteers to projects as they arise.
  
  
• Match skills to specific projects: When opportunities arise, refer to your volunteer profiles and match individuals to roles based on their skills and the project requirements. Prioritize volunteers whose expertise best aligns with the project’s goals for maximum impact.
  
  
• Leverage corporate and community partnerships: More than 50% of companies currently engage in SBV, with its popularity exceptionally high among Millennials. This approach allows businesses to engage their employees' professional skills to support community projects and nonprofit organizations.

Step 3. Measure the Impact of Skills-Based Volunteering

Evaluating the impact of skills-based volunteering (SBV) is key to understanding its effectiveness. To measure the success, you might look at metrics like:

• Skill match and application: Track how closely volunteers' skills align with their assigned tasks. This metric helps ensure that volunteers are in roles where they can make the most impact.
  
  
• Project outcomes: Look at the completion rates and success of volunteer projects through impact reporting. This shows how their skills contribute to achieving organizational goals.
  
  
• Volunteer engagement: Measure volunteer satisfaction and retention. Happy volunteers who feel their skills are well-used are more likely to stay engaged.
  
  
• Recruitment efficiency: Assess the impact of SBV on attracting new volunteers. Effective use of skills in volunteering can streamline and enhance recruitment efforts.
  
  
• Sustainability of solutions: Evaluate the longevity of the solutions provided by volunteers.

Embracing the Future of Volunteering

Skills-based volunteering (SBV) is about matching the unique abilities of volunteers with the specific needs of nonprofits, creating impactful and fulfilling experiences for both parties. 

Pro Tip: For organizations looking to tap into the power of SBV, Get Connected by Galaxy Digital is here to help. With our volunteer matching tool designed to make these connections seamless and effective, you can transform your volunteer program and make a lasting impact. 

Learn more about Get Connected's Skills-Based Volunteering tools