Supporting Volunteer Efforts During Coronavirus

Our thoughts are with every company and organization dealing with COVID-19 as information changes minute-to-minute. We are diligently working to compile a list of resources to help leaders of volunteers deal with this quickly evolving situation and we need YOUR help!  We have started the list below. 

Share Your Resources

If you have sample communications, tips, trainings, or other resources you are using, please share them through our Coronavirus Response form (no longer available).  If you have seen resources from others that you find helpful, let us know so we can share those too. We would love any and all suggestions.

Resource Directory 

Coronavirus Response Seminar from Energize

Live Events and Free Classes

No longer posting

Public Health Resources

• World Health Organization
• US Centers for Disease Control
• Australian Government Dept of Health
• UK Department of Health and Social Care
• Government of Canada
• Public Health Agency of Canada

Resources from Volunteer Centers, Associations, and Others

• Volunteer Engagement Covid-19 Response Guide and Tool Kit from the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA)
• Volunteering New Zeland has a new Resources page, including Pandemic and Virtual Volunteering resources. 
• Managing Virtual Volunteering During the Corona Pandemic from the Israeli Volunteering Council
•  A Checklist to Help Keep Volunteers Safe -- the Do's and Dont's of Volunteering During the Pandemic, from The Israeli Volunteering Council
• Checklist for Volunteering Using Virtual Channels, from The Israeli Volunteering Council
• Infographic Report on the Impact of Coronavirus on Volunteer Management and How Coordinators have Adjusted to Engage Volunteers Remotely, from Track It Forward
• Keeping Volunteers Safe poster from California Volunteers
• How Volunteer Managers Can Respond to COVID-19 from VolunteerHub
• Volunteering Australia has published the two following policy position papers in order to clearly articulate their position around a number of issues regarding COVID-19 and the volunteering sector:
  • Volunteering and National Policy Settings
  • Safeguarding Volunteers and Volunteer Involving Organisations
• VolunteerMatch created a resource center dedicated to volunteering and public service 
• Catchafire offers an active virtual volunteer pool who can assist with time-sensitive requests and have shared examples of how a few organizations are already taking action
• Volunteer Ireland shared practical advice and guidance to help organisations and members of the public wishing to volunteer
• Tips from the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration on Preparing Your Volunteer Program for COVID-19
• Spark the Change Colorado offers Tips to Stay Healthy While Volunteering (no longer available)
• Information from the Northwest Oregon Volunteer Administrators Association to help its members navigate the impacts on programs and volunteers
• American Association for Museum Volunteers (AAMV): "Here are some things you can do as a volunteer manager during the COVID-19 pandemic"
• Imagine Canada shares resources and an advocacy letter to the Canadian Government.

Volunteer Engagement Blogs

• What to Say, What to Send: Strategic Communications to Volunteers Amid the Pandemic, by VQ Volunteer Strategies
• How to Engage Online Volunteers During COVID-19, by VolunteerPro
• Building a Sense of Volunteer Community During COVID-19, by VolunteerPro
• Volunteer Engagement Plan for COVID-19 Response, a blog and template for any organization to use to develop a volunteer engagement plan in response to COVID-19, from VQ Volunteer Strategies 
• How to (Quickly) Mobilize Volunteers to Maximize Nonprofit Fundraising During COVID-19, by Breakthrough Fundraising Group
• Coronavirus & Volunteers: Your Guide for Managing Uncertainty, by VolunteerPro
• Volunteer Engagement Amid a Pandemic, by VQ Volunteer Strategies

Examples of How Organizations Are Responding

• The City of Fort Collins, CO, created a dedicated website to help the community volunteer in response to COVID-19 
• Sample Operations Plan and Messaging from HandsOn Sacramento
• The Eden Project Communities in the UK, along with partners, launched this creative community action project to encourage informal volunteering to support people in communities effected by coronavirus:  Community Action Response: Covid-19 (no longer available)

Taking Care of Yourself and Your Volunteers

• The Mental Health Foundation of Scotland provides helpful tips in Looking After Your Mental Health During the Coronavirus Outbreak
• Coronavirus advice for volunteers - Third Force News
• Coronavirus & Volunteers: Your Guide for Managing Uncertainty
• We are Human, too | volunteerplaintalk

Leveraging Technology

• Energize has a book on Virtual Volunteering
• Tutorial on how to use Zoom
• WiredImpact offers resources for planning online events and how to manage work from home. 
• The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) robust database of online volunteer opportunities allows organizations and volunteers to team up to address challenges – anywhere in the world, from any device. 
• 6 Strategies for Digital Learning Success, by the Center for Creative Leadership 
• TechSoup offers Nonprofit Resources for Remote Work During the COVID-19 Outbreak
• No longer available - Preparing for Emergency Online Teaching by The Chronicle of Higher Education  
• The following videoconferencing companies are offering free use of their tools in response to coronavirus:
  • BlueJeans: First responders and NGOs may have organization-wide access to BlueJeans for an initial period of 90 days, and BlueJeans may extend that term as needed.
  • Cisco Webex is offering unlimited usage (no time restrictions) for up to 100 participants
  • Zoom is proactively lifting the 40-minute meeting limit on free Basic accounts for schools

Mitigating Risk

• Coronavirus: What does my nonprofit's insurance cover?, by California Association of Nonprofits

General Nonprofit & Volunteer-Related Resources

• Coronavirus/COVID-19 Resource Guide from the Association of Fundraising Professionals
• Resources to help nonprofits adapt and respond to COVID-19 from the Ontario Nonprofit Network in Canada 
• Nonprofit HR Coronavirus Digital Information Portal: Information, Resources, and Evolving News for Social Impact Organization Strategies and Planning
• Points of Light offers ideas for Employee Volunteering When You Can’t Serve In-Person
• The Corporation for National & Community Service has created a (no longer available) FAQ for Americorps, Senior Corps, and other programs
• Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak: Resources to Help Nonprofits by The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• The National Council of Nonprofits led the effort to create this widely supported community letter encouraging inclusion of nonprofits in the COVID-19 relief package
• United Nations Volunteers (UNV) developed Information for UN Volunteers and candidates

Resources by Organizational Mission

Animal Welfare Organizations:

• Maddie's Fund has produced resources for setting up emergency (volunteer-based) fostering for shelter pets 
• The Humane Society of the United States and The Association of Animal Welfare Administrators created a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Shelter Kit for Animal Shelters that includes sample documents for expediting foster care volunteering. The Pima Animal Care Center shared a letter they sent to all volunteers. 
• The Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, DC, sent out this series of emails to all volunteers after a staff members was determined to have been exposed to the virus

Faith Based Organizations:

• Repair the World and Amplifier produced this resource for community members seeking to help others:  All People Are Responsible For One Another: A Resource on Caring for the Sick in Times of Crisis
• From the CDC: Get Your Community- and Faith-Based Organizations Ready for Coronavirus Disease 2019 [No longer available]

Food Banks:

• Our Response to COVID-19 and FAQ<>, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (no longer available