How to Find the Experience that’s Right for Your Group
As you think about your potential experience, you need to consider the needs and priorities of your potential community partner. While many partners value the engagement from student groups, not all partners are able to accommodate groups of volunteers.
In a recent survey of local community organizations, only 34% of organizations shared that they frequently accept groups and only 45% of local organizations can take groups on the evening and weekends. By utilizing Connect to Community you will be able to find community partners who need and want the support of groups. Here are a few suggestions on how to identify an opportunity for your group:
Tying to your Interests and/or Values
Your group probably has some interests and/or values that are foundational to group membership - for example, you might care deeply about the environment, academic excellence, or sisterhood. Volunteering is a great way to put those interests/values into action. Try finding an opportunity that is clearly aligned with these interests/values - see “Finding opportunities using Connect to Community” below.
Types of Group Volunteering
One Day
Volunteering for a couple of hours as a group can be a very valuable experience for both your group and the community partner. On the same hand, we recognize that intense and long term impact happens with ongoing, committed partnerships. When groups volunteer for one day, they can often spend a couple of hours shredding paperwork, sorting produce, pulling weeds, or cleaning and student groups can leave feeling like their work had no impact. It did! This is the work that the community partner needs from its one time groups of volunteers.
On-going
If you’re looking for volunteering that has more interaction with consumers, where you can see change over time, and where you build relationships, on-going volunteering might be the right fit. This is the type of work that generally requires deeper engagement - more training and a longer, more regular commitment. If your group is looking for this type of volunteering, please set up an advising appointment with a Ginsberg Center staff member by filling in our support request form.
Finding opportunities using Connect to Community
Flexible/Open
If you are flexible on the type of group opportunity, you can use the “group projects” link. If you are on our site, this feature can also be found on the left side of the page. You can then look through this list of opportunities to find ones that best fit your organization.
Interests/Values
You can filter our list by interest. Click here, then use the "Select A Filter" drop-down box (under “Search By”) to select "Interest." From there you will see a drop down menu - select the best fit for you! When you review the details of specific opportunities, group opportunities will give you a “Response as a Team” option in the upper right hand corner. They will also sport a “team opportunity” icon (pink circle with three people) under “interest” on the right hand side.
Specific Days
You can filter our list by date. Click here, then use the "Select A Filter" drop-down box (under “Search By”) to select "Date." From there you will see a list of dates opportunities are available - select the best fit for you! When you review the details of specific opportunities, group opportunities will give you a “Response as a Team” option in the upper right hand corner. They will also sport a “team opportunity” icon (pink circle with three people) under “interest” on the right hand side.
Researching potential community partners
Before committing to an opportunity, it might be appropriate to spend some time doing research into a few opportunities. Spend some time in Connect to Community researching community partners and their specific volunteer needs. Look through agency profiles, specific opportunities (see “Finding Opportunities Using Connect to Community” section), etc.
How to research community partners in Connect to Community.
- Click “Community Partners” on the left hand side of the website.
- Under “Search By” select “Cause” and select the cause that you are interested in
- Click “Search” - this will produce a list of organizations that fit this cause
- Spend some time learning about the community partners by click on them. You will see some information about the organization, including contact information
NOTE: When community partners receive responses via the Connect to Community, they will be counting on your group to support their request. Be sure you respond to the opportunity once you’re sure it's the right fit - see below for steps on how to respond.
Contacting the Community Partner
Once you have identified the opportunity that feels like a good fit for your group, and you are ready to commit to it - respond!
To respond to the opportunity
- Click the opportunity itself, use the “Respond as a Team” button within the opportunity that you are interested in
- You will be prompted to enter your “team name” and a description of your group. Click “Create Team.” This is helpful for the community partner - please fill it out!
- The community partner will receive an email saying that you responded to their opportunity. We recommend that you complete your team registration by “(1) designat(ing) a team leader and (2) select(ing) the number of additional team members”
- To do this click “Add Team Member”
- Add the team leaders Email Address, First Name, Last Name, and the number of people who will be volunteering (note: you will not be able to give a range here - you can have that conversation with the organization later)
- Click “Submit Member”
- If you don’t hear back from the community partner in 2-3 days, you can reach out to them via phone or e-mail. Check their agency profile in Connect to Community for contact information.
- Please note: It can sometimes be tough to get a hold of community partners because they often quite busy and wear multiple hats. A lack of response isn’t about you, don’t worry. We encourage you to try to both email and call a couple of times. If you are still having trouble, it might be time to pursue another opportunity. If you chose to pursue another opportunity, be sure to let the organization you originally contacted know that you’ve found another opportunity.
Once you and the community partner have determined that this is a good fit and a date has been set, you are ready to head to “Step 2: Planning with Your Community Partner” and “Step 3: How to Work With Your Group to Prepare for the Experience.”
Jump To:
Step 2: Planning With Your Community Partner
Step 3: How to Work With Your Group to Prepare for the Experience
