VolunteerMatch is now Idealist (find volunteers & causes)

Personal setupSocial Presence · about 10 min · Charity applicants and founders

Setting this up for your organization?Recruit on Idealist (formerly VolunteerMatch) as your charity

VolunteerMatch was one of the largest volunteer-recruitment platforms. It merged into Idealist (announced January 2025; one platform since September 2025), so volunteer opportunities from both now live on idealist.org, and volunteermatch.org forwards there.

There is no separate VolunteerMatch account to create any more. Set up your personal account on Idealist instead — the Idealist guide walks through it — and experience it from the volunteer’s side first, as before.

Learn it as a volunteer before you recruit as an organization

Set up a personal account and browse as someone looking to give time. Noticing which opportunities appeal to you — and why — is exactly the judgment you’ll need when your charity posts its own openings later, with FFC’s help.

  1. 1

    Create your account on Idealist

    Go to idealist.org and sign up with your real name and email (the one tied to your phone, same as everywhere else). If you had a VolunteerMatch login used since 2022, it was carried over to Idealist — sign in there with the same email.

  2. 2

    Explore causes like yours

    Search opportunities near you and in your cause area. See how organizations describe the work, the time commitment, and the impact.

  3. 3

    Save strong examples

    Bookmark two or three listings that made you want to sign up. When your charity recruits later, you’ll model its listings on these.

Common questions

Is VolunteerMatch still separate from Idealist?

No. VolunteerMatch and Idealist merged in 2025 and became one platform on idealist.org, which now covers general volunteering plus nonprofit jobs and internships. Taproot is still separate and focuses on skills-based pro-bono projects — FFC has you try both so you know which channel fits a given need.

Will I post my charity’s openings here now?

Not yet — that’s the organizational guide, once your charity is up and running. For now you’re learning what makes a listing work, from the volunteer’s side.

Next setup guides

IdealistSocial PresenceTaprootSocial PresenceCandid (GuideStar)Social Presence

Stuck on any step? Text Clarke Moyer at (520) 222-8104 — every step is meant to be simple, so if something doesn't match what you see, ask.