Set up VolunteerMatch (find volunteers & causes)
Personal setupSocial Presence · about 10 min · Charity applicants and founders
VolunteerMatch is one of the largest volunteer-recruitment platforms — where people looking to help find organizations that need them.
Like Idealist and Taproot, you experience it from the volunteer’s side first: seeing how causes are presented teaches you what your charity’s own listings will need to attract help later.
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
Create your account
Go to volunteermatch.org and sign up with your real name and email (the one tied to your phone, same as everywhere else).
- 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
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
How is VolunteerMatch different from Idealist and Taproot?
They overlap but serve different slices: VolunteerMatch is the biggest general volunteer-matching marketplace, Idealist adds nonprofit jobs and internships, and Taproot focuses on skills-based pro-bono projects. FFC has you try all three 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
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.