A nonprofit guide to volunteering at Benevity {eBook}

As a nonprofit, your mission depends on people — people who care, who show up, and who are ready to take action. Through Benevity, you gain access to the world's largest networks of purpose-driven companies and their employees who want to support nonprofits like yours through volunteering, donations, grants, and spreading awareness.

One way to engage this network is by offering volunteer opportunities on the Benevity Causes Portal, where you can connect with motivated individuals ready to make a difference. Whether
it's in-person volunteering, virtual projects, or corporate-led team events, these experiences
help you build real relationships with a global network of companies and purpose-driven employees, passionate people who often become repeat volunteers, donors, and long-term advocates.

This guide will walk you through how to create and publish volunteer opportunities, choose the right types of experiences to offer, understand what companies and employees value in a successful event and build engagement that drives consistent support and long-term donations.

Benefits of volunteering with Benevity

• Amplified visibility to 900+ companies: Become discoverable to hundreds of
  companies using Benevity to power their employee giving and volunteering programs.
• Increase donations: Volunteers are 70% more likely to become donors — often on a recurring basis. Many companies also match volunteer hours with financial donations, creating new and consistent funding streams.
• Ongoing access to corporate volunteers: Your listings can be activated by multiple companies and campaigns (no reposting required) helping you reach more volunteers with less administrative effort.
• Strengthen corporate partnerships: Volunteering builds the foundation for lasting corporate relationships, leading to grants, sponsorships, in-kind donations, and deeper CSR alignment.
• Build trust and credibility: All nonprofits in the catalogue are vetted and verified by Benevity, helping companies engage with confidence and view your organization as a trusted partner.

Volunteer journey: volunteers today, donors tomorrow

Corporate volunteers often take their first step into your nonprofit through their company's CSR program, seeking meaningful ways to give back. When opportunities are easy to join, clearly structured and shows real impact, participation increases significantly.

In fact, corporate volunteering grew by 57% globally in 2024, with 65% of participants volunteering for the first time. This surge presents a critical opportunity for nonprofits to turn new faces into long-term champions.

Volunteers who engage in high-quality, ongoing opportunities are twice as likely to donate as those who never volunteer. What's more, when employees participate together in team-based volunteering, engagement can increase by up to 7.5×, driven by connection, camaraderie and shared purpose.

Every meaningful volunteer experience has the potential to create a ripple effect. When an employee has a positive interaction with your organization, they're more likely to return, more likely to share the experience with a coworker and more likely to influence their company to deepen the partnership — through grants, campaigns or donations, as well as become long-term ambassadors for your nonprofit.

How to boost donations with volunteering rewards

Volunteer rewards transform employee hours into direct financial contributions for your nonprofit. When a company enables this feature, every hour their employees volunteer can generate a direct donation, typically between $15 and $20 per hour, depending on the company's program settings. Currently, around 60% of our clients have this feature enabled.

For example, if a company offers $20 per volunteer hour and 100 employees each volunteer for two hours, that single event can generate $2,000 in donation dollars, all while supporting your nonprofit along the way. That's the power of volunteer rewards: turning time into meaningful impact.

Note that volunteer rewards apply only when a company has the feature activated in their program.
You'll see these rewards clearly listed in your disbursement reports to track every donation generated
by your volunteers.

Volunteering catalogue

Benevity's volunteering catalogue is a streamlined platform feature designed to connect nonprofits like yours with a world of engaged corporate volunteers. By providing a curated and expanding list of global in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities, we help you connect directly with volunteers and companies.

As a participating nonprofit, you'll gain access to a vast network of potential volunteers, boost awareness for your mission and simplify your volunteering recruitment process.

This is just the first step of a larger push by our team at Benevity as we continue to curate more volunteer opportunities and foster a culture that will translate into more value from every volunteer engagement.

Types of volunteer opportunities

On the Benevity platform, nonprofits can create field, goods collection and virtual volunteer opportunities. Field volunteering builds strong community connections through in-person engagement, goods collection mobilizes support and raises essential resources and virtual volunteering expands reach, allowing anyone to contribute from anywhere.

Here are some examples of activities popular among our users:

How to create engaging volunteer opportunities

Creating meaningful and accessible volunteer opportunities is key to driving participation and deepening support for your mission. Based on proven practices, here are the guiding principles
for building compelling and effective volunteer engagements on Benevity:

1. Create accessible and inclusive activities

Activities that are easy to join, simple to complete and flexible in format see high engagement rates:

• Evergreen or regularly recurring: Ensure the opportunity can be offered at any time or on an ongoing basis, as this increases flexibility for volunteers and simplifies scheduling.
• Unskilled: Design activities that require minimal or no prior training, so that anyone can participate confidently, regardless of background or expertise.
• One-session: Prioritize opportunities that can be completed in a single sitting, as these are easier to commit to and typically drive higher engagement.
• Group-friendly: Structure your opportunity for groups or corporate teams, which boosts morale, drives higher turnout and activates volunteer rewards. In fact, 67% of our users are focusing on team volunteering.

2. Focus on impact

Volunteers give their time because they want to make a difference. To spark and sustain that
passion, ensure every opportunity ties directly to your mission and delivers clear, measurable results:

• Tell a compelling story: Describe why this opportunity matters, how it advances your
  mission and the difference each volunteer can make.
• Define tangible outcomes: Specify what volunteers will accomplish (e.g., assemble
  200 care packages, plant 50 trees, tutor five students).
• Illustrate real-world change: Feature testimonials or before-and-after statistics (such
  as a family receiving meals over time or a community garden before and after planting)
  to vividly showcase volunteer impact.
• Share progress: Use simple metrics (items packed, hours served, people reached),
  so volunteers can track progress and celebrate their achievements.

3. Outline all activity details

Volunteers want to know exactly what to expect. A clear, detailed description makes your
opportunity more engaging and easier to sign up for. Be sure to include:

• Volunteer responsibilities: List the specific tasks volunteers will perform, step by step so volunteers understand precisely what they'll be doing from start to finish.
• Logistics & commitment: Specify dates, times, location (virtual or in-person), frequency, duration and any associated costs or requirements.
• Include photos: Add photos of real volunteers in action to bring the listing to life and inspire others to join.

4. Awareness Days

Connect your volunteer opportunities to global observances that spotlight key social or environmental issues. These moments of heightened visibility can drive stronger engagement and align your efforts with the CSR focus areas of companies on the Benevity ecosystem. For example:

• Earth Day (April 22): Organize environmental clean-ups or tree-planting events that resonate with corporate partners and the wider community.
• Giving Season (September–December): Leverage the busiest and most generous
  time of year where companies are actively seeking ways to give back. Launch volunteer opportunities that align with end-of-year campaigns, deepen supporter connections
  and carry engagement into the new year.

By following these guidelines, you'll create engaging, high-quality listings that draw volunteers in and ignite their passion. When opportunities are inclusive, mission-driven and crystal clear, they showcase real impact, inspire action and empower volunteers to drive your nonprofit forward.

Checklist to maximize volunteer engagement

• Create accessible opportunities (e.g., evergreen, one-session, group-friendly). Make it easy for volunteers to participate, especially those with limited time or who want to join as a team.
  
• Focus on impact and measurable outcomes
  Clearly explain the difference volunteers will make.
  
• Use the form field
  Describe the volunteer opportunity in more detail to share how the
  activity helps your nonprofit.
  
• Write a clear call-to-action in the title
  Use action words ("Pack care kits," "Mentor a student") to help volunteers quickly understand what they'll be doing.
  
• Outline volunteer tasks
  Be specific so volunteers know exactly what's expected and feel prepared to contribute meaningfully.
  
• Provide full logistics (dates, times, location, format, cost)
  Clear, complete details set expectations, build trust and make it easier for volunteers to commit with confidence.
  
• Add photos of volunteers in action
  Visuals build trust, inspire participation and give volunteers
  a sense of what to expect.
  
• Align with key Awareness Days and Giving Season
  Posting around global movements and giving moments helps your listing get more visibility and ties into broader campaigns.

How to create a volunteering opportunity

To connect with volunteers on Benevity, you'll need to create a volunteer opportunity on the Benevity Causes Portal. Once you've logged in, click the Volunteering tab in the left menu. Here you'll see two submissions forms:

	The Volunteering Opportunity form connects you with a vast network of engaged corporate volunteers. Submissions require a review process to ensure they meet quality standards for global visibility.
	The Client-Specific Event form requires a share key and ensures only employees at that company can view the opportunity.

How to create a Volunteering Opportunity Form

1. Log into the Benevity Causes Portal
2. Head to the Volunteer tab
3. Click the form Submit Opportunity for Review
4. Select one of the following volunteer opportunities:
   1. Field volunteering - connect with a vibrant pool of field volunteers eager to offer hands-on support, such as cleanup efforts, meal preparation, or farm work.
   2. Skills-based volunteering - tap into a network of skilled professionals in areas like translation, marketing, and web design.
   3. Goods collections - acquire essential items, from IT equipment to canned food and clothing.

   4. Virtual volunteering - expand your reach and impact by connecting with talented individuals who can contribute their skills remotely.

   • 

5. Choose from one of the templates and adapt it to your needs, or you can create a volunteer opportunity from scratch.
6. Fill out all the necessary fields.
7. Click submit.
   

Volunteering Catalogue submission process

What happens when I submit Volunteering Opportunity form?

Once you submit your activity, our team conducts an internal review to assess its
quality and eligibility. Please be aware that activities featured on the platform align with our clients' interests and comply with our quality standards outlined in pages 7-10.

Your activity will be published within 2–3 business days. During peak periods such
as Giving Season (September through December), it may take up to one week.

Once your activity is live, your Nonprofit Partnership Representative will email you
a direct link to the listing for you to review. They will be your point of contact moving forward. Please whitelist the benevity.com domain in your organization's email system to ensure that you do not miss this notification.

How can I edit and manage my volunteer opportunities?
To add, update or remove a volunteer opportunity, reach out to your Nonprofit Partnership Representative (the person who confirmed your submission).

Every year, we conduct an annual review of all listings to ensure accuracy and relevance, in which you'll hear from us to confirm which activities are still active, explore any new initiatives you'd like to showcase and archive those that are no longer available.

This yearly refresh also maintains the quality and appeal of your volunteer offerings, ensuring they can continue to engage and inspire our users.

How does volunteer matching work?
Once a volunteer signs up through the Volunteering Catalogue, you will receive an email that outlines all
the information you need, such as who has applied, group size, preferred dates and their specific requirements. You will be asked to review and confirm these details.

To ensure every placement runs smoothly, please respond to our emails in a timely manner. Use a direct work-email address rather than a role-based inbox (for example, do not use a shared email address such as info@ or admin@) in the Benevity Causes Portal as your primary user, as well as when submitting your volunteer opportunity.

Keeping your contact information current helps us coordinate successful volunteer experiences and strengthens your partnership with our corporate users.

What happens if my activity isn't accepted into the Volunteering Catalogue?
If your activity doesn't meet Benevity's requirements, your Nonprofit Partnership Representative will contact you with feedback and guidance on how to revise and resubmit. Common reasons include missing details, limited flexibility, or formatting issues.

Which form should I use for ongoing volunteer needs?
For recurring or flexible opportunities, use the Volunteering Opportunity form. It reaches a larger network of companies and keeps your listing visible year-round.

Can I see my Volunteer Catalogue activities on the Benevity Causes Portal?
No, Volunteering Catalogue opportunities don't appear in your Benevity Causes Portal dashboard in the same way your activities created using the Client-Specific Event form do. Your Nonprofit Partnership Representative will share a direct link to your live listing once it's approved.

How to create a Client-Specific Event?

1. Log into the Benevity Causes Portal
2. Head to the Volunteer tab
3. Click the form Create Event

4. Fill in all the details outlined

   1. 

5. Select "Private Opportunity" and enter the share key. It restricts visibility to specific employees, provided you have a Share Key from the client.
6. Click Submit

Client-Specific Event submission process

How do I create an opportunity for a specific company?
If a corporate partner has provided you with their Benevity share key, select "Private Opportunity" during the submission process and enter the share key. This ensures only employees at that company can view the opportunity.

What happens when I submit the Client-Specific Event form
Submitting this form publishes your volunteer opportunity directly to companies that have enabled nonprofit-created content. This means your opportunity will immediately be visible to employees at participating companies—no review by Benevity is required.
However, visibility may vary, as not all Benevity clients allow nonprofit-created content in their programs.

Why do activities need to be reviewed for the Volunteering Catalogue but not within the Client-Specific Event form?
Volunteer Catalogue submissions are reviewed to ensure quality and consistency across Benevity's platforms. Client-Specific Event form opportunities don't require a review because they publish directly to companies that allow nonprofit-created content in their programs.

How will I know when someone signs up?
When a volunteer signs up, the volunteering manager listed in your organization's Contact Information will receive an email notification.

Which form should I use for a one-off event?
For single, date-specific events, use the Client-Specific Event form so employees can sign up right away.

Do I need to be registered on the Benevity Causes Portal to create a volunteer activity?
Yes, your organization must be registered on the Benevity Causes Portal to participate in our volunteering programs.
To begin the registration process, please visit our main registration page. For step-by-step guidance to help you along the process, you can refer to our eBook: How to register your nonprofit on the Benevity Causes Portal.