Are you a nonprofit looking to create a better way to organize volunteers? Volunteer management software is an important part of the organization. There are many volunteer scheduling apps, but it can be hard to see which one might be right for your organization. Here I look at some of the best free volunteer software available so you can see what type of volunteer software will be right for you and your organization.
There are so many volunteer management software available, it can be hard to choose the one that is right for your nonprofit. I’ve tested a lot of software and free volunteer management apps, and it’s gotten overwhelming over time. So I decided to make this post sharing my best picks. I’ll also share some insights into how they can help.
SignUp.com
SignUp.com is a volunteer management software solution built for schools, businesses, and community leaders. This tool helps users coordinate volunteers to plan and host events and workshops.
With SignUp.com, you can send SMS and email reminders to your audience, collect payments and contributions/donations, track volunteers, schedule volunteer shifts, and share information and updates about your events and volunteer opportunities on social media.
This software automatically stores and syncs your contacts for easy access and provides mobile-friendly signups for events via SMS.
SignUp.com offers chat support and is web-based.
Wild Apricot: Includes a volunteer information database
Wild Apricot is a membership and volunteer management system fit for small businesses and nonprofits. It allows users to create websites for event signups and send registration emails.
This tool helps with volunteer recruitment, volunteer management, and task assignments for upcoming events. Users can create a volunteer schedule within the tool and it includes an online registration portal where you can create detailed event listings with descriptions and images.
Wild Apricot facilitates payment tracking and event registration fee collection through your website. Attendees can also use a mobile app to submit payments.
This tool maintains a volunteer information database and lets you send email blasts for announcements and organizational updates.
Wild Apricot offers email, phone, and live chat support, as well as an iOS and Android app for mobile devices.
Lumaverse
Volunteer Management Tool Overview
Lumaverse Technologies offers a variety of powerful nonprofit software solutions that can help any organization streamline and simplify supporter management processes—including for donors, members, and, of course, volunteers. This software is perfect for nonprofits, schools, faith groups, and other organizations looking to take a data-informed approach to volunteer management.
Lumaverse’s volunteer management software can assist organizations with the following key tasks:
- Creating easy to use, easy to share volunteer sign ups
- Receiving detailed attendance tracking and reporting for volunteers
- Building and updating detailed volunteer and other supporter profiles
- Connecting volunteer and other supporter profiles to a centralized CRM
- Personalizing and/or automating communications and other outreach to volunteers
- Understanding which initiatives volunteers are responding to, what works, and what doesn’t
- Coordinating and streamlining events
Volunteers are the backbone of so many organizations. Lumaverse gets that—after all, many of their technology experts started out in nonprofits! By taking a more tech-driven approach to volunteer management, you can provide a more streamlined, more enjoyable experience for both your staff and your highly valued volunteers.
Why We Love This Volunteer Management Tool
One of many reasons why we love Lumaverse’s volunteer management tools is because it integrates with Double the Donation. Not only can you collect and store critical volunteer management data in your CRM system, but you can also cross-reference that information against Double the Donation’s comprehensive corporate giving database to discover new volunteer grants and matching gift opportunities.
Volunteer Management Software Pricing
Lumaverse’s volunteer management software begins at $100/month for nonprofits or $65/month for K-12 schools. Then, depending on the number of volunteer records you’ll need to manage, prices increase incrementally.
VolunteerLocal
Volunteer Management Tool Overview
VolunteerLocal is a volunteer management system built for nonprofits, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, festivals, events, and more. This software is a fantastic choice for groups of all shapes and sizes looking to simplify and streamline their volunteer engagement processes.
Specifically, VolunteerLocal’s powerful VMS offers the following key tools and features:
- Easy online volunteer self-scheduling solutions for individuals and groups
- Comprehensive volunteer data collection and management with real-time reporting
- Volunteer hour-tracking options with on-site check-in, mobile app, web, kiosk, and admin screen functionalities
- Seamless communication abilities with email and SMS messaging, as well as the ability to segment by an individual, role, shift, or program
- Signup and cancellation notifications to ensure organizers are on the same page and prepared for upcoming shifts
- Easy-to-use mobile app for volunteers to better engage with their groups
- Unlimited phone and email support to help get set up and troubleshoot any issues as they arise
The VolunteerLocal platform essentially serves all sorts of volunteer-driven organizations, streamlining management and engagement from beginning to end. Not only will your behind-the-scenes team appreciate its impact, but your volunteers interacting with the solution will as well.
Why We Love This Volunteer Management Tool
VolunteerLocal stands out because of its native integration with Double the Donation’s matching gift and volunteer grant automation tool, 360MatchPro.
Volunteer grants are a significantly underutilized form of corporate funding offered by companies whose employees volunteer with charitable organizations. By employing a volunteer grant software solution, VolunteerLocal is helping to close that gap, inform eligible volunteers about grant availability, and secure more dollars for nonprofit causes.
And the process is simple! As volunteers complete their registration forms for upcoming events and opportunities, they are encouraged to enter their employer’s name in an online field. This information is then stored within their volunteer record and used for future outreach once the event has passed.
Volunteer Management Software Pricing
VolunteerLocal offers a range of software packages to best meet different organizations’ needs. Their Discover plan starts at only $600/year, and they offer per-event pricing for one-time engagements as well. Their more comprehensive Grow and Conquer plans are available at $2,400 and $10,000 per year, respectively, providing teams with higher-level features and abilities.
Mobilize
Volunteer Management Tool Overview
Mobilize is the events management and volunteer recruitment platform that connects mission-driven organizations and supporters. Nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, labor unions, and political campaigns have all hosted successful events with the platform’s intuitive features and a rapidly growing network of nearly 2 million volunteers.
The platform’s top features include:
- Easy in-person and virtual event creation
- Automated pre-event communication and post-event surveys to drive engagement
- Capabilities to empower all-star supporters to host their own events on your behalf
- Access to the growing Mobilize network of partners and supporters
- Comprehensive volunteer management dashboards, analytics, and integrations
By helping you more easily recruit supporters and boost engagement, Mobilize can supercharge any of your virtual or in-person volunteer opportunities. Forging so many new connections with supporters will be a game-changer for your organization.
Why We Love This Volunteer Management Tool
Organizations that use Mobilize have seen drastic increases in supporter engagement with their events, like 30% increases in attendance from online signups. A bigger audience combined with seamless signup and communication tools make it easy to supercharge your impact now and over the long-run.
Volunteer Management Software Pricing
Request a free demo of Mobilize to learn more about their features and pricing details.
Boardable
Volunteer Management Tool Overview
Boardable makes organizing and managing volunteer board members a breeze. With their tools on your side, you’ll easily find the best meeting times, securely store all your documents, create discussion threads, and much more.
The intuitive platform will centralize communication, drive productivity, and enhance the volunteer board member experience in no time! These comprehensive tools may be just what your team needs to make snappy decisions and sustain operations.
Here’s a handful of the extensive features Boardable offers:
- A meeting center to automate scheduling and reminders
- Unlimited groups that allow for custom team structures
- A task manager so you can take actionable steps toward your goals
- eSigning to speed up the signing and approval process for legal documents
- Goal tracking so you can set aspirational benchmarks and track performance metrics
Why We Love This Volunteer Management Tool
With the challenges nonprofits often face, their boards cannot hesitate to make time-sensitive decisions. Boardable recognizes this and offers a mobile app that enables your volunteer board to collaborate, review important documents, and participate in time-sensitive polls at their convenience.
Volunteer Management Software Pricing
With prices as low as $79/month, Boardable is an affordable option for any nonprofit. Plus, they’re offering organizations everywhere 30 days of free access to their powerful software. This way, you can get a feel for the platform and see how it fits into your organization’s operations before purchasing.
InitLive
Volunteer Management Tool Overview
InitLive is an all-in-one volunteer and event management tool. It helps organizations reduce administrative time and streamline management processes across the board — from volunteer recruitment to retention.
Through its cloud-based web app and native mobile app, this volunteer management solution has helped hundreds of organizations reduce volunteer administration time by up to 70%, decrease volunteer no-shows by 30%, and boost retention year over year.
InitLive empowers organizations with its renowned features, some of which include:
- Recruitment and application management tools
- Intuitive drag-and-drop scheduling capabilities
- Two-way communication functionality
- The ability to broadcast messages and send targeted communications
- Retention tools so you can show appreciation to top supporters
Why We Love This Volunteer Management Tool
The InitLive solution offers the best user experience on the market. Their software gives organizations incredible flexibility in managing volunteers. Plus, you’ll overcome any challenges you face with the help of their 5-star customer service team. Their support staff strives to make sure every customer receives quality, dependable support and optimal value from the system.
Volunteer Management Software Pricing
Reach out to the InitLive team to learn more about their features and pricing details.
Conclusion:
Volunteering can be an incredibly rewarding way to give back. It’s also great for nonprofits. Volunteer software helps track people who are interested in volunteering, makes it easier to schedule shifts and better manage volunteers overall. So if you’re looking for volunteer management software, this list has all the best options. Plus, these nonprofit volunteer apps are free to use!