Volunteer management software is designed to simplify aspects of managing the supporters who generously donate their time and skills to your cause. Whether you're part of a nonprofit, advocacy group, political campaign, union, or other mission-driven organization, you know that volunteers are invaluable partners for driving your mission forward.
However, without a concrete volunteer management strategy and the right tools for the job, recruiting and managing supporters can easily become a bigger logistical challenge than it should be.
Plus, streamlined volunteer management ultimately generates more long-term value for your organization by driving increased supporter engagement and retention. This has become especially important as the COVID-19 pandemic's effects have drastically changed the fundraising and organizing landscapes. When you're recruiting and engaging supporters virtually, it is more essential than ever to ensure a positive, streamlined experience.
If you're new to managing volunteers, getting started with the right software can be a challenge. There are plenty of solutions on the market, each designed to address specific needs with varying levels of functionality. How do you know where to begin searching?
To help kickstart your research, we've gathered a few of the top volunteer management software providers. Here's what we'll cover:
- Top volunteer management software: Mobilize
- Other leading volunteer software providers & specialized solutions
- Why volunteer management software matters
Ready to start exploring your options and strengthening your volunteer management strategies? Let's get started.
Top volunteer management software: Mobilize
Mobilize is the leading online platform for volunteer recruitment, management, communication, and follow-up. We connect organizations with the passionate supporters they need to help drive their missions forward.
Our tools are designed to meet the needs of mission-based organizations of all shapes and sizes, including nonprofits, political campaigns, unions, and advocacy groups.
Volunteer management features
The Mobilize platform includes a full set of volunteer management features to help you start reaching and engaging more supporters from day one. The top features include:
- Easy in-person and virtual event creation
- Automated communication tools, including pre-event messages and post-event surveys
- Peer-to-peer recruitment features to reach wider audiences
- Event creation permissions to empower your most dedicated supporters to host their own local or virtual events
- Access to the growing Mobilize network of volunteers (over 2 million strong!) looking for their next cause
- Complete data reporting features, volunteer management tools, and additional integrations
The Mobilize impact
We've helped over 2 million volunteers take 5 million actions for the causes that matter to them, and we're just getting started!
Organizations using Mobilize as their volunteer management software have seen significant benefits for both their recruitment and engagement efforts.
With streamlined tools and access to an unparalleled network of supporters and partners, users have doubled their signup rates through online channels and increased attendance by 30% or more.
Automated reminder messages and emails before volunteer opportunities can reduce no-shows by up to 30%, and post-event surveys fill a critical knowledge gap, giving you insights to continue improving your volunteer management processes in the future. On average, 32% of volunteers share in-depth qualitative feedback on the Mobilize platform.
These benefits, plus Mobilize's robust data reporting and management tools, can give your organization a solid foundation on which to grow an effective volunteer management program.
Handle every part of the volunteer journey with Mobilize, from recruitment and initial engagement to long-term retention and empowerment.
Getting started with Mobilize
It's easy to get started with Mobilize. Sign up for your free starter account for access to all of our core recruitment and volunteer management tools. To see the complete toolkit in action, including unlimited events and more advanced communication and data features, request a custom demo.
Check out our Get Started page to explore your options and learn more about our game-changing platform.
Other leading volunteer software providers & specialized solutions
Volunteer management software has to handle a broad range of needs. All types of organizations rely on supporter power to drive their work forward, and volunteer management itself encompasses a number of different tasks and functions that look different for each unique mission and audience.
We've gathered additional volunteer management software providers and specialized solutions to handle any new challenge thrown your way. Here are our top picks:
Double the Donation: Best software for volunteer grants
Double the Donation is a leading provider of corporate philanthropy data and tools designed with one goal in mind: helping mission-driven organizations raise more support without asking supporters for additional donations or volunteered time.
Their comprehensive database of corporate philanthropy programs and embeddable search tool make it easy for your volunteers to quickly check their eligibility, submit a request, and send a free grant of additional support to your organization.
Why it stands out
Corporate philanthropy programs (particularly volunteer grant programs) are a seriously underutilized resource by organizations and supporters alike. For organizations with strong volunteer programs in place, this additional source of free revenue can be significant.
Plus, offering an easy way to boost supporters' impact goes a long way to deepen your relationships and build stronger ties with them, translating into increased retention and engagement over the long-run. It's a win-win, and Double the Donation's tools make it easy for both your organization and your supporters to get started.
Explore Double the Donation's website to learn more about their volunteer grant software.
Boardable: Best volunteer software for board management
Boardable is a volunteer management software solution designed specifically to help your organization better organize and manage its board members.
With a complete set of communication, collaboration, and project management features, Boardable makes it easy to streamline operations and drive more productivity at the top levels of your organization.
Why it stands out
With remote work the new normal for many organizations, at least for now, keeping your entire board on the same page and fully equipped with the right tools can be difficult.
Boardable stands out as a volunteer management software solution because of its comprehensive range of features and its mobile-accessibility via a dedicated mobile app.
Explore Boardable's website to learn more about their volunteer management software.
EveryAction: Best software for volunteer data management
EveryAction is a CRM platform designed with advocacy organizations and nonprofits in mind. As a centralized digital location for your supporter data, fundraising efforts, and advocacy campaigns, this database software can give your organization a 360-degree view of your performance. Running and tracking multi-channel advocacy campaigns from one centralized system allows for holistic reporting and easy segmentation of supporter data.
Why it stands out
EveryAction fills an important gap that many advocacy organizations are faced with: unifying all of your campaign data and efforts within a single system. Data from phone banking, canvassing, and volunteer shifts is stored alongside digital advocacy and fundraising information, for a complete look at your supporters’ interactions with your organization. As a CRM platform designed specifically for nonprofit fundraising and advocacy campaigns, there’s no need to invest endless hours and resources in completely re-configuring the system to suit your needs. Plus, ready-made integrations with other leading advocacy software (like Mobilize) makes it easy to build out your EveryAction instance as needed.
Explore the EveryAction platform to learn more.
Explore the Salesforce NPSP to learn more about this data management platform.
Phone2Action: Best volunteer management software for advocate communication
Phone2Action is a leading provider of volunteer management software for organizations that conduct digital advocacy campaigns, especially when it comes to communication.
This platform's features make it easy for your advocates to take action through a number of different channels, including email, webform, social media, and phone calls.
Why it stands out
Advocacy campaigns can be logistically challenging. Mobilizing your entire base of support to take action around a particular issue, often in the form of contacting lawmakers regarding a specific piece of legislation, requires highly coordinated communication.
Phone2Action's complete set of features have you covered. These tools not only make it easy for your advocates to communicate with their lawmakers but also for your organization to communicate with your advocates via text message and email.
Plus, Phone2Action integrates with Mobilize! Check out our joint webinar on virtual advocacy best practices to se both platforms in action.
Explore Phone2Action's website for a complete rundown of their advocacy and volunteer management software.
SignUpGenius: Best volunteer management software for schools and churches
SignUpGenius is an event registration and volunteer management solution ideal for smaller, local organizations like schools and churches.
With an emphasis on sign-up lists and pages for volunteers to sign up for specific tasks or shifts, this platform has everything that smaller organizations need to handle the core logistics of staffing an in-person event or virtual project.
Why it stands out
For smaller organizations like schools, churches, and community groups, professional-grade software is often out of reach. SignUpGenius fills a crucial gap by helping these organizations avoid messy spreadsheets or Google Docs that quickly spiral out of control.
Plus, with communication and payment options built-in, SignUpGenius's volunteer software can easily grow along with you.
Explore SignUpGenius to learn more about their event registration and volunteer software.
Hustle: Best volunteer software for peer-to-peer texting
Hustle is a top provider of volunteer management software and communication tools geared exclusively towards peer-to-peer texting.
The platform contains a complete set of tools for creating your text campaigns, developing communication scripts, mobilizing your team, and tracking all of your data and results. Hustle makes it easy to reach wider audiences and drive stronger results in the forms of donations, pledges, sign-ups, advocacy actions, or whatever your goals might be.
Why it stands out
Hustle stands out because it's the leading software provider for one of the most effective communication methods for mission-based organizations. After all, 95% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of being sent! That's much more effective than the average email blast.
Plus, Hustle's one-on-one texting features provide an extremely personable and positive experience for recipients, boosting engagement.
To see Hustle and Mobilize in action, check out our joint webinar all about managing virtual text banking volunteers!
Explore Hustle to learn more about their powerful communication and volunteer management tools.
Political Data, Inc.: Best volunteer management tools for political data
These days, data is the lifeblood of all types of organizations, especially political campaigns, committees, and advocacy groups. Political Data, Inc. has been a leading provider of political data and related products for over 30 years.
With a comprehensive database of voter information and election results and a full range of specific data products (like lists specifically for direct mail or in-person canvassing efforts), PDI has you covered.
Why it stands out
If your organization or committee uses advanced political data to guide your strategies, you know that staying organized can be a major challenge. Without a centralized way to access and study your data, you run the risk of it becoming more overwhelming than useful to your team.
PDI's advanced Campaign Center software provides a centralized system for managing and analyzing data, pulled straight from their core database. Plus, their database integrates with Mobilize!
Explore Political Data, Inc.'s website to learn more about their complete range of voter data and volunteer tools.
ClickTime: Best volunteer management software for time tracking
ClickTime is an online software provider specialized in extremely easy-to-use time tracking tools for organizations of all shapes and sizes.
As a web-based platform, ClickTime is easy to access from anywhere. Intuitive timesheets, reporting features, and project management tools make it a strong choice for any business, nonprofit, or other organization.
Why it stands out
Time tracking has a number of major benefits for organizations, the biggest being more accurate budgeting and planning. While volunteers and other supporters aren't paid, giving them ways to track their time is still a good idea (especially if they'll need records to claim a volunteer grant from their employer).
ClickTime is one of the only time tracking platforms that includes nonprofit-specific features, like grant and fund reporting broken down by employee hours, percent completion, or any other relevant metric.
Explore ClickTime's website to learn more about their full set of time tracking and volunteer management software.
Nonprofit Courses: Best volunteer software for training resources
Nonprofit Courses is an invaluable resource for any mission-driven organization looking to empower its volunteers.
With a comprehensive library of video and text-based courses on topics ranging from nonprofit accounting to website design to online fundraising, this site covers practically any subject your organization might need a refresher on.
Why it stands out
Many organizations often struggle with long-term volunteer retention because, after participating in the same ways for a period of time, supporters might begin feeling bored or frustrated without a means to grow their impact and role in your mission. Training resources are the answer.
Nearly all of the content on Nonprofit Courses is free, with a number of affordable paid courses available, as well. With this value, giving your dedicated volunteers access to the resources they want and need in order to grow their role at your organization is a no-brainer.
Explore Nonprofit Courses to see their complete library of training resources.
Why volunteer management software matters
Volunteer management software is an important investment for any organization that relies on supporters to drive its mission forward.
While it's definitely possible to begin building a strategy without tools designed specifically for the job, your volunteer management efforts will quickly become logistically overwhelming as your operations grow. Plus, recruiting new supporters is a major challenge without the ability to tap into existing networks of volunteers and partners.
Additionally, the rapid rise (and necessity!) of virtual events and supporter engagement amid the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that organizations handling their volunteers the old-fashioned way are at a serious disadvantage.
Ultimately, volunteer management software matters for mission-driven organizations because it generates long-term value. Dedicated software makes your team's job easier, saving them time and resources. It also generates more concrete engagement data that you can use to analyze your efforts and improve your recruitment and engagement strategies. Together, these benefits generate much more value for your organization over the long run than taking a piecemeal or manual approach.
Continue your volunteer management research with these additional resources from Mobilize:
- Volunteer Management: The Complete Guide for Growing Orgs. New to strategically recruiting and managing volunteers? We've got you covered with this crash course.
- Virtual Labor Organizing: The Ultimate Guide for 2020. Virtual organizing is a brand new undertaking for many unions. Review the basics with this guide.
- Virtual Fundraising Ideas to Drive Donations During COVID-19. If your organization is struggling to keep donations flowing in a new virtual environment, we recommend these tips and ideas.
