What are VolunteerLocal users saying about the software?

VolunteerLocal is fantastic

Great service

VolunteerLocal has been an invaluable service for Youth Emergency Services & Shelter (YESS) and our annual special event, the YESS Duck Derby. The site is incredibly easy to use and the communication features make it easy to share shift updates and last-minute details to volunteers all in one place. I highly recommend VolunteerLocal for anyone managing an event that utilizes volunteers.

Pros

I love the ease of use, both from the administrative side as well as the general user.

Cons

There can be some clumsiness if you choose to only confirm a volunteer once they have clicked a link in an email to confirm. In the interim the shift does not appear to be filled, so you can end up overfilling a shift pretty easily. It would be nice if it could place a "hold" on the shift for maybe 24 hours or some set amount of time. There is a simple solution to this, though, which is just to change your settings so that the shift is automatically confirmed.

The self-service portal is so easy to use, and fits perfectly into the spirit of volunteering

VolunteerLocal makes it possible for us to organize large numbers of people to participate in our programs in the shortest possible time. Because it allows applicants to broadcast their participation directly from the application to their social media pages, we are able to multiply our reach quite efficiently without any additional marketing costs. And the best part of all is that, volunteers can be given an option to contribute and make donations to the cause during registration or after they have completed their service. A win win for all!!

Pros

Most volunteers are simply looking for a way to give back to the community. And what is great about VolunteerLocal is that there is an integrated payment processing platform that allows volunteers to give more than just their time. And because it is presented as an auxiliary and optional feature, volunteers neither feel pressured to donate nor have to struggle to give if they want to.

Cons

The reporting and analytics features are quite inadequate. And there should be an easily composed dashboard for quick progress updates to enable coordinators better update themselves with the state of affairs in real time.

Awesome !

I have nothing but the best to say about Volunteer Local. The customer support is always right on top of things when I have a question.

Pros

Easy to use, easy for volunteers to use, customer support is superb.

Cons

It doesn't integrate with our CRM data base.

Great service to many organizations!

I like the ability to look at the dashboard and see where numbers are at whenever I would like in real time. I think that in the communication program, it should list names along with email addresses when you select who will be receiving information. If I have to log out of the communication area to look this information up, I lose where I am at and have to start over again. Not particularly convenient. Also, there should be a way for us as administrators to print name tags for volunteers for specific jobs. With larger events this is very necessary and requires us to export the information and somehow figure out how to integrate with our own database. Mostly user friendly but with the expense of a paid program I think it should be a bit more sophisticated.

VolunteerLocal is the only way to go for Volunteers

Excellent in every way. Thank you

Pros

User friendly. Excellent training videos are available to use at any time. Knowledgeable and helpful staff who handle training and follow-up very well. They answer questions and " please help me calls" the fastest I have ever experienced. Most valuable to keep on working in the area I needed help. The ability to populate a current event from a previous event is valuable. Archived volunteer information is always avaiable.

Cons

I can't think of any. Everything I need is taken care of with their software and follow up

VolunteerLocal meets all our needs

We manage over a thousand volunteers during a 3-day event, recruiting them in the 3 months prior each year. With the help of this software, one volunteer coordinator is able to handle all the needs of our volunteers on a part-time basis. The VolunteerLocal team has always been able to help me get they system set up for the next year quickly and easily. They have resolved any issues I've raised within a day or so. I couldn't ask for better service.

Pros

I like the flexibility of this software to handle unlimited volunteers in many different jobs and shifts. I also like that we can communicate directly with specific groups of volunteers - eg all those in a particular shift or job, and download lists of volunteers for almost any purpose. I also love that each year, we can copy over everything we set up for the previous year, which makes it very quick to get going. I appreciate that the sales and service is handled by just a few key staff who understand the product very well, so I can build a relationship with them and get quick answers to my questions.

Cons

We've been using this software for a few years now, and most of the issues we came across were fixed quickly. The only ongoing issue has been an inconsistency of fonts and sizes of text on the integrated part of our website and in some outgoing emails, and VolunteerLocal has fixed those as needed.

Exceptional Customer Service means client success

I have said many times (and will continue to say!) that the people at VolunteerLocal are amazing! Changes and developments take time because coding is detailed work, but I know the team hears and cares about the roadblocks I have, and they take pride in removing them. They also strive to think of new features that will improve the client experience. As the administrator, I see myself as the person who bridges the gap between volunteers who believe in our mission and the opportunities for them to serve, trying to minimize that gap along the way. But I am also the person who bridges the gap between our staff and all of the information held in the database; they need to be able to seamlessly interact with the information whether I am in the office or not, and they need to be able to see the value each volunteer brings. I have confidence that VolunteerLocal can help me be that bridge.

Pros

Initially, the selling point for VolunteerLocal was the fact that volunteers can manage so much by themselves. Being able to submit an application online, to sign up for/cancel shifts by themselves, and see all of our available opportunities on one landing page was a big factor. But as we use it longer and offer more types of opportunities, I have come to appreciate the commitment to help us solve problems and improve the interface for all parties--all because the client's happiness is such a high goal for each VolunteerLocal staff person. Whether I need help understanding how to set up an event for our particular needs, making updates to the data we're collecting, or dreaming of how the database can better serve us, I know the staff is in my corner.

Cons

Because we use our data differently than many, I have struggled the most in interacting with older data. Once events are archived, I cannot see that information in volunteer profiles (though I can see much of what I need to know from the search screen). If it wouldn't make the dashboard so cluttered, I would be tempted to leave events active permanently. Additionally, since many of our volunteers come to us in order to fulfill community service hours, it would be great for them to be able to see what they've done somehow.

Wouldn't use any other software!

After using other volunteer registration platforms, VolunteerLocal has saved me several hours of time as it provides all of the features that I need and it's easy to maneuver. I have used other platforms that were not user friendly which cost me a lot of extra time in preparing statistics, reports, etc. which had to be done manually. Being able to send email and text communications directly from VolunteerLocal (and being able to choose specific recipients) was a huge time saver. VolunteerLocal also allowed for me to invite team captains to have limited access to their volunteer jobs on VolunteerLocal so they could remain updated with their volunteer recruitment, whereas, other platforms I would have to do on a regular basis because they didn't allow for outside user access.

Pros

This software is very user friendly and easy to maneuver around to the different features, especially for someone like me who is not extremely savvy with technology. It provides all of the features that I need for volunteer recruitment for our annual race.

Cons

I have used other platforms for volunteer recruitment, and to be honest, there was nothing that I didn't like about VolunteerLocal. It provided everything that I needed, whereas other products didn't have all of the features that I needed, which meant I had to do a lot of my recruitment manually.

I LOVE Volunteer Local

Wonderful!

Pros

Over the years and with various organizations, I've used an array of volunteer sign-up programs. None come close to the user-friendly features of Volunteer Local (and a few were disasters!). Also, outstanding customer service--professional, personable and prompt.

Cons

There have been a few very minor points, but their staff always listens and makes efforts to improve the software for the next time around.

Best part of VolunteerLocal is the Support Team!

Love it! Made our volunteer process so much easier.

Pros

How thorough and prompt [SENSITIVE CONTENT] from the support line is to respond and help whenever I have any issues.

Cons

Software Integrations + I wish that I could email just ONE volunteer instead or chose select volunteers instead of having to choose an entire job/shift.

Excellent Value

Always ready to answer questions.... very easy to work with

Pros

Ease of use, support is excellent. very quick to set up

Cons

I just wish the lowest level of the product allowed you to default fields.

Office Manager

This will be our 3 year using this program and the experience has been essential in helping us maintain our volunteer needs. We can identify the positions to be filled, the tasks and responsibilities associated with those positions, the shifts and times we need to fill and at a glance can tell where we have holes in each position that need to be filled. Historically, it has helped us identified activity patterns and this allows us to use our volunteers more effectively.

Pros

The site is really easy to use and captures the amount of detail we need for our 200 + volunteers and the individual jobs that we need filled during the Rally. Since we have been using Volunteer Local there has never been a downtime for accessing the system which spells reliability to us and that is important. On the rare occasion I need assistance, the support staff a Volunteer Local have always been extremely responsive, understand the issue almost immediately and take corrective action or provide assistance the same day. I highly recommend this program to any organization who utilizes volunteers to get the work done.

Cons

I can't really offer a con - every time I have come upon a challenge that I can't resolve, the support staff are a phone call or email away to resolve the issue.

Why I recommend Volunteerlocal.com

I recommend this service whenever I can. It's very helpful when collecting volunteers and communicating instructions and details. We use the program for more than just events - we sign up staff members and volunteers for training and have used it to schedule staff interviews too. It's an effective way to decrease the number of times you have to say or email a detail or instruction.

Pros

Ease of use and support. Volunteer Programmers hear from 100's of volunteers a day, especially when recruiting for an event. Sending the link with instructions and confirmation has significantly reduced the number of calls and emails I have to send with the same message. The communication tool is my favorite feature - that and the password protection for certain volunteers roles.

Cons

Would be nice to have an easier way to archive. There a few too many steps.

Highly recommended

Exceptional customer service along with a premier product.

Pros

The combination of all the functions needed to run a smooth volunteer based event - functions that we didn't even think of that we are still inspired to incorporate into our SOP. User friendly yet customizable but not so much that I need to be a programmer to know how to use the product.

Cons

I have too many options! I get overwhelmed sometimes by all the functionalities available and how to utilize every single one. I don't need to be a programmer but it shows me how granular I could get to run my event. In a perfect event world, I could have a whole month building my VL pages and then barely have anything to manage come recruitment and management time.

Very happy with our decision to go with VolunteerLocal

Very Very Good - they were patient with us when we were on our free trial and had numerous questions. The support continues to be there as we've started using this software fulltime and run across specific questions that we have for how we need to use it. Overall it's streamlined and pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Pros

The customer service aspect is what I like most about this software. Easy to contact for any questions or issues either via email or over the phone. This helped us resolved any hiccups or challenges that we can across in a timely manner so that we can be up and running using this new software.

Cons

The fact that volunteers cannot login to their account to see their sign-ups and instead have to use the link on their confirmation email is causing some confusion. But as administrator, I can easily look it up for them and send them a screenshot of their sign-up dates

VolunteerLocal helps us manage an annual 2-week event with 24 hour shifts of 100+ volunteers

This is the best online signup app I found. Key is that it is EASY for the volunteer and there is no need for remembering Yet Another Password. Our volunteers just use their email. And there's a nice smartphone app for the volunteers. The backend is pretty intuitive and powerful. I have managed a large church event that runs 2 weeks with 24 hour shifts for the last 10 years. I have used google forms & spreadsheets to manage most of the years. The past 2 years I have used VolunteerLocal and decreased my workload at least 75%! I would highly recommend this useful app.

Pros

Once I developed the over 400+ event jobs/shifts for our annual church event, I could simple *COPY* the whole event the next year and update the START and END times...Voila! We were ready to go again I loved the export ability so I could create custom reports for different job coordinators as their teams filled out.

Cons

We could only afford the first tier subscription so I could not SAVE reports, but had to create them each time I wanted to run them. (Not difficult, just time consuming) All jobs are shift centric. There isn't a position-type job (ex: Job Planner/Coordinator) that has no explicit start/stop shift. We need that for volunteers who signup to help plan/coordinate the other volunteers in general.

Review of VolunteerLocal

VolunteerLocal has been a key part of keeping our volunteer program running. The site has helped us schedule our daily volunteers and keep track of important information. It makes it easy to keep and access information all in one place.

Pros

The software fits many scenarios in which we use it, making it pretty adaptable. The fact that the team is also always ready to listen to new ideas or there to help walk us through issues is rather unique in comparison.

Cons

The large gap that I see is the ability to communicate with Salesforce.

Volunteer Local a.k.a. Volunteer PERSONAL

Personable service (although sometimes it takes time for a response). Especially nice to feel you actually know me, my organization, my specific quirks. I love all the things the VL program can do to stream-line my job. This year my working hours decreased while my volunteer roster increased!

Pros

Fairly logical program, stream-lines my job immeasurably. I especially like the automated (pre-scheduled) responses to volunteers. What a load off my desk!

Cons

Sometimes I work from home, late at night. Wish I could call customer support when the spirit strikes me!!

Volunteer Local

Pros

Volunteer Local gives the volunteers control over when and where they would like to volunteer. They are able to add friends which is great and if something comes up they can also cancel their shift. All of this greatly reduces the amount of time my team spends on the phone and talking to potential volunteers. I also love the email feature and birthday notification.

Cons

It does not integrate with our organisations CRM and the label printing function does not work with the volunteer name tags we use. However, these are small things and the benefits of using Volunteer Local definitely out weigh these little things.

Volunteer Local is AMAZING

We put on events every year with, but our biggest event, the Navajo rug show, is our biggest event. We always struggled with our volunteer sign up. Now that we have VL, we are so happy. It makes sign up a breeze. And then let's talk about how GREAT their customer service. The support team has helped out Adopt a Native Elder over the years and we would be nowhere without them. I sing them (and VL) praises all the time!!

Pros

The ease of use with which we can set up an event and staff it easily and accurately. When we first started using it, the software was easy to figure out and even made us think of more things we could use it for. The features are endless, and it is a GREAT value for any event.

Cons

Nothing...there is absolutely nothing wrong with this software. IF there ever was something that I didn't understand, one call to customer support (and the support team) gave me the answer.

Wonderful people, AMAZING product!

If you're not using VolunteerLocal, you should be! This product has been so perfect for our small nonprofit. I went from sending at least 5 emails back and forth between a potential volunteer and trying to manage a 150-column, 5-page spreadsheet (and that's on legal paper) to simply copying and pasting the link and letting volunteers do it themselves! I can easily pull weekly reports to track our recruitment progress and send emails out when needed! Couldn't ask for a better product and so proud to call them a part of our Des Moines community.

Pros

VolunteerLocal features a simple, user-friendly interface with features even in the free version that you have to pay for with every other online volunteer system (unlimited jobs, shifts, volunteers!). You can define what information about each volunteer you want to receive, set maximums for each position, and copy jobs and shifts so you don't have to recreate the wheel for similar events. Features increase with the paid versions including the ability to blast emails to volunteers, multiple users managing different jobs, and event check in. THE single most important pro is the people! The team is a group of local developers who regularly seek feedback from the community about how to improve their product, and it shows in the execution! Kaylee is SO receptive to customer needs and easy to work with and I look forward to every time we talk.

Cons

Haven't found one yet!!

Worth it

Volunteer Local has allowed me to do my job effectively and efficiently. They customer support is link no other. They help with any question you have and if they do not have something to meet your needs they will develop it. Hands down the best investment we have made this year for our company.

Pros

This software has allowed us to keep up with the growth demand within our company. We have gone from hand scheduling 20-30 volunteers a months to scheduling 40+ a week with ease. Volunteer local has made everything so streamlined and taken away the back and fourth confusion!

Cons

I wish this software would connect with Salesforce! However, I have been in contact with one of the developers of Volunteer Local and he is working hard on it!

Great addition to our volunteer program

I use this software with a wide range of age groups. People can access event information and sign up for volunteer positions without having to send me a personal email. In this day and age, having an easy signup page is really important. I give my volunteers the option of registering personally with me or to using Volunteer Local. Having these options appeals to more types/ages of people and my volunteers like that.

Pros

This software is easy for my volunteers to use. I can send them a link and all they have to do is check which job/shift they want and type in their name and email. I have a number of volunteers who are not good with technology, so this is very important. I also like that it sends them an email with their shift information right away. I like that I can put lots of detail about the event and each job position so volunteers have access to enough information to make a good decision. I like that I can add volunteers myself, if they choose to email me instead of use the VolunteerLocal page.

Cons

The layout of screens and links when setting up an event is not always intuitive. It isn't always easy to find what I am looking for.

North America's Largest Cross Country Ski Race uses Volunteer Local!

The software is so easy to use! Which translates into the ease of coordinating 3500 year-round volunteers, and knowing at-a-glace what areas need attention, makes my job a lot easier.

Pros

I love the ease of use, the great features - like password protection and the communication tools.

Cons

Does not include the "members" as recipients of messages sent out by me/the admin, in areas they manage.