How-to Tips for Applying for Unadvertised Volunteer Opportunities

By: Volunteer Success

Interested in an organization but you don’t see an opportunity that matches with your skills or interests? Sometimes organizations don’t promote opportunities for roles where they may only require one person with a specific skill set, for example: photography, graphic design, social media marketing or even some kind of musical or artistic skill that you could share with the organization’s clients.

  • If you have a skill that you think would be useful, send an email with your resume, credentials or samples of your work and let the organization know that you would be interested in volunteering your talents.
  • If you have prior experience using your skill in either a volunteer or paid capacity, highlight that fact in your email
  • If the organization can’t take advantage of your offer right away, ask for a referral to another similar organization. Often Managers of Volunteer Services have good connections with other organizations and can give you an introduction somewhere else.
  • In Volunteer Success, use your headline in your profile to highlight your talents and skills so that the organization can reach out to you directly. You can include your resume and any samples of your work on your profile too!


Get a positive response from your email? There’s a strong chance the organization will want to interview you. Review: How-to Tips for Interviewing and Email Communications

Also check out:

How-to Tips for Working in Your Volunteer Role

How to Troubleshoot Problems in Your Volunteer Role

How to Get a Reference and/or a Paid Job!

Also read…

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By: Better Impact

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This article originally published in the Non-Profit Quarterly explores the question of how nonprofit organizations can proactively design volunteer programs to be attractive to, and specifically supportive of, the fast-growing segment of our society. The Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration conducted in-depth research with volunteer program leaders across the midwestern US, and the findings are relevant nationally as well as in Canada.