Note: The manual linked below was originally drafted in February 2002 but was recently updated by TechSoup.org staff to include more current advice, worksheets, and technical specifications. It is intended to be a starting point and guide for nonprofits who aim to recruit technical volunteers. The editors at TechSoup invite you to take it and use what you like, add to it, and make it your own. If there are resources you'd like to see added to the manual, please contact them at lendahand@techsoup.org.

Many nonprofits, libraries,�and schools don't have the time or money to use technology in all the ways they would like. Technical volunteers can fill the gap by tackling the projects that in-house staff cannot handle, and that do not require paid consultants.

Yet even groups that have successfully involved volunteers in their program or administrative work have run into problems when volunteers contribute to technology needs. Recruiting and managing technical volunteers can be intimidating, especially when staff members do not fully understand the work that "techies" do. Also, organizations must balance the benefits of technical volunteers' help with the need to establish sustainable, consistent computer support.

TechSoup has developed an effective methodology for recruiting, matching, and managing technical volunteers. You can use the downloadable guide below to assess your technical needs and identify areas where volunteers can help, recruit technical volunteers and assess their skills, manage technical volunteers and document their work, and find resources that will help your volunteers throughout the process.

Download the manual:
tech-volunteer-handbook_final 0409 (DOC, 1 MB)
tech-volunteer-handbook_final 0409 (PDF, 137 KB)

Copyright � 2009 CompuMentor. This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.