United Way’s Volunteer Website – Terms and Conditions

We take volunteering seriously and we need to be sure you do as well. We want you to connect to the best volunteers possible – and we want all volunteers using our site to have an awesome experience and come back for more.

Below is the nitty-gritty we need you to commit to when you recruit volunteers on our site.

Organization Basics

Your use of our site indicates you accept these Terms and Conditions, and:

From time to time we may revise these Terms and Conditions (sometimes based on your feedback) by updating this document and posting it on United Way’s volunteer website.
When we make big changes we will communicate those to you directly.
If at any time you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, you need to cease your use of United Way’s volunteer website.
Exceptions to these Terms and Conditions may be made at the sole discretion of United Way of King County.
Some of United Way’s volunteer events (e.g. Day of Caring, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service) will have additional terms and conditions that you will review and accept when you submit those volunteer opportunities.

New organizations go through an approval process, completed as quickly as possible. You are welcome to join the community on our volunteer website if your organization is located in King County, and:

A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.
A public or private school.
A government entity serving the community (e.g. libraries, fire department, parks and recreation program).
A licensed health-care facility (e.g. hospital, hospice).
An organization with state-level tax exemption.
An organization fiscally sponsored by another organization with 501(c)3 status or that has applied for, and is waiting for approval, of their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.

To register, nonprofit organizations need to have their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue service, and will be asked to provide their EIN (tax identification number) during the registration process.

Unfortunately, you can’t register on our volunteer website if your organization:

Is based in or operates from a private residence.
Seeks volunteer assistance for personal purposes.
Is a partisan, political organization.
Requires financial membership to participate in its volunteer activities.

United Way of King County reserves the right to refuse any organization whose volunteer program's mission and purpose it finds contrary to the spirit of volunteerism.

And a few other things to remember:

Organizations aren’t allowed to solicit funds on United Way’s volunteer website. We are, however, happy to post fundraising events on the site or a volunteer opportunity for a fundraising volunteer.
Organizations are solely responsible for posting/updating your content on United Way’s volunteer website.
United Way’s volunteer website is a free public service to our community of organizations and volunteers. When you respond to our requests to confirm connections, volunteers engaged, etc., that data helps us make the case for continued investment in our site. Basically, when you help us, we can continue helping you!

Volunteer Engagement Basics: Taking care of volunteers

Registering organizations agree to:

Contact referred volunteers within 3 business days – or sooner.
Provide volunteers with all the elements of good customer service and effective volunteer management, including:

A safe working environment
Volunteer position descriptions
Orientation and training
Supervision
Evaluation
Recognition

Provide and/or notify prospective volunteers, including board members, of your liability insurance coverage.
Screen each volunteer referred to your organization for appropriateness. United Way of King County does not screen your volunteers. Each organization is responsible for the volunteer(s) referred through our site, and agrees to hold United Way of King County harmless from any and all claims, losses, damages, or expenses which you may incur or suffer as a result of any action or inaction of any volunteer referred to you through United Way’s volunteer website.

Volunteer Opportunity Basics: Keep it current and fresh

In order to continue using United Way’s volunteer website, we need organizations like yours to do the following:

Regularly post your ongoing or date-specific volunteer opportunities.
Update your volunteer opportunities as necessary to keep them current.
Respond to all volunteer requests within 3 business days.
Avoid email bounce backs – timely update of changes to your contact information.
Remove volunteer opportunities when they are filled, if not date-specific opportunities.
Be upfront about any volunteer costs or material requirements; volunteers need to know if the project won’t happen unless they can donate paint, bring shovels, etc.
Respond to our requests to confirm connections, volunteers engaged, etc. United Way’s volunteer website is a free public service to our community of organizations and volunteers. The data we gather helps us make the case for continued investment in our site. Basically, when you help us, we can keep helping you!

United Way may edit some content within your volunteer opportunity before posting, but won’t change the core message of the opportunity. Why?

To make sure we are providing a quality volunteer searching experience, e.g. it is categorized correctly, adding a key word for searching, etc.
To correct typos, readability, etc.
To shorten the amount of text so it’s more mobile-friendly.
To remove links to other registration platforms. Please note that we don't allow links to be added to your opportunity description that lead to external registration or sign up platforms. The way we measure how effective our website is for our nonprofit partners is by tracking the referrals that come through the site. The referrals are created when a potential volunteer clicks the respond button on your opportunity page. This will trigger a message to you, and from there you can ask volunteers to fill out other forms.

United Way Volunteer Website Basics: We are a community

We are in this together. Your success is our success – and is our community’s success. What you can expect from United Way:

We will promote the volunteer website – and your volunteer opportunities - far and wide! That means bus boards, social media, and more.
We will respond to questions and approve organizations and opportunities within 3 business days.
We will be reviewing data on opportunities regularly. If a volunteer opportunity is not getting visits or referrals, you may hear from us with ideas to freshen it up.
We will be analyzing the site regularly too, and advocating for enhancements with our vendor. We welcome your feedback on its functionality.
We will keep you informed about volunteering activities:

How our site is doing – metrics, challenges, and celebrations.
Resources to help you enhance your volunteer engagement practices, including trainings and events by United Way, Volunteer Administrator Network (VAN), 501 Commons, and others.
Tips on how to use the site, best practices for promoting opportunities, etc.
Notifications about our volunteer events –Day of Caring, Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service, corporate days and others.
Information on local and national volunteer-related grants, in-kind resources, and other resources.

What we would love from you – in addition to what we say above:

Success Stories. Connect with a great volunteer via our site? Let us know, your organization might be highlighted via social media, our blog, or in other ways.
Promote the site. Getting calls from volunteers and no opening? Volunteers with a skill you cannot use? Can’t accommodate groups in your space? Refer people to the site. We know other organizations in the community will pay it forward so you benefit one day.
Ideas. Whether it’s a site enhancement, a collaborative volunteer project with organizations in your neighborhood, or a way to spread the word, we’d like to know.
Needs. The more we know, the better we can respond when we have access to resources like mini- grants, a team of skilled volunteers, or a company looking for projects. We hear from groups all the time wanting a range of volunteer experiences: projects they can do on-site or virtually, projects for 50 or more volunteers, etc. We’ll always look at the volunteer opportunities you have posted first, to see if there’s a match, so keeping them current could pay off in other ways.

United Way’s Volunteer Website – Terms and Conditions

We take volunteering seriously and we need to be sure you do as well. We want you to connect to the best volunteers possible – and we want all volunteers using our site to have an awesome experience and come back for more.

Below is the nitty-gritty we need you to commit to when you recruit volunteers on our site.

Organization Basics

Your use of our site indicates you accept these Terms and Conditions, and:

From time to time we may revise these Terms and Conditions (sometimes based on your feedback) by updating this document and posting it on United Way’s volunteer website.

When we make big changes we will communicate those to you directly.

If at any time you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, you need to cease your use of United Way’s volunteer website.

Exceptions to these Terms and Conditions may be made at the sole discretion of United Way of King County.

Some of United Way’s volunteer events (e.g. Day of Caring, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service) will have additional terms and conditions that you will review and accept when you submit those volunteer opportunities.

New organizations go through an approval process, completed as quickly as possible. You are welcome to join the community on our volunteer website if your organization is located in King County, and:

A nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

A public or private school.

A government entity serving the community (e.g. libraries, fire department, parks and recreation program).

A licensed health-care facility (e.g. hospital, hospice).

An organization with state-level tax exemption.

An organization fiscally sponsored by another organization with 501(c)3 status or that has applied for, and is waiting for approval, of their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.

To register, nonprofit organizations need to have their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue service, and will be asked to provide their EIN (tax identification number) during the registration process.

Unfortunately, you can’t register on our volunteer website if your organization:

Is based in or operates from a private residence.

Seeks volunteer assistance for personal purposes.

Is a partisan, political organization.

Requires financial membership to participate in its volunteer activities.

United Way of King County reserves the right to refuse any organization whose volunteer program's mission and purpose it finds contrary to the spirit of volunteerism.

And a few other things to remember:

Organizations aren’t allowed to solicit funds on United Way’s volunteer website. We are, however, happy to post fundraising events on the site or a volunteer opportunity for a fundraising volunteer.

Organizations are solely responsible for posting/updating your content on United Way’s volunteer website.

Volunteer Engagement Basics: Taking care of volunteers

Registering organizations agree to:

Contact referred volunteers within 3 business days – or sooner.

Provide volunteers with all the elements of good customer service and effective volunteer management, including:

A safe working environment

Volunteer position descriptions

Orientation and training

Supervision

Evaluation

Recognition

Provide and/or notify prospective volunteers, including board members, of your liability insurance coverage.

Volunteer Opportunity Basics: Keep it current and fresh

In order to continue using United Way’s volunteer website, we need organizations like yours to do the following:

Regularly post your ongoing or date-specific volunteer opportunities.

Update your volunteer opportunities as necessary to keep them current.

Respond to all volunteer requests within 3 business days.

Avoid email bounce backs – timely update of changes to your contact information.

Remove volunteer opportunities when they are filled, if not date-specific opportunities.

Be upfront about any volunteer costs or material requirements; volunteers need to know if the project won’t happen unless they can donate paint, bring shovels, etc.

United Way may edit some content within your volunteer opportunity before posting, but won’t change the core message of the opportunity. Why?

To make sure we are providing a quality volunteer searching experience, e.g. it is categorized correctly, adding a key word for searching, etc.

To correct typos, readability, etc.

To shorten the amount of text so it’s more mobile-friendly.

United Way Volunteer Website Basics: We are a community

We are in this together. Your success is our success – and is our community’s success. What you can expect from United Way:

We will promote the volunteer website – and your volunteer opportunities - far and wide! That means bus boards, social media, and more.

We will respond to questions and approve organizations and opportunities within 3 business days.

We will be reviewing data on opportunities regularly. If a volunteer opportunity is not getting visits or referrals, you may hear from us with ideas to freshen it up.

We will be analyzing the site regularly too, and advocating for enhancements with our vendor. We welcome your feedback on its functionality.

We will keep you informed about volunteering activities:

How our site is doing – metrics, challenges, and celebrations.

Resources to help you enhance your volunteer engagement practices, including trainings and events by United Way, Volunteer Administrator Network (VAN), 501 Commons, and others.

Tips on how to use the site, best practices for promoting opportunities, etc.

Notifications about our volunteer events –Day of Caring, Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service, corporate days and others.

Information on local and national volunteer-related grants, in-kind resources, and other resources.

What we would love from you – in addition to what we say above:

Success Stories. Connect with a great volunteer via our site? Let us know, your organization might be highlighted via social media, our blog, or in other ways.

Promote the site. Getting calls from volunteers and no opening? Volunteers with a skill you cannot use? Can’t accommodate groups in your space? Refer people to the site. We know other organizations in the community will pay it forward so you benefit one day.

Ideas. Whether it’s a site enhancement, a collaborative volunteer project with organizations in your neighborhood, or a way to spread the word, we’d like to know.

Questions about our Terms and Conditions? Send us an email at volunteers@uwkc.org.