Choosing a volunteer

Before starting work with a volunteer you need to be sure that you'll be happy working with them. All our volunteers are IT professionals but we don't have the resources to vet them ourselves. We recommend that you carry out some simple checks to ensure they're suitable for your organisation and project.

• If you have a volunteer policy feel free to apply it to IT volunteers
• Ask for references, particularly from other VCOs that they've worked with.
• Take a look at their CV. You may not understand all the technical terms but you'll get an idea of their areas of expertise.
• If they will be working alongside your vulnerable clients or dealing with confidential data you may need to carry out a CRB check.
• If your project is to design a website ask to see other sites the volunteer has designed

If you have any problems vetting a volunteer please contact us for advice

Options for finding a volunteer

If you don't hear from any volunteers or can't find a suitable one, please let us know. Although we can't promise to find you a volunteer we will do our best.

• We can re-write your volunteer description to make it more informative
• We can feature your request in our monthly volunteer newsletter
• We can help you define a smaller, more manageable project
• We can help you consider working remotely with a virtual volunteer