Volunteering is the new (and old) Tinder

It was July 2015. The sunny Vancouver summer was in full swing and a local nonprofit was running one of its annual cask beer festivals. Halley was a keen volunteer and happily served beer to jovial festival-goers.

She wasn't looking to date anyone at the time, but then she found herself pouring beer next to a fellow volunteer named Matt.

"We hit it off," she remembers, and at a post-festival volunteer appreciation event, they chatted more. They found a reason to exchange numbers, Matt forgot his sunglasses which Halley needed to return, and the rest is history.

What I love about Halley's story is that it isn't particularly unique. Don't get me wrong, it is special, but it's also delightfully common. Volunteering is community, and in community we build connections, and sometimes, we find love.

Volunteering is the new (and old) Tinder

How do you find people who share your values and are community-oriented? You can scan Tinder profiles for buzzwords, or you can volunteer!

Long before the age of the internet, people volunteered their time for causes they cared about, and met like-minded people who they fell in love with. And guess what? That hasn't stopped.

"I have seen my friends have limited success with online dating and often recommend trying a volunteer organization or event," Halley, a millennial, told me.

One study found that single millennials spend an average of 10 hours per week on dating apps. You read that right. 10 hours per week. Almost an hour and a half per day. How hard would it be to carve out half or a quarter of that time for a volunteer shift? Not hard, my friends. Not hard.

Okay so let's say you're reading this and you're a volunteer coordinator for a local organization, and you're thinking, "how can I create an environment where people can meet AND help my organization?" That's a really great question, reader. Read on.

A word about safe spaces

Volunteers are getting involved, first and foremost, because it's a cause they believe in and they want to help, not to date. Honestly, that's why it's such a great space to meet people! It's safe, it's open, there are like-minded people, and the ice-breaker is built-in.

Your role as a volunteer coordinator is primarily to preserve this pillar of volunteering, not to be a match-maker. Johnny might be swooning over Suzy, but if Suzy isn't interested, Johnny might scare her away from volunteering! Talk about a backfire. Also, how unfair is that for Suzy? You show up to help an organization and some annoying boy makes it an unpleasant experience. F that.

So, a word to the wise volunteer coordinator: you are a community facilitator, and sometimes you might face the tough task of dealing with one-sided romances.

Okay you get it, you say, "I'm going to make sure everyone is safe and comfortable during their volunteer experience, but are you now saying I shouldn't help singles meet? Is all this single-people business just more trouble than it's worth?" Not at all, and I believe the right context for singles to meet is built-in to a well-designed volunteer experience.

How to create the right opportunities

Beyond ensuring that volunteers are doing meaningful and impactful work that supports the cause of your organization, the most important thing you can do as a volunteer coordinator is create a social environment.

Say it back - volunteers start because they believe in your mission, but they come back because they found community.

I don't have time and space to go into the weeds of designing a great social volunteer experience. If you're interested in talking about that, reach out to me by email or LinkedIn and I'd love to spend some time talking!

But I will say this - think about the physical environment: are people close enough to talk without it getting awkward? How are you arranging desks, booths, or standing areas so that people can be social while volunteering?

Think about the matching: who is being paired with who? Why? Are people rotating so they're getting a chance to chat with a variety of people while they volunteer?

Think about the tools you use: Does your volunteer management platform provide a way for volunteers to connect with each other without jumping into the scary and risky sharing-personal-information territory? Does it facilitate social volunteering by giving you tools to pair volunteers? (shameless plug for Purposely)

And of course, your easiest shortcut to volunteer matching-making is volunteer appreciation. An after-party, a pub night, a hike. Thank your volunteers with an overtly social activity! Always.

Couples that Volunteer Together, Stay Together

In August of 2018, Don and Lisa, a dynamic husband and wife duo, decided to volunteer together to help re-elect the mayor of their beloved Victoria, BC. Over the next few months, they would deliver election signs, knock on doors, and generally become all-star volunteers for the campaign.

"It was a very meaningful experience to us, and we would do it again," Lisa told me. She explained that volunteering is core to their marriage, "Our wedding vows even included a commitment to serve the community and the planet."

Don and Lisa are gems. They're special people and a special couple. But that said, I don't think they're rare. Couples volunteer together all the time. Volunteering is the best kind of date night.

My partner and I knocked on doors together in the same campaign as Lisa and Don, and there were two other couples that volunteered together. That I know of, at least one couple came out of that campaign, too!

So, as a volunteer coordinator, what are you doing to help couples volunteer together? Is it just happening, or are you helping it happen?

Volunteering is a social activity. Even if your organization has mostly solo volunteering like delivery driving or tutoring, you have a community of like-minded people, and you can bring them together in ways that will strengthen their bond to your cause.

Whether your volunteers are meeting new people, strengthening their connection to their life-long partner, or something in between, love is in the air when we volunteer.

Happy Valentines Day!

Alex McGowan is the Director of Community and Partnerships at Purposely, and a seasoned volunteer coordinator by trade. He's always excited to talk about volunteer coordination and would love to hear your ideas about this blog or any other volunteer-related topic. You can connect with him by email at amcgowan@purposely.ca or on LinkedIn.

Would you love a volunteer platform that saves you time and money while creating a great volunteer experience with opportunities for volunteers to connect and participate? Check out Purposely and reach out to Alex.