About Nonprofit Partnership

HandsOn San Diego connects volunteers to nonprofit organizations in our community. 

We work in partnership with nonprofits, schools, religious, civic, and governmental organizations to provide volunteers with meaningful service opportunities while filling our community’s needs. We achieve this by engaging individuals, groups, and corporate teams in volunteerism and connecting them with local nonprofits where they can donate their time and talent for a variety of projects. 

HandsOn San Diego is an affiliate of Points of Light, a global network of volunteer-mobilizing organizations located in nearly 40 countries around the world. Read on to learn how we can provide the volunteer support your organization needs to thrive

Partnership Benefits

Volunteer Management Support:

• Volunteer recruitment from a diverse pool of passionate volunteers
• Online volunteer management software where you can see the volunteers signed up for your project, email volunteers, verify attendance, and more!
• Volunteer service hour and impact measurement tracking with reporting features
• Access to a Volunteer Leader (if available) for your project to focus on managing volunteers
• Partnership support at no cost
   

Publicity in the Community:

• Increased visibility for your organization through our online volunteer calendar (posting volunteer opportunities is only available to our partners)
• Exposure to 5,000 potential volunteers each month
• Targeted volunteer recruitment for opportunities requiring specific skills
  
   

Potential Corporate Employee Volunteer Support:

• Priority to be a beneficiary of our corporate volunteer opportunities
• Opportunity to submit items to our Nonprofit Projects & Donations Wish List

Partnership Process

In order to provide our volunteers the best experience possible, we're unable to post volunteer opportunities for organizations that have not completed our partnership process. The process to become a partner typically takes about 4 weeks so please reach out to us at least 8 weeks before you need our support recruiting volunteers. 

1. Verify that your organization isn’t already a Partner Organization.

2. Check that your organization is eligible:

   • Organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, government agency, or school in San Diego County.

   • Must have liability insurance to protect volunteers.

   • Must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, or the presence of a non-related medical condition or disability.

3. Check that the type of volunteer support your organization needs aligns with the type of projects HandsOn San Diego prioritizes (projects should provide a direct impact to the community -- examples and further information here). 

4. Complete our short Nonprofit Partner Application and identify a staff member or volunteer at your organization to manage project volunteers. 

5. Sign and submit our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

6. Submit all project details for the volunteer calendar using the form provided.

HandsOn's Volunteer Engagement Manager, Jessie Case, will reach out to you within two business days to confirm your application and schedule a phone call to get started. 

For more information of if you're unsure if we're a fit, check out our FAQs or reach out to us at info@handsonsandiego.org. We can't wait to help you achieve your mission!

Corporate Group Volunteer Projects

Many local companies reach out to HandsOn to help facilitate their corporate volunteer events. If your organization could use a large group to help with "done-in-a-day" projects, look no further! Our team works with your organization to design and manage a customized, single day volunteer event to support your work. We coordinate the project from start to finish, supply any necessary tools and materials, and provide staffing to lead the volunteers the day-of.

General Requirements: 

• Typically take place during the workday (Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm)

• Groups are rarely less than 25 people, but can be as large as 1000+
   

How to Request Corporate Group Support:

1. Fill out our Nonprofit Projects & Donations Wish List Form.

2. HandsOn staff will reach-out to you upon receiving an inquiry from a corporate group that could align well with your organization’s needs.

3. HandsOn staff will confirm the project details with your organizations before confirming with the corporate group.