If you’re responsible for managing volunteers for a nonprofit organization, you know firsthand just how difficult it can be to recruit and retain volunteers all while juggling responsibilities like keeping track of volunteer hours, coordinating volunteers for events, and finding ways to effectively communicate with volunteers.

Fortunately, there is an entire category of volunteer management software that can help you manage all of these volunteer management tasks, making it easy to organize, schedule, track, and engage your volunteers.

💡Looking for a comprehensive overview of the best volunteer management software solutions? You should check out our article on the subject, as well as our article specifically focusing on the best volunteer management software for every size of nonprofit.

Many of these solutions also include a companion app to help you accomplish these tasks on the go. Companion apps can be installed by your volunteers, letting them sign up for shifts, log their hours, check into events, and stay connected to your nonprofit over time. You should think of your volunteer software solution’s app as another place your volunteers will interact with your nonprofit, so it’s got to be a great experience for them.

When you’re evaluating volunteer management software for your nonprofit, it’s important to consider the quality and user experience of the companion app, too. In fact we think it’s so important, that this article focuses just on the experience and quality of the apps that go with volunteer management software.

When most people think about volunteer apps, they picture consumer-facing volunteering apps, like Golden or JustServe or PointApp which match volunteers with service opportunities based on their interests and location. While these apps are great for helping volunteers connect with different organizations, they don’t help with a nonprofit’s typical volunteer management tasks, so we take that into consideration when we evaluate them. 

We’re primarily focusing on apps that are part of a comprehensive volunteer management software solution because at the end of the day, these are the tools that will help you handle every step in the volunteer management process. 

The benefits of volunteer management apps

Utilizing an app to handle your volunteer management tasks will make your job far more efficient and effective when you’re on the go and away from your office.

Here are a few of the advantages of using a mobile solution for your management needs:

1. Instant Feedback
2. Increased Engagement
3. Improved Communication
4. Increased Organization
5. Improved Volunteer Relationships

Instant feedback

While post-event surveys are always useful, you do not want to wait until long after an event is over to realize that there were volunteer issues that could have been resolved or addressed sooner. Worse yet is having a volunteer reach out about an issue when the snag could have been caught in a quick mobile feedback form immediately following a volunteering event. 

Using an app to communicate and solicit information from your volunteers provides you with instantaneous data and feedback you can use to improve your volunteer management practices and make sure your volunteers feel safe, informed, and heard.

Increased engagement

Mobile apps can make tedious tasks like reporting volunteer hours more efficient and fun for your volunteers. From providing them with leaderboards so they can engage in friendly competition to sending reminders before and after an event, these apps provide tools that will keep you from having to chase down your volunteers to collect critical information for your volunteer reports.

Improved communication

Volunteer management apps allow you to send push notifications, emails, and other messages to your volunteers in an instant. 

These apps make it easy to segment your volunteer lists so that you are only sending relevant information, and they help ensure that your volunteers are able to receive important information at a moment’s notice.

On average, Americans check their phones 344 times a day, but they only check their email about 15 times a day.

If you want a better chance of reaching your volunteers quickly, a mobile solution is a must.

Increased organization

While even the most organized of us have misplaced an important document or two at some point in our lives, this is not a risk we want to take when organizing volunteers.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization. Misplacing a background check, a signed document detailing volunteer hours, or the volunteer schedule for an upcoming event can present major problems. The risk of misplacing these critical documents decreases significantly when they are compiled and stored within a mobile app and a mobile platform. An app enables you to instantly prompt volunteers to fill out their waivers and questionnaires as they register for their shift so you can rest easy knowing they are legally qualified to come to your event and that you have all the information you need. 

Volunteer scheduling, shift creation, and event details can create a bunch of unnecessary headaches. It’s a lot of things to keep track of. A mobile volunteer management app allows you to view and edit your organization’s upcoming event schedule on the go including critical details like date, time, event name, and location. Use an app to check registrations directly from your event and check volunteers in and out ensuring accurate hour tracking. 

You can eliminate schedule confusion by organizing and editing the schedule in real-time for your volunteers instead of using outdated paper systems that don’t allow for important changes and easy sharing.

Mobile apps also make it easy for volunteers to know exactly when to arrive to their shifts and when to leave their shifts, making sure that you never have any gaps at an event where there aren’t volunteers present for various roles. 

Improved volunteer relationships

One of the best ways to retain volunteers is to let them know that they are valued and appreciated. Volunteering doesn’t have to be a thankless job. In fact, the more you show your gratitude, the better your volunteers will feel about their experience working with your nonprofit. 

Volunteer management apps come in handy because they make it easy for people in volunteer management positions to push out thank you texts and emails for volunteers without any headache or hassle. Ideally, apps allow you to craft customized messages to individual volunteers about an event or shift improving both organization and volunteer relationships. 

The best volunteer management apps of 2024

As you can see, using a volunteer management app or a volunteer platform that has mobile capabilities can be transformative for your volunteer program. 

This article lists the top volunteer management apps for your nonprofit. In compiling this list we reviewed several things:

• The app’s rating and number of reviews on the Apple App Store and Google Play, if applicable.
• Summaries of feedback, highlighting features users liked and didn’t like about the app.
• The app’s strengths, based on our review of features and functionality, and some things to consider before adopting it.

All of this data is current as of the date this article was published.

As we mentioned before, in this article we’re focusing only on the app features and functionality. Since many of these apps are designed to be used as part of a volunteer management software solution, if you are deciding on a platform to adopt, you should consider using our guide to the best volunteer management software solutions instead.

Civic Champs

CivicChamps allows volunteer managers to save time and energy by seamlessly tracking volunteer hours.

App Store Rating: 4.7/5 (based on 50 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.6/5 (based on 20 votes)

USABILITY

This app has received several positive reviews, with many users lauding the app’s functionality, user interface, and positive user experience. Reviewers mention that the app is extremely intuitive, stating, “As a volunteer, … by far the simplest experience I’ve had”. Other users cite the ease of use related to tracking volunteer hours through the app.

STRENGTHS

This app uses the phone’s location to automatically detect when a volunteer has arrived at an event, allowing them to seamlessly track their hours with impressive accuracy with a press of a button. There are also additional features to make volunteer check-in and hour reporting a breeze for admins. The Civic Champs mobile app allows admins to use their unique geofence technology to create volunteer opportunities that exist indefinitely and also enables Admins to view event schedules, shifts, and message volunteers directly from the app. 

The Civic Champs app also does not link device identifiers and usage data to the user, so it is better for privacy-minded organizations than some others on this list.

CONSIDERATIONS 

Like many of the other apps we reviewed, this app only works with organizations and events that are set up in its software.

Learn more about CivicChamps and our volunteer management services when you visit our website.

CauseConnect (formerly Get Connected)

CauseConnect is a volunteer management software solution that offers a free volunteer management app for volunteer management, engagement, communication, and reporting.

App Store Rating: 3.1/5 (based on 44 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.8/5 (based on 50 votes)

USABILITY

This app is available for both iPhone and Android, and it helps volunteers and volunteer managers manage their schedules and find causes and organizations they care about. Users noted that it “simplifies tracking their volunteer hours”, but some mention that specific screens are very difficult to read when the phone is set to dark mode.

STRENGTHS

This app includes automatic volunteer hour tracking, volunteer scheduling reminders, easy event check in and check out for volunteers, and personalized dashboards for volunteers. There are also promotional tools that will allow you to advertise events and recruit more volunteers. 

CONSIDERATIONS

Like many of the other apps we reviewed, this app only works with organizations and events that are set up in its software. 

Voluntime

Voluntime is a free volunteer hour tracking service that helps nonprofits develop accurate impact reports without having to fumble around with spreadsheets and time-consuming documentation.

App Store Rating: 4.6/5 (based on 311 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.6/5 (based on 26 votes)

USABILITY

This app was designed for iPad users, and users report that this app is easy to use with the exception of editing hours for past events. Users do report frustration with not being able to total their hours across check-ins.

STRENGTHS

This app is completely free to use, provides hour tracking, allows admin to approve or deny hour logs, and has features to export volunteer hours with ease.

CONSIDERATIONS

This app is only for volunteer hour tracking. If you want other volunteer management features, you might consider using a different app. It is also published and maintained by an individual, not a company, so you should consider long-term support when evaluating whether to adopt it.

Bloomerang Volunteer (formerly InitLive)

Bloomerang Volunteer gives volunteer managers the tools they need to make their volunteer programs a success.

App Store Rating: 3/5 (based on 2 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 2.8/5 (based on 82 votes)

USABILITY

Users report the app is helpful for managing volunteers, but on both Apple and Android, many users report significant app usability issues and crashes.

STRENGTHS

This mobile app is free, and it offers mobile volunteer shift sign-up, volunteer hour tracking, automated notifications for shift reminders and important messages, segmented volunteer lists, volunteer attendance rate metrics, and instantaneous master schedule editing.

CONSIDERATIONS

While many users appreciate the features provided by this software, this app has had issues with crashing that may affect its performance. It is also only designed to be used with its related volunteer management platform.

Vomo

Vomo is a mobile-friendly volunteer management app that helps connect volunteers to local volunteer opportunities, streamline the volunteer onboarding process, and improve volunteer communication.

App Store Rating: 3.5/5 (based on 53 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 4/5 (based on 36 votes)

USABILITY

This app has a user-friendly interface, and it has been praised for its modern features and ease of use. Vomo is designed for iPad use and isn’t supported on phones, making it a poor option for nonprofits that want to allow volunteers to check in and log hours on their own devices. Users also report some specific frustrations with the interface, with one user mentioning, “There is no way to see all of the events you signed up for in one place.”

STRENGTHS

Vomo makes it easy to schedule volunteers, centralize and share messages to volunteers, share project and event details, send waivers and background check information to volunteers, and seamlessly track key metrics like volunteer hours and economic impact.

CONSIDERATIONS

While the Vomo app is free, full access to its features will require you to purchase one of its two platform packages, making this a more costly option than some other volunteer management apps.

Golden

Golden is a volunteer management app that has won Social Good App of the Year for its ability to match people with volunteer opportunities and provide efficient services for volunteer managers.

App Store Rating: 4.5/5 (based on 925 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.9/5 (based on 355 votes)

USABILITY

This app is well-known for its smooth interface and abundance of features, and it is available for all mobile devices. Some users report not being able to find volunteer opportunities due to difficulty with the amount of filters available and the fact that the app segments opportunities by metro area.

STRENGTHS

Volunteer managers can use Golden for instant volunteer sign-up, global localization, volunteer raffles to reward hard work, live background checks, and automated volunteer hour tracking and verification. 

CONSIDERATIONS

While the app has very positive reviews from volunteers, Reviews and feedback from managers are more mixed. Many users report that Golden handles events well, but it is not a replacement for a full-featured volunteer management software solution.

POINT

POINT is an all-in-one volunteer management solution that provides volunteer managers with an admin dashboard, website integration, and a unique volunteer platform.

App Store Rating: 4.2/5 (based on 75 votes)

Google Play Store Rating: 3.1/5 (based on 35 votes)

USABILITY

POINT has received recognition for its ease of use, and it offers free one-on-one support to help users with any questions or issues. Reviews express concerns with limited search filters, with one user stating, “You guys need to make it possible to filter opportunities by time. Working volunteers need that.” 

STRENGTHS

The POINT app is free to use and it includes specific tools to help you recruit, manage, and engage volunteers while tracking their hours and engagement and integrating that data into useful reports. POINT app makes it easy to share your nonprofit’s impact with current and prospective donors.

CONSIDERATIONS

This app is largely geared toward helping volunteers find volunteer opportunities, so some of the features that need the most development are ones that would be most beneficial for managers of nonprofits.

Wrapping Up

We hope this review of the best volunteer management apps helped shed some light on volunteer management app options for your nonprofit. While there are several solutions here that do a good job connecting volunteers with events near them, if you’re searching for a comprehensive volunteer management solution that covers every stage of the volunteer management lifecycle, Civic Champs might just be the thing. Schedule a demo today to find out if it’s right for you.

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