New Consumers Guide to Volunteer Management Systems Released

PRESS RELEASE (May 24, 2011) — Idealware and TechSoup announced the release of their latest in-depth report, A Consumers Guide to Volunteer Management Systems, available for free download with registration.

The report includes extensive research, interviews and hands-on system demos. It condenses the knowledge of experts and impartial reviews into an all-in-one-place guide to help nonprofits understand and choose the best volunteer management system.

Volunteers provide the strong backs that help build organizations, but volunteer-based nonprofits have to keep track of a lot of data, from contact info and schedules to time sheets and job sites. The right software can streamline that process and free up time for managing volunteers. Though there are a number of products on the market, it’s surprisingly hard to find information about them.

This report is designed as an introduction to volunteer management software: what’s out there, what to expect and how the different solutions compare. It covers the basic features and functions that might be desirable, and discusses the pros and cons of standalone systems vs. those that track volunteers alongside donors or other constituents. Finally, it compares the strengths and weaknesses of three standalone volunteer management systems and three consolidated constituent management systems, with contextual information about 21 additional systems.