Volunteer Project Support

United Way of Northeast Florida’s Volunteer and Community Engagement department is always looking for volunteer projects for our corporate groups to support 501C-3 organizations. Submitted projects will either be placed on our group volunteer opportunities calendar or on a waiting list to be ready to suggest to groups that are a match. Below is a guide to use when requesting volunteers from UWNEFL.

To request support for a project for corporate volunteers, please to use our online request form by clicking the Volunteer Project Support button.  

 

Volunteer Hub

The Volunteer Hub is where most of our corporate groups find projects. If your agency is not a part of our volunteer platform, please sign up here and start posting your volunteer opportunities today!

Volunteer Hub Projects are: 

  • Free to groups and only require labor.  
  • Usually have fixed dates or are ongoing

Here are some examples (not limited to): 

  • Regular interactive days with agencies that encourage social exchanges with their clients
  • Food servings at homeless shelters; Food sorting for food banks/pantries; Food distributions
  • General workdays (painting/clean-up/landscaping) where all materials are supplied by the agency 
  • Fairs or events 
  • Vision or Health Screenings 
  • Ongoing (occurring regularly) volunteer events for 5 or more people 
  • Skills-based or capacity-building volunteer roles that require individual volunteers to assist you regularly and sometimes require training

Custom Projects

United Way’s corporate partners often have volunteer groups that have a specific date or a type of project in mind that is not met by our Volunteer Hub. In this scenario, they request a custom project. Custom projects often require funding from the volunteer team to cover UW staffing and materials (i.e., no cost to the agency).

Custom Projects: 

  • May not have a fixed date  
  • Require the agency and/or United Way to have more of a hand in organizing the project and are dependent on being selected by a company 
  • Generally have a budget/materials requirement 
  • Will frequently be larger in scope--the project may require more than 25 people       

Here are some examples(not limited to): 

  • Landscaping/painting projects that require plants/mulch/paint  
  • Parties for clients that require food, gifts, and/or decorations 
  • Projects that groups can do at their corporate sites, such as kits, holiday cards (any holiday) for clients; candy thank-yous or favors for agency events, etc.  
  • Projects falling under this category will also be used for our larger events and signature events, such as the GE Community Days in early Spring and our volunteer community events, United Way Day of Action in June and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in January. 

 Remember When Requesting Corporate Volunteers for a Project: 

  1. Please ALWAYS use our online form here. This online form asks all the necessary questions that we need to inform our volunteers and keeps the project on our radar.
  2. Corporate groups need a larger lead time and usually require at least a month to arrange a volunteer outing, which is why we are asking you to plan as far ahead as you are able. Projects given to us a week or two before are less likely to be picked up (though we will try).
  3. Most corporate budgets are within the $250-700 range, though, occasionally, they will have more funding.  
  4. While our corporate groups tend to prefer weekday, 9-5 projects, they occasionally are interested in after-hours or weekend projects—don’t forget those! 
  5. Please note that requests for 1-2 volunteers will be handled as an individual volunteer request 
  6. IMPORTANT: Submission of a project is, unfortunately, not a guarantee of selection. We will do our best to get volunteers and/or corporate support for your need, but we are not always successful. We will, however, contact you immediately if a group has selected your project. 
  7. Just as we will tell you as soon as a company selects a project, please let us know immediately if you have found another group to support your project. This will allow us to take it off of our list. We want to avoid suggesting a project to a group that is no longer available. 
  8. Remember that any requests with budgets must be used to fund and support that volunteer project. Most corporate groups can only purchase materials that are directly utilized by the volunteers to complete the selected project. 
  9. Similarly, please do not use the Corporate Volunteer Project Request form to solely request donations of goods. The Volunteer Hub, however, can be used for urgent wish list items. 
  10. A United Way representative will be present for all custom projects to welcome the groups, sign them in, and help the agency to ensure that the volunteers have a meaningful experience and that the agency is also satisfied. 
  11. As an FYI --The United Way has a good inventory of construction tools and manual landscaping tools that can be furnished for projects (even if it is for a project we are not involved in, as long as we don’t need the tools for an event of our own, we can loan out tools to you.)  
  12. You may submit a project at any time during the year! We welcome your projects as soon as you think of them. No request is too early! Think of us as a volunteer wish list! Just keep us up to date with any changes your project may have 
  13. Feel free to get in touch with United Way, if you have any questions about a potential project, or need any guidance. We have experience with a number of different types of projects and may be able to suggest supplies, budgets, and amount of volunteers needed. We are also happy to have a site visit with you at any time.

For assistance, please email volunteer@uwnefl.org.