Today, VolunteerMatch celebrates the incredible dedication and passion of our community of 130,000 nonprofit partners, as we extend our heartfelt gratitude to MacKenzie Scott for her transformational gift to our organization, and for the recognition of the work we do together as a unified network of nonprofits, centered on creating more connected, compassionate and equitable communities.
We invite you to take a closer look at the list of 286 organizations creating systemic change. Many of them are organizations we have had the privilege to support and partner with for years; many of them are relative newcomers to the social stage whose work has dramatically changed the trajectory of what it means to center voices for equity and authentic service in just a few short years. Each of them deserves a second look. Each of them is doing incredible work. Each of them are organizations where you can be proud to put your own generosity of time, talent and dollars to work.
While there are too many organizations we admire on this list to name, we are especially proud to see organizations we believe in so deeply highlighted here -- including Decolonizing Wealth Project, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, Kiva, GivingTuesday and National Equity Project. From organizations serving local communities, to those on the national stage; from art to economic development; from education to social justice.
As Ms. Scott writes in her Medium post:
“Social sector infrastructure organizations empower community leaders, support grassroots organizing and innovation, measure and evaluate what works, and disseminate information so that community leaders, elected officials, volunteers, employees, and donors at every level of income can make informed decisions about how to partner and invest. These organizations, which are themselves historically underfunded, also promote and facilitate service, which in turn inspires more people to serve.”
VolunteerMatch remains dedicated to using our platform to inspire, uplift, and elevate the profile of the nonprofits who use our technology and services to not only connect to great volunteer talent, but also as a central channel for raising awareness around their causes, constituents, and organizational dreams and needs. We are so honored to be a part of this list of changemakers, and to have the opportunity to spend our time in service to our unparalleled community of nonprofit partners, corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders and volunteers.
At the end of the day, meaningful social impact happens because of the dedication of community.
Our nonprofit partners, social responsibility leaders and volunteers work tirelessly and dedicate themselves to service, knowing that their contributions can be transformational and help our world become a kinder, more equitable place.
This vision of a kinder, more compassionate future prompted us to set a goal that depends on the notion of profound human connection and commitment to lending a helping hand:
Activate 100 million volunteers into service by 2025, so that every community has the help needed to recover and thrive, and no one is left behind.
Together, we can reimagine volunteering to make sure it is always relevant and compelling for every generation. Being of service remains a deeply held value and finding ways to ensure that volunteerism remains integral to the evolving fabric of our humanity is critical — not only in terms of the recovery, but in many cases, to the reinvention of our communities.