• FAQ

Questions we get asked. Answered honestly.

If you still have questions after checking out our FAQ’s, reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!

  • Yes — in fact small and micro charities are exactly who Vollie was built for. Most large charities already have volunteer management infrastructure. It's the smaller organisations — the ones doing critical community work with limited internal capacity — that are most underserved.

    The Cohort tier exists specifically to make Vollie accessible to small organisations that can't access one-on-one support costs. And the Starter tier is designed to be low-commitment and manageable for a team of any size.

    The only hard requirement is a dedicated internal contact person who can own the project on your side. That's it.

  • This is the most common thing we hear and it's the reason Vollie exists.

    In almost every case, skilled volunteering fails for structural reasons, not people reasons. Vague briefs. No project ownership. No milestone tracking. No way to close out properly. The volunteers were willing, the charity was motivated, but the scaffolding wasn't there.

    Vollie installs that scaffolding before a single volunteer is engaged. The readiness check will identify exactly what went wrong last time and what needs to be in place before trying again.

  • Vollie is built for any Australian social impact organisation that needs to harness skilled, remote professional contribution. Including registered charities, NFPs, social enterprises, and community organisations.

    The key criteria is that you have a genuine social mission, a need for skilled professional expertise, and at least one internal person who can own project coordination on your side.

  • We'll tell you. The readiness check is genuinely designed to assess fit — not to sell you something you don't need.

    If your organisation isn't ready for a Vollie engagement, or if a different approach would serve you better, we'll say so clearly and point you toward what would actually help. We'd rather build a long-term relationship based on honesty than a short-term one based on a mismatched sale.

    Complete the volunteer readiness check to find out.

  • It depends on how your current program is structured. If you're running skilled, remote volunteer projects with clear scopes, milestone tracking, documented outcomes, and evidence capture — you may already have strong foundations.

    If your current program is more ad-hoc, or if you're finding it hard to measure impact or keep projects on track, then a Vollie engagement could significantly strengthen what you already have rather than replace it.

Is Vollie right for us?

The readiness check

  • A quick survey followed by a 15-minute conversation by phone or video where we assess your organisation's current volunteer systems, identify any structural gaps, and recommend the right starting point.

    We look at five things: whether you have internal project ownership, how you currently scope and brief volunteer work, what governance is in place, how you track progress, and how you capture impact.

    You'll leave the call with a clear picture of where you sit and what the right next step is. Whether that's a Vollie engagement or something else entirely.

  • It's free with no obligation. There's no hard sell at the end.

    We offer it because the survey and follow up 15-minute conversation saves everyone time. It means the organisations we work with are genuinely ready, and the ones who aren't don't end up in an engagement that won't deliver for them.

    If Vollie is right for you, we'll explain how. If it's not, we'll tell you that too.

  • You'll receive a short written summary of the key findings and a recommended tier. With no pressure to proceed immediately.

    If you want to move forward, the next step is a scoping session to define the specifics of your engagement. If you need time to think, that's completely fine. We'll follow up at whatever cadence suits you.

  • The Starter tier is for organisations that have never run a structured skilled volunteer project before. It installs the foundational systems with a readiness review, one scoped project, collaboration templates, and basic evidence capture. It's designed to be a first, properly structured engagement.

    The Growth tier goes further. It takes a defined project through every stage with full milestone tracking, drop-off protocols, governance frameworks, and verified deliverable closeout. It's for organisations that are ready to run a more substantial project and need the full structure around it.

    If you're genuinely starting from scratch, Starter is right. If you have a specific project in mind and want it properly managed from brief to delivery, Growth is right.

  • The Cohort tier is a group-based capacity building program for small and micro charities, run via fortnightly structured sessions over approximately 12 weeks alongside 4–6 peer organisations.

    It's funded by corporate sponsors, which is what makes it accessible to smaller organisations who can't access the cost of one-on-one support. As part of the cohort, your organisation also gets access to the sponsor's employee volunteers once your systems are installed.

    Cohort places are allocated as programs become available. Register your interest and Vollie will contact you when a suitable cohort is being formed.

    Register interest in the Cohort tier by completing the volunteer readiness check

  • No. The tiers are designed to reflect where you currently are, not a ladder you have to climb in order. If your organisation already has some volunteer infrastructure in place, you might start at Growth or Scale straight away.

    The readiness check is the best way to determine the right entry point. We'll assess what's already in place and recommend accordingly.

  • Vollie installs and manages the infrastructure. Your organisation owns and runs it.

    Specifically, Vollie handles: readiness assessment, project scoping, brief development, governance frameworks, collaboration templates, milestone tracking, volunteer protocols, and impact documentation.

    Your organisation provides: an internal project owner, timely feedback during scoping, participation in the process, and ownership of the system once it's built.

    The goal is your independence, not your ongoing reliance on Vollie.

  • You do. All frameworks, templates, project documentation, and impact evidence produced during a Vollie engagement belong to your organisation. They are designed to be used independently of Vollie for every future project.

    That's intentional. Vollie's goal is to make itself unnecessary by building capability that stays with you long after the engagement ends.

How the service tiers work

  • It depends on the tier:

    • Starter: Approximately 4–6 weeks

    • Growth: Approximately 6–8 weeks

    • Cohort: Approximately 12 weeks (group program)

    • Scale: 12 months ongoing partnership

    All timelines are confirmed during scoping and depend on your organisation's availability and project complexity. Vollie will never rush an engagement at the cost of quality.

  • Vollie is specifically designed to minimise internal time burden, that's one of the core problems it solves.

    You'll need a dedicated internal contact who attends scoping sessions and milestone check-ins, and who can make decisions about project direction. For most Starter and Growth engagements, this is typically 2–3 hours per week across the project duration.

    The heavy lifting (frameworks, documentation, governance, volunteer coordination) is handled by Vollie.

  • Yes - within reason. Vollie understands that charities are resource-constrained and that unexpected demands arise. Short pauses can be accommodated without affecting the overall program.

    What we don't recommend is extended pauses mid-project, as these significantly increase the risk of volunteer disengagement and project drift. If a significant delay is unavoidable, Vollie will work with you to manage the transition properly rather than letting the project quietly stall.

  • Each tier has a minimum commitment that reflects the time needed to deliver real outcomes:

    • Starter and Growth: Full project duration (4–8 weeks). These can't be shortened without compromising the output.

    • Cohort: Full 12-week program. Leaving early affects both your outcomes and the other organisations in the cohort.

    • Scale: 12-month initial partnership, with renewal by mutual agreement.

    Commitment terms are confirmed in writing before any engagement begins - no surprises.

Timelines and committment

  • Vollie's primary role is to install the infrastructure that makes your organisation ready to receive volunteers, not to act as a recruitment platform.

    That said, Vollie maintains a verified skills pool of professionals who have submitted their profiles and are available for structured, scoped projects. Once your systems are installed, Vollie can assist in connecting you to relevant volunteers from this pool.

    For Cohort tier organisations, corporate sponsor employees participate directly as skilled volunteers once the program structure is in place.

  • The pool includes professionals across a wide range of disciplines. The most in-demand skill areas currently include:

    • Digital marketing and SEO

    • Data and analytics

    • Project management

    • Web development and technology

    • Finance and accounting

    • Legal and governance

    • HR and people operations

    • Strategy and consulting

    • Graphic design and communications

    All volunteers in the pool have submitted a CV, nominated their skill area, and been reviewed by Vollie before being matched to any project.

  • Yes. The Vollie framework is designed to work with any skilled volunteer, whether they come from the Vollie pool, your existing network, or a corporate partner.

    The value Vollie provides is the structure around the volunteer engagement, not the volunteer themselves. Your existing contacts can participate in Vollie-structured projects just as effectively as anyone from the pool.

  • We’d love to have you!

    Submit your profile through the Vollie volunteer sign-up page. You'll be asked for your name, contact details, primary skill area, a brief description of your experience, and your CV.

    Once reviewed, you'll be added to the verified skills pool. When a scoped project matches your expertise, Vollie will send you the full project brief before you commit to anything. You review the scope and timeline, and only proceed if it's the right fit for you.

    Submit your volunteer profile →

How volunteers are sourced

  • Three things your CSR reporting actually needs:

    • Named sponsorship - your brand on the cohort across all program materials and the final impact report

    • Employee volunteering - your team contributes as skilled volunteers on structured, scoped charity projects once systems are installed

    • Co-branded impact report - documented outcomes ready for ESG reporting, board presentations, and external communications

    Unlike a donation, your investment puts your employees to work inside the program, making it a community investment story, not just a financial one.

    See corporate sponsorship options →

  • Very little. Vollie manages the entire program, from charity onboarding, readiness sessions, project scoping, volunteer coordination, milestone tracking, and impact documentation.

    Your organisation needs to nominate an internal contact for program communications, brief participating employees on the volunteering opportunity, and attend a program kickoff and closeout session. Beyond that, Vollie handles the rest.

  • Yes. Through the Custom Program sponsorship tier. This option allows you to nominate specific charities or a cause area, and Vollie will build the cohort around your preferences.

    For the Community and Impact Sponsor tiers, Vollie selects the cohort charities based on readiness and fit. You'll be informed of the cohort composition before the program begins and can raise any concerns at that point.

  • The co-branded impact report is produced by Vollie at the end of the program and typically includes:

    • Program summary and cohort overview

    • Number of charities supported and their profiles

    • Projects delivered, with detailed scope, deliverables, and outcomes

    • Total employee volunteer hours contributed

    • Specific impact evidence from each charity

    • Your organisation's contribution acknowledged throughout

    It's formatted for direct use in ESG reports, annual reports, board packs, LinkedIn posts, and media releases. You receive both a designed PDF and the underlying data.

Corporate Sponsorship

What happens if a project fails?

  • Volunteer drop-off is one of the most common failure points in skilled volunteering. Which is why Vollie builds drop-off protocols into every engagement from day one.

    This includes milestone-based progress checkpoints, early warning indicators, and a clear process for managing transitions if a volunteer can't continue. In most cases, the project can be reassigned or restructured without losing the work already completed.

    The structured framework means a volunteer departure is a managed transition, not a project collapse.

  • Scope creep is managed explicitly within the Vollie framework. Every project has a defined brief with acceptance criteria and a named internal owner who has authority to make scope decisions.

    If a change request arises, it goes through a formal review process. Assessing impact on timeline, deliverables, and volunteer commitment before anything changes. Minor adjustments can be accommodated. Significant scope changes are treated as a new brief.

    This protects both the charity and the volunteer from the most common reason projects fail.

  • Quality issues are addressed through the deliverable verification process at project closeout. Before a project is marked complete, the deliverables are reviewed against the original brief and acceptance criteria.

    If the output doesn't meet the agreed standard, Vollie will facilitate a revision process with the volunteer before closeout is confirmed. Work is not signed off until it meets the brief.

    This is why the scoping phase matters! Vague briefs produce vague outcomes. Specific, well-scoped briefs produce specific, measurable deliverables.

  • That's completely fine. The readiness check is the right starting point. Even if you're not ready to proceed immediately.

    Many organisations complete the readiness check, identify what needs to be in place first, spend a few months addressing those things internally, and then return to Vollie when the time is right. That's a better outcome than starting an engagement before you're ready.

    There's no expiry on a readiness check recommendation, when you're ready, get in touch and we'll pick up from where we left off.

Volunteer Readiness Check