Source: Phase 0 Apprenticeship: Nonprofit Volunteer Engagement Open Source App

Project summary

Volunteer-run organizations often struggle with high volunteer turnover rates due to volunteer burnout. Volunteering is rewarding but can also be demanding and time-consuming, which can lead to volunteer burnout.

A volunteer management software that is specifically focused on reducing volunteer burnout can help volunteer-run organizations retain their volunteers. It can also encourage more people to volunteer. Volunteers who become overwhelmed with their responsibilities may feel overworked, unappreciated, and ultimately disengaged from the organization's mission. This can lead to a decrease in productivity, and in turn, limit the organization's impact in their communities.

To address this challenge, a volunteer management software is needed that specifically focuses on reducing volunteer burnout. The intended audience for this software is both volunteer-run organizations and their volunteers, who will benefit from a more efficient and streamlined volunteer management process that takes into account the well-being of volunteers. By reducing volunteer burnout, organizations will be able to retain their volunteers longer, and maintain their productivity and effectiveness in achieving their mission.

This project is a “Phase 0” project to validate the problems that are assumed in the product. The team will work on a pro bono volunteer project for 4 weeks to build a foundational strategy for future apprenticeships. This is a pro bono volunteer project.

Project goals

1. Explore the business idea through UX research.
2. Validate the problems attempting to be solved and identify the highest priority opportunities for the product
3. Define a foundational vision, product strategy, and target audience for a proposed product.
4. Work with the client to define the priorities for a future apprenticeship that will involve research, design, product strategy, and development.

Project Deliverables (to be refined by the team when the project launches)

1. Research and testing insights/recommendations from continuous discovery (zero to many rounds of research per week)
2. A product vision statement
3. Highest problems and opportunities to solve for the client and product
4. Defined target user personas
5. Recommendations for the client and product team to continue work in phase 1

Timezones

This project will primarily be conducted in UTC time zone (+ or - 3 time zones; UTC-3 to UTC+3).