Volunteer FAQ's

For 45 years, Volunteer Fairfax has been the heart of volunteering in Fairfax County. With a personal touch, the volunteer center matches the skills and interests of volunteers and donors to the needs of local nonprofit organizations, helping to build a better community through service. Through a variety of programs and services, Volunteer Fairfax strengthens the capacity of its nonprofit and public agency members and offers meaningful volunteer opportunities for local citizens. Through both personal one-to-one interaction and website referrals, Volunteer Fairfax connects the community to volunteer opportunities through traditional and emerging forms of communication.

Volunteer Fairfax offers numerous services and programs that make it easy and convenient for you to volunteer. VolunteerNow!, a searchable catalog of volunteer opportunities, allows volunteers to search for up-to-date opportunities instantly. Additionally, Volunteer Fairfax holds large community-wide days of service like VolunteerFest and Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day that provides easy access to many volunteer opportunities. View our Programs and Services here.

VolunteerNow! is Volunteer Fairfax’s premiere searchable database for volunteer opportunities. Individuals and groups can search for opportunities based on mission, location, skills and much more! Once you find an opportunity, you can express interest through our website and the nonprofit will contact you regarding the position.

After expressing interest in a volunteer opportunity, nonprofit and government agencies are asked to respond to your inquiry within 2-4 business days. If they do not contact you, please send an email to volsrus@volunteerfairfax.org.

Requirements will vary depending upon the type of position it is and the organization it supports. You will be informed by the organization regarding specific needs to get you started.

Volunteer Fairfax keeps its supporters informed through traditional and emerging forms of communication. You can sign up for the Individual Email List on our homepage to learn about Volunteer Fairfax updates and upcoming events. Additionally, you can add Volunteer Fairfax on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Volunteering offers many benefits to nonprofits but also to the individual volunteers. It can help you: build important skills professionally and personally, improve your health, meet new people, feel needed, enhance your resume, gain work experience, gain self confidence and much more. The benefits gained are as unique as the volunteer.

You can find the opportunity that best suits your needs through VolunteerNow!. The types of opportunities range from mentoring children to helping the environment to prepare food for the homeless population. With so many needs in the community and with such an array of nonprofits, we are certain that you will find the perfect fit. Volunteers are involved with just about every sector of the community and do just about any task you can imagine. When you are thinking about what you would like to do, try and match it with your interests, passions, skills or experience.

Find a direct engagement opportunity in our programs or special events. We make the connections for you to make it as easy as possible.

As part of Volunteer Fairfax’s commitment to promoting volunteerism, the volunteer center administers the Alternative Community Service Program (ACS), which places a broad range of court-ordered and attorney referred clients in community service positions in lieu of a fine or jail term.

Volunteer Fairfax works with hundreds of nonprofit organizations with different missions and public agencies meeting community needs.

Volunteer Fairfax offers a program specifically to adults with busy schedules. The Volunteers for Change program offers a monthly calendar with more than 50 different one-time projects in which to participate.

Every volunteer opportunity is different. Some nonprofits expect that you work a certain schedule while others need your support only one time for a certain number of hours. You can specify the type of volunteer opportunity when searching through VolunteerNow!

It’s entirely up to you! You can volunteer as much or as little as you like based on your time and interest. Keep in mind while some opportunities are structured to be one-time opportunities organizations do invest time, energy and effort to recruit, train and orient volunteers. By committing to volunteer more with an organization, you are leveraging their investment and providing a higher yield.

If an emergency situation occurs, Volunteer Fairfax may be called upon by the County to help recruit and train volunteers to assist in recovery. Depending on the scale of the emergency, Volunteer Fairfax may be activated to one of three levels:

• Virtual Activation: Volunteers are registered through an online database. If necessary, the Volunteer Fairfax office may also be opened to process incoming volunteers.
• Satellite Activation: A Volunteer Mobilization Center is opened near the scene of the emergency to process spontaneous volunteers who have begun to gather without prior registration. Depending on the scale of the emergency, multiple sites may be opened.
• Full Activation: A Volunteer Mobilization Center is opened in one central location, simplifying the coordination process.

For more information regarding the Emergency Response program, please contact our Emergency Response staff.

There are various volunteer opportunities for youth. Volunteer Fairfax offers a few events a year that can allow this age group to participate in such as: Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day and VolunteerFest. To find other opportunities you can use VolunteerNow! Be sure to also check out our Youth Service Directory to search for other youth-specific opportunities.

Volunteering at an early age helps to develop new skills as well as gain leadership. It not only helps impact the community but it will also give this age group self-confidence through getting recognized for contribution. This work will then be useful on college applications and for future employment. Plus, it’s a great way to gain empathy and get to know your community and even yourself.

Group volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year. Groups can pick what kind of volunteering they are interested in and what is best suitable for their availability from seasonal one-time opportunities, off-site opportunities, and immediate group opportunities. Once they have chosen then expressing interest is required in order to coordinate with agencies to schedule a date and time that is convenient for both parties. Learn more here.

Give Together: A Family Volunteer Day is held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. It is a fun and unique way for families to work together to give back to the community. Another Volunteer Fairfax event that is great for families to enjoy is VolunteerFest. For more family volunteer opportunities use VolunteerNow! to customize your search.

If you are limited on time due to work and other commitments but want to give back to the community, you can by using the Volunteers for Change Program. This program offers flexible weekends and evening opportunities. There are over 50 diverse opportunities a month. Projects range from packing emergency food kits for families in crisis, tutoring adults in alternative learning programs, and more. The only requirement to get started is to have a one time, one hour orientation at our Volunteer Fairfax office.

Internships are credit or non-credit experiences in community organizations. Hours can vary depending on requirements and the nonprofits capacity to have an intern. Internships may be pre-professional in nature or offer an experience related to other learning goals, such as exploring one’s role in civic engagement and social change. If students intend to earn academic credit for an internship, it is their responsibility to make the appropriate arrangement with their institution.

Some institutions offer course credit for volunteering or require their students to complete a certain amount of hours per semester. Contact your student engagement or service learning department at your school for details.

Contact your institution’s student engagement office, service learning department or your professor regarding course credit for volunteer work.

Once you selected and begun to serve at a nonprofit or public agency, you would work with the agency’s volunteer coordinator to get your volunteer work verified. Often for one-time opportunities the lead person day of is able to sign off on hours.

Talk to your institution’s career center to find local internship opportunities.

Yes! Volunteer work allows you to acquire hands on experience and develop skills in the same way that paid positions do. Future employers want to see that you have developed skills and demonstrated them in a working environment. It’s important to show that you have the capabilities to do your volunteer duties.

When “Expressing Interest” in an opportunity, please be sure to select your institution under “Group” on the final screen. This allows your institution to get credit for the volunteers that come through our site.

Volunteer Fairfax prides itself on the customer service it provides to anyone wanting to volunteer. Although most of our services are online, there is always a real person in the office willing to help with your volunteer needs. You can talk to a real person by calling (703) 246-3460 or visiting our office at 10700 Page Avenue, Suite 101, Fairfax, VA 22030.

In addition to large community-wide days of service, you can volunteer as a group for many volunteer opportunities. When searching in VolunteerNow!, click “Great for: Groups” in the advanced search option. This will bring up all the opportunities that have a need for small and large groups. Learn more here.

It is the intersection of a person’s professional work experience and knowledge of working with nonprofits. Some examples include helping to design a website, using your carpentry skills, helping with building a stronger resume or translating work material into another language.

For companies, skills-based volunteering can be a great addition to any employee volunteer program. Studies have shown that offering employees volunteer opportunities can boost morale, build teamwork and enhances a company’s public image. Skills-based volunteering has the added benefit of allowing employees to use core skills in real world situations thus serving as cost-effective professional development.

Volunteer Fairfax offers many training opportunities to learn how to better manage volunteer programs. Volunteer Management Boot Camp, is offered on a regular basis at locations throughout the Washington D.C. metro region. For more information on this interactive session, as well as to register for our next class, please visit Boot Camp.

The 2018 Virginia Average Hourly Value of Volunteer Time is $27.50 (Source:www.IndependentSector.org)

Just your time and skills! Volunteering is free through Volunteer Fairfax.

However, some volunteer organizations we refer to may have nominal fees for background checks.

Some volunteer organizations pay volunteers for out-of-pocket expenses such as the cost of traveling to and from the place where you volunteer, meals while volunteering or postage and telephone costs. It’s important to discuss what can and can’t be claimed back before you start any new volunteering role.

While we, unfortunately, do not have the capacity to transport volunteers to our agencies, some sites are accessible via public transportation.

Volunteer Fairfax serves as a referral agency making the connection between you and the nonprofit or government agencies. Each organization may have certain requirements depending on the type of position. The nonprofit or government agency will inform you of these requirements when they follow-up with you regarding the specific opportunity.

Although our name may be misleading, Volunteer Fairfax serves the Northern Virginia and Washington DC Metro Region. You can search for volunteer opportunities by location on VolunteerNow!.

Volunteer Fairfax wants you to have an amazing experience volunteering. For any reason you are unhappy about your volunteer experience, please contact Volunteer Fairfax immediately as we will want to resolve the issue quickly.

There are no volunteer opportunities that pay. However, some organizations may provide a small stipend to cover travel expenses or incurred costs.

A nonprofit organization is an organization that does not issue stock shares or distributes its surplus funds to owners or shareholders but instead uses the funds to help achieve its goals. Examples of NPOs include charities (i.e., charitable organizations), trade unions, trade associations, some government agencies, and public arts organizations.