Become an Approved Community Partner
Read the FAQs below and submit an application to join
Post Your Organization's Needs for Volunteer Service
Free, Unlimited
Post Your Organization's Needs for Donated Goods
Free, Unlimited
A Free Community Service for Centre County, PA
In Centre County, we now have Volunteer Centre County to do just this.
Volunteer Centre County not only showcases volunteer opportunities and needs for donated goods but also celebrates the service community by featuring community news, nonprofit resources, and articles supporting volunteering.
FAQs
Organizations interested in posting opportunities to the Volunteer Centre County website and app must first apply to become a Community Partner.
Community Partners are limited to nonprofits located in Centre County, PA, or doing a significant amount of activity in Centre County, PA that are:
- Charities (that is, an entity having an IRC 501(c)(3) designation)
- Public schools located in Centre County, PA
- Eligible local government entities in Centre County, PA
If the organization’s IRC 501(c) entity type is not listed above (e.g., it is a 501(c)(4), 501(c)(13), etc.) then please contact Volunteer Centre County with your reason for wanting to join. Exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Applicants are reviewed via the PA Bureau of Charitable Organizations, the PA Department of State, and the IRS, as applicable.
Once approved as a Community Partner, the organization will be able to post volunteer opportunities and requests for donated goods from their own organization’s web portal on the Volunteer Centre County website. Community Partners can also submit “Spread the Word” news and events directly to Volunteer Center County’s email for posting on the website and app, as well.
Each Community Partner gets its own webpage on the www.volunteercentrecounty.org website. The Community Partner’s designated users can post unlimited requests for volunteers, and unlimited requests for donated goods, as well as manage individual volunteers (tracking activities and time). All new requests for both volunteers and donated goods are posted to Volunteer Centre County’s website, app, and social media (Facebook and Instagram accounts)
Community Partners may submit news/events to info@volunteercentrecounty.org and it will be posted as “Spread the Word” to the website’s Blog, on the news section of the app, and specifically on the Community Partner’s web page on the Volunteer Centre County website. ‘Spread the Word’ posts are also shared on Volunteer Centre County’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
A widget is available for Community Partners to code onto their own website to link it to their page on the Volunteer Centre County website.
Newsletters keeping Community Partners abreast of Volunteer Centre County’s latest developments, news, and updates are shared to each Community Partner’s web portal on the Volunteer Centre County website for future reference and availability anytime.
Volunteer Centre County is proud to have Board expertise to share. Volunteer Centre County’s Board members specialize in volunteer management professionally and are continuously earning credentials in the field and publishing academically in the field. They have Executive Director experience, have taught college classes on nonprofit topics, have founded nonprofits, and are well-versed in Centre County, PA.
Volunteer Centre County’s website and app are:
- Safe – no emails are shared with potential volunteers (or anyone) nor posted online, ever, so no bots can spam emails.
- Efficient – potential volunteers can submit their contact information online by clicking the “call to action” APPLY button. The potential volunteer’s contact information is then emailed automatically to Volunteer Center County’s admin. Admin checks to make sure the information appears legitimate before it is forwarded to the Community Partner’s designated Volunteer Point Person(s) so as to not waste the Community Partner’s time chasing false leads).
- Strong – with cybersecurity insurance in place, and developers who code with best practices in mind, the site is as secure as possible.
- Search Engine Friendly – high-level SEO features are in place to raise both Volunteer Centre County’s and Community Partners’ rankings on search engines.
- Financially Stable – Volunteer Centre County has a Centre Foundation Endowment and Candid’s Platinum (Guidestar) status that helps us fundraise.
In order to become a Community Partner, the organization’s representative(s) must agree NOT to use Volunteer Centre County’s platform (website or app) for any of the following uses (doing so will result in the permanent loss of Community Partner status):
Fundraising
Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes
Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing
Impairing existing contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements
Engaging in partisan political activities or other activities designed to influence the outcome of an election to any public office
Attempting to influence legislation
Participating in or endorsing events or activities that are likely to include advocacy for or against political parties, political platforms, political candidates, proposed legislation, or elected officials
Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization
Providing a direct benefit to:
a. A business organized for profit.
b. A partisan political organization.
c. A nonprofit organization that fails to comply with the restrictions contained in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 related to engaging in political activities or a substantial amount of lobbying.
d. An organization conducting a voter registration drive or raising funds for voter registration drives.
For more information about Volunteer Centre County’s Terms of Service, please click here: https://volunteercentrecounty.org/privacy-policy-and-terms-of-use
Once approved, Community Partners can post specific needs for volunteers’ service and/or needs for donated goods. Each need is a separate post and will be approved before going live. Community Partners have an unlimited number of posts, but all posts must be current and up to date.
There are three ways to make a request.
1) Login and select either a request for volunteers’ services time or a request for donated goods. Complete the online form.
2) Login and download either the pdf form for posting a need for volunteers’ services or the pdf form for posting a request for donated goods, complete the form, and scan it to info@volunteercentrecounty.org.
3) Call us at 814-308-5052 and we can take your information over the phone and post it.
For each of the Community Partner’s “Requests for Volunteers’ Services” posts, a website visitor can submit their interest by clicking a “call to action” APPLY button associated with that specific volunteer opportunity.
Then, that individual’s submission generates an email that goes to Volunteer Centre County’s administrator for review. If the request appears legitimate (not spam), then the "request email" is forwarded to the Community Partner’s point person on file, and the Community Partner follows up with the potential volunteer.
Information provided by a potential volunteer when submitting the "call to action" APPLY button will be shared only with that Community Partner who needs to know. This point person for the Community Partner is responsible for reaching out to the prospective volunteer for more information and scheduling.
See our https://volunteercentrecounty.org/privacy-policy-and-terms-of-use for more details on how we keep information private.
2. For each of the Community Partner’s “Requests for Donated Goods” posts, a website visitor can simply read about the Community Partner’s need for goods, and that individual carries out instructions as per the instructions stated on the Community Partner’s post for the specific request.
Needs for donations are read-only posts. These posts have no “call to action” button.
When a Community Partner makes a “Request for Donated Goods” post, they can request a wish list link (e.g., Amazon Wish List), share pick-up instructions, and/or also state their preferred drop-off instructions.
Volunteer Centre County removes any email address appearing in posts under review. Once approved, the post goes live. Volunteer Centre County does its best to make sure that “calls to action” submissions are legitimate before forwarding them to the Community Partner’s designated users. Volunteer Center County has strong cybersecurity insurance in place and this requires the developers to maintain best practices when coding and maintaining the platform (both website and app).
Join Today!
Building connections to serve the needs of volunteers and nonprofits in Centre County.
Where YOU make a difference!