Kindly App Helps Nonprofits Bolster Volunteer Base
It seems like there’s an app for everything these days.
Lost your car? An app can help you find it.
Want to know what it’s like to count one million dollars? You can experience it virtually on an app.
Now, there’s a new app that’s making a big difference for nonprofits.
Alexi Kleinschmidt, events and volunteer Manager at CAPI USA in Brooklyn Center, said the Kindly app has helped her nonprofit secure volunteers.
“I think people whether it be busy with their lives, or nervous post-Covid, or they are out of the habit of doing that community work, we have seen a decrease and a harder time getting volunteers in consistently,” said Kleinschmidt.
CAPI provides support services for immigrants, refugees and underserved communities in the Twin Cities. The nonprofit has partnered with the Kindly app for the past couple of months.
Kindly App is Helping to Make Volunteering Easier at Brooklyn Center Non-profit
Kindly App Coordinates Volunteer Schedules
The Kindly app is designed to make it easier for people to know about volunteer opportunities. The app lists volunteer opportunities at CAPI and currently six other organizations.
Some of those locations include Feed My Starving Children food-packing sites and The Food Group in New Hope.
“Being able to see volunteer opportunities at huge groups like The Food Group and CAPI in one place makes it easy to figure out what fits my schedule today if I just want to randomly volunteer,” said Kleinschmidt.
The date, time and place of the volunteer opportunity is listed on the app. Registering to help out at a nonprofit also is less taxing.
For instance, volunteers only have to create one profile to volunteer at each of the locations partnering with the app, instead of creating separate ones.
“It takes all about a minute, or a minute a half to make a profile,” said Seth Anderson, community manager with Kindly. “Right now, in terms of the information we collect is email. Phone number is optional. And then, we always like to ask if you’d like to share your photo.”
Brooklyn Center nonprofit CAPI uses Kindly app to bolster volunteer base
CAPI mainly uses the Kindly app to get volunteers to help at its food shelf, but the nonprofit has plans to use it to spread the word about its organization and promote more long-term volunteer opportunities.
CAPI says the first day it posted a volunteer opportunity on the app it had success.
“That day we had someone walk in to do a volunteer. We actually weren’t ready because we weren’t expecting Kindly to work so quickly,” said Kleinschmidt.
“It’s just a great ease of access app that we think will benefit us and our volunteers.”
The app is free for volunteers and the nonprofits that use it. Instead costs are covered through donations.
