Volunteer sharing between partner organizations, with the volunteer’s consent
How coalitions and allied groups refer a volunteer to a partner organization: the person gets one email with a yes and a no, nothing moves until they say yes, and the partner’s pipeline shows exactly where they came from. Consent-first volunteer referral between banded spheres.
For coalition leads, partnership managers, and organizers in allied groups who keep meeting each other’s people.
Volunteer sharing is what coalitions and allied groups already do over coffee: “you should meet the folks at Riverbend.” Coalitions meet people who belong somewhere else in the coalition. A sign-up at the creek stewards writes “I love working with kids.” A reading-circle volunteer mentions she is a retired bookkeeper. The right next step is a warm handoff to the partner one band over, and the only honest way to do it is to ask the person first.
This guide covers how passing a volunteer along works on Revel Sphere: who can be offered, what the volunteer sees, what moves on a yes, and what never moves at all.
Consent-first volunteer referral, in one sentence
Nothing crosses organization lines until the person presses yes. The organizer can offer; only the volunteer can accept. That rule is enforced in the data, not just the copy: the partner’s pipeline has no row for the person until the accept route writes it.
Which partner organizations qualify
The control appears on a pipeline card only when your sphere is banded with another sphere (a partner band or a subcommittee, in either direction, still active) whose organization has a published website. Two bands that land on the same site collapse to one choice, and your own organization is never on the list. If you see no control, you have no eligible partner yet; band the spheres first.
The volunteer referral, step by step
- Open the card in your Signals tab and press Pass along to a partner.
- Choose the partner and, if you like, write one line to the person: “You mentioned you love working with kids. Riverbend runs the Tuesday reading hour.”
- Press Send the ask. The card now reads “Passed along to Riverbend Tutors · waiting to hear back.”
- The volunteer receives one email, in English or Spanish, that names both organizations, quotes your line, says exactly what would be shared, links to the partner’s site so they can look first, and carries a button to a page with a yes and a no.
- They decide. The link stays good for thirty days.
What moves on a yes, and what never moves
- On a yes, their name, email, phone if given, and the note they wrote are copied into the partner’s pipeline as a quick sign-up. The partner’s card reads “via partner: creek-stewards,” the partner’s contact address gets a short note, and your card reads “they said yes.”
- On a no, the offer closes. The partner never sees them. Your card reads “they passed this time,” and their sign-up stays with you exactly as it was.
- If the link runs out, nothing moves and your card says so. You can offer again another season.
- Never: their answers to your application questions, the roles they picked with you, or anything they did not type themselves. The partner starts a fresh relationship from the person’s own words.
Why the link lands on a page, not a one-click accept
Mail scanners and link previews open links on delivery. A one-click accept in an email would say yes on the person’s behalf before they ever read it. The emailed link therefore opens a page that shows who is asking and what would move, with two buttons. Only the button sends the answer. A bare visit changes nothing.
For the partner organization receiving the volunteer
The copied sign-up arrives like any other, with the source line naming the coalition partner who passed them along. Treat it as a warm introduction: the person already said yes to hearing from you. Reach out within the week, and when they join and check in, their card gains its own “Since then” line.
Where volunteer sharing fits in a coalition
A coalition is only as strong as the handoffs between its members. Passing a volunteer along is one of several loops that close inside the pipeline: outreach links that say which channel filled a Saturday, guests who become regulars after a debrief, and now people finding the partner where they belong, each with the person’s own consent at the center.
Related: volunteer intake on your website, and volunteer recruitment sources: where your volunteers come from.
Questions people ask
- Can two nonprofits share volunteers on Revel Sphere?
- Yes, one person at a time and only with that person’s consent. An organizer offers to pass a sign-up along to a partner; the volunteer gets one email with a yes and a no. A yes copies their sign-up into the partner’s pipeline. A no closes the offer, and the partner never sees them.
- Which organizations can we pass a volunteer along to?
- Spheres banded with yours (partner bands or subcommittees, in either direction) whose organization has a published website. The band is the coalition you already belong to, not a directory of strangers. Your own organization is never a target.
- What does the partner organization receive?
- Only after the person says yes: their name, email, phone if they gave one, and the note they wrote. The copy arrives in the partner’s pipeline as a quick sign-up tagged “via partner: your-site,” and the partner’s contact address gets a short notification.
- How long does the offer stay open, and can we send it again?
- The emailed link stays good for thirty days. One live offer per partner at a time. A yes is final. There is nothing left to pass along. A no or an expired link can be offered again another season.