Volunteer Coordinator

About DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is an education nonprofit ensuring every US public school student has the classroom resources they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Founded by a teacher in 2000, DonorsChoose connects educators with a nationwide community of supporters who believe investing in students today will transform tomorrow. Educators request the materials they know their students need, and donors can choose the classroom, community, or cause they want to support. Since our founding, donors have supported 90% of US public schools. Every request is vetted, resources are delivered to classrooms, and donors can see the impact of their support through transparent reporting and updates from students and teachers. Raising $1.9 billion for classrooms, DonorsChoose has earned top ratings from Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and CharityWatch for its transparency, trust, and impact. Our dedicated team works from across the United States to turn resources into opportunities for students and teachers. 

About the Content Operations Team

The Content Operations team has a front-row seat to the most compelling classroom-generated content on our site. We review all incoming project requests, and help deliver the final touch to funded projects to donors: the donor thank-you “package.” When donors give to a project on our site, they receive direct follow-up from the classroom, including a letter, photos of the project in-action, and handwritten student thank-yous. 

Our goal is to guide, approve, and leverage this content to deliver a personal experience that inspires donor and partner loyalty. 

About the Role

The Volunteer Coordinator is responsible for supporting key aspects of our NYC-based Gratitude volunteer program. 

Donors who give above a certain threshold can opt in to receive physical thank-you notes from students, which are physically mailed to our NYC offices for review by our team of local in-person volunteers. 

That’s when the Volunteer Coordinator and their team and your team (including dozens of in-person Gratitude volunteers) comes in! The Volunteer Coordinator plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our volunteers feel supported, and that student thank yous are successfully and speedily reviewed so that eager donors can receive their notes as quickly as possible!

Responsibilities

• Represent gratitude operations by fostering an inclusive and productive in-person volunteer environment. (75%)
• Prepare for daily programming such as organizing volunteer stations and workspaces.
• Support daily volunteer operations. This could mean: scheduling, sorting and managing mail deliveries, answering volunteer questions, coordinating supplies, and ensuring accurate data entry.
• Curate special student thank-you deliverables for our most impactful partners.
• Review incoming student thank-yous that have been escalated by volunteers to staff for further review.
• Connect with teachers and donors on tricky thank-yous that require an extra special touch.
• Welcome new volunteers. Respond to applications and schedule and run regular volunteer orientation sessions for new volunteers.
• Cultivate a fun, friendly, and productive volunteer environment. This keeps volunteers excited, inspired, and motivated to support our mission.
• Build relationships and a sense of community with (and between) our volunteers. You’ll make sure volunteers feel like an integral part of the DonorsChoose team.

• Contribute towards larger team initiatives, including supporting special projects. (25%)
• Collaborate on strategic initiatives and projects to support our team and the larger organization, as needed. 
• For example, calling teachers in specific geographic areas to share relevant funding opportunities and encourage them to post classroom projects.

Qualifications

This position may be a fit for you if: 

• You adapt quickly to changing priorities. You know how to roll with the punches, and are excited by change. You are cool and collected under pressure, are adaptable to meet team needs, and thrive in situations where you can help someone find a solution. You’re happy to jump in wherever needed. 
• You live for organization, and pay attention to the details. You’re thorough, self-sufficient, and comfortable with repetitive, intricate tasks. You are meticulous when following instructions, and take pride in your attention to detail. 
• You’re a natural relationship-builder and collaborator. You love forging authentic connections with others. You notice the person at the party who feels left out and immediately invite them to join the conversation - both online and IRL. Awkward silence? You don’t know what that is. 
• You use good judgment in tricky situations. When guidelines don’t cover a situation, you consider how your decision will affect the donor experience.
• You are an A+ communicator. Your emails make people smile and you can explain just about anything to anyone. 
• You are tech savvy. You’re comfortable with technology, and can learn new programs and tools quickly. (Our tech stack includes Google Workspace, Slack, Mailchimp, Zendesk, Salesforce).
• You are mission-motivated, and passionate about educational equity. You care about helping teachers, and believe that all students should have equal access to educational opportunities. 
• You believe in the power of volunteerism - and have the experience to prove it. You have hands-on experience with working with volunteers or have been a volunteer yourself. You’ve already started jotting down potential ideas to engage our community.

Requirements

• One to two years of full-time work experience
• Available to work in person in our midtown Manhattan office 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday; also available to work:
• 12pm - 8pm one to two times per week
• On the weekends once or twice per month during peak season (September - February)
• Heavy lifting, approximately 25 pounds multiple times per day

Compensation & Benefits

The compensation for this role is $23.08 per hour. This is a non-exempt role and is eligible for overtime pay under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Once employees are hired, everyone at DonorsChoose is eligible to receive annual performance-based raises as they grow in their role. We are open to a variety of experiences, and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced or more senior than this job description as posted. If you don’t check every box listed here, or you know you’d bring additional experience to the table, we hope you’ll submit your application. 

In addition, we offer full-time staff 25 paid vacation days per year and 11 paid holidays, a rich employer-paid individual and family health plan, a matching 401(k) plan (up to 5% of base salary), annual professional development stipend, and casual and flexible work environment. To learn more about what it is like to work for DonorsChoose, visit our careers page.

Other Details

DonorsChoose participates in E-Verify. We will provide the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. 

An important note on communications: All messages from our hiring team will come from an official @donorschoose.org email address. If you ever receive a message about a role with us from a different domain, it’s not from us, and you should not reply or click on any links. We care deeply about your time, your privacy, and your experience—thank you for your interest in joining the DonorsChoose mission!

DonorsChoose Core Values

EQUITY
Combating systemic inequity is crucial to a brighter future for all. This reality fuels our ambitions and drives us to persevere.

INGENUITY
Complex problems require innovative solutions. We dream big, get creative, roll up our sleeves, and take action. We believe the best products can change the world.

HUMANITY 
People are the heart of our team and the communities we serve. Our compassion informs our goals and how we work together to achieve them. 

INTEGRITY
We strive to do right. We’re up-front about the facts. We boldly learn and grow from mistakes.

LEARNING
Education is the beating heart of our organization, inside and out. We’re curious. We listen. We know we don’t know everything. 

GRATITUDE
We begin and end with thanks. We take joy in our mission, our communities, and each other.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and answer the application questions online. Since we’re trying to get to know you through our hiring process, we ask that you please refrain from using AI writing tools to craft your response to our application questions. A cover letter is optional and may be addressed to Alexis Medina, Manager, Content Operations.

A Final Note

The DonorsChoose team works toward a nation where students in every community have the resources needed for an excellent education. To do this we hire and support a diverse team of the best and the brightest talent available because it makes us more effective, high-performing, creative and resilient.

If you are passionate about our mission, highly skilled in your field, and looking for a place where you can bring all of yourself to work, we want you.