Nonprofits lose up to 15 hours a week managing volunteers through spreadsheets, email chains, and separate sign-up tools. That’s time that could go toward program delivery. POINT built a platform specifically to close that gap, and in doing so, figured out something important about what actually gets people to show up.
The Problem With Volunteer Management
Most volunteer programs fail not because people don’t want to help, but because the coordination friction is too high. Organizations lose potential volunteers at every step of the process: website sign-ups that never get followed up, events that don’t match a volunteer’s interests or schedule, and manual reporting that gives nobody a clear picture of impact.
POINT built a mobile app and cloud-based dashboard that lets nonprofits post events, manage sign-ups, track attendance, and generate impact reports for donor grants: all in one system. For volunteers, it surfaces opportunities matched to their interests and location. The app is available on both iOS and Android.
The 15-hours-per-week figure on their site is specific enough to be meaningful: that’s nearly a full part-time employee’s time, consumed by administrative work that software can handle.
What Makes It Different from Generic Event Software
General-purpose volunteer management tools treat volunteer coordination like an event ticketing problem. POINT was designed specifically for nonprofits, which means the reporting functionality reflects how nonprofit funding actually works: grant applications, donor reports, and impact metrics that funders actually ask for.
The platform is free for registered nonprofits, which removes the adoption barrier for smaller organizations that can’t justify a software subscription. Larger institutions (schools, corporations, churches) pay a nominal fee to use the tools for organizing their volunteer programs.
The best volunteer management tool is the one that removes reasons for people not to show up. POINT built their whole product around reducing that friction, on both sides of the relationship.
Stronger Volunteer Conversion
One metric that POINT emphasizes is volunteer conversion rate: the percentage of people who express interest and then actually follow through. This is where most programs bleed.
By allowing volunteers to sign up based on specific interests and time availability, POINT helps organizations match the right people to the right opportunities rather than broadcasting generic requests. Organizations using the platform report stronger conversion rates and lower no-show rates than programs run through traditional outreach methods.
The data graph feature (showing individual volunteer trends over time) is also practically useful for identifying your most engaged volunteers and understanding which programs generate repeat participation versus one-time involvement.
To find out more about POINT, visit their:
P.S. If your organization is still managing volunteers through a Google Form and a shared spreadsheet, POINT’s free nonprofit tier is worth trying before you build another workaround.