A new iPhone app is not only helping spread the word about volunteerism, but also helping reward volunteers for their service. Developed in Vermont by Cabot Co-op and its partners, the app, called Reward Volunteers, encourages volunteers to tell others about their volunteer experiences on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Volunteers can log their time in service, to earn rewards for themselves and money for the organizations they care about. The more hours logged, plus the more “likes” and comments collected on social networks, the better the chance to win cash and prizes, including a cruise.

This app is an example of how one non-profit thought a little differently, and created a fun, easy and effective way to engage with its volunteers. Since people post about everything in their lives on Facebook, why not leverage that activity to promote volunteerism and your organization’s mission?

It’s true that some volunteers are not motivated by what they might see as bragging about their volunteer activities. But when spreading the word about volunteerism, and sharing the causes they are passionate about can increase participation and support, it may be time to be less modest and more boastful.

How can you use this idea in your organization? Perhaps you have digital media companies in your area that would be willing to donate their time to develop a similar app for your volunteers. Partner with other non-profits and local businesses to encourage participation, increase awareness and volunteerism, and reward these hard-working people with nice prizes. With some initiative and outreach efforts, you’re sure to gain more volunteers and raise awareness for everyone.

Is your non-profit organization ready for Make a Difference Day? It’s coming up soon—next Saturday, October 22. Here are five ways you can recruit volunteers and develop projects so that your community is ready to Make a Difference!

1. Go to HandsOnNetwork.org and download the Volunteer Leader toolkit. It’s full of great advice about assessing needs, and creating and managing community projects, from inception to completion.
2. If you haven’t done so already, register your organization at 1-800Volunteer.org. It’s a powerful online service that can help you recruit volunteers online, manage their time and schedules, and contact volunteers quickly and easily through emails and reminders. Signing up takes just minutes—and it’s free! Then, when prospective volunteers are looking for opportunities (as many will do in the next week as word of Make a Difference Day spreads), your organization and projects will be featured, and volunteers can sign up to help.
3. You might need to hurry on this one, but make an inquiry about possibility of writing a guest editorial for your local newspaper. If there is not enough time for an editorial, be sure to write a letter to the editor immediately.
4. Turn to social media to spread the word. Update your organization’s Facebook page with volunteer opportunities. Or, create a volunteer event and invite all of your page supporters to participate. It only takes a few minutes and could really help you spread the word about Make a Difference Day! Be sure to post something new every day to stay in front of your support base. And boost your efforts through Twitter posts as well. Refer people to your Facebook page so they can sign up and get all the information they need to volunteer for your organization.
5. Reach out to churches, schools, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, youth organizations, hospice care organizations, social service organizations and elder care homes to see what the needs are and to partner with potential groups of volunteers. Some worthy causes may have been overlooked, and would welcome your help. You may have more volunteers than you know what to do with next Saturday, so be sure to find something for them to do!

Millions of volunteers around the U.S. will be taking action on Saturday, October 22 for Make a Difference Day. Every project and every new volunteer can make a huge difference in a community, so get busy and make this a successful event for your organization!

Don’t skip the volunteer screening check when recruiting for Make a Difference Day. You can quickly and easily protect your clients and your organization by verifying the identity, checking the criminal history and reviewing the background of each volunteer applicant.

Disney means fun, laughter and childhood memories for millions of people around the world. Did you know it also means 1 million pledges by kids to take care of the planet? And an extra 3 million trees being planted in Brazil’s rainforest?

Walt Disney himself frequently visited children in hospitals and funneled resources to organizations that help children in need. Since then, the company has had a tradition of supporting the arts, as well, including developing artists, and encouraging the arts among youth and communities.

A truly global presence, the Disney company has employees in 42 countries and resorts on three continents. Employees are encouraged to volunteer through Disney’s VoluntEARS program.

In 2008, Disney employees raised funds and headed up projects around the world. In North America alone., there were over 1,900 projects, totaling over 440,000 volunteer hours given. In addition, employees raised $1.5 million. Worldwide, nearly 500,000 volunteer hours and $1.7 million were raised.

To help employees become vital VoluntEARS, Disney supports efforts with a paid staff that organizes and manages volunteer projects. Since the inception of the VoluntEARS program 26 years ago, more than 5 million hours of service have been donated.

Other ways Disney supports staff volunteer efforts is by providing financial support for charities where employees give their time. In addition, volunteer events are used as team-building exercises and they have an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding employee volunteer service.

To celebrate the VoluntEARS program’s 25th anniversary, the entire company came together to demonstrate the power of volunteerism. In one month alone, more than 25,000 volunteers participated in 650 projects in 37 countries. Now that’s, a big impact for a better world through volunteerism!

Here are a few ways Disney employees have made the world better:

1. In 2008, the Disney Tri-Team, a triathlon team, raised $240,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Since its inception seven year ago, the team has raised more than $1 million for various charities.
2. The Disney VoluntEARS Community Fund raises money for local charities through employee donations. Disney covers the administrative costs so 100% of donations are invested in the community.
3. In 2008, the VoluntEARS program received an Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Program award from the Points of Light/Hands On Network.
4. Disney also received a Visionary Partner Award for work in renovating elementary school libraries and encouraging family reading from The Wonder of Reading.

It looks like Walt’s desire to provide meaningful service to communities worldwide is alive and well today through the Walt Disney Company’s corporate volunteer program !

REI is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative. What began with 23 mountain climbing buddies has become three million members strong. REI specializes in outfitting consumers with everything they need to enjoy the outdoors, selling gear and accessories for camping, climbing, biking, skiing—and much, much more.

Since its founding in 1976 REI has given nearly $29 million to nonprofit organizations. The cooperative’s annual giving budget is about three percent of its operating profits.

REI can also brag it’s been on Fortune Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” every year since they began it in 1998. One reason people like to work for REI could be the cooperative’s commitment to stewardship, both social and environmental.

Here are a few ways REI employees give back through volunteerism:

• Employees identify local programs that need help and that can qualify for over $1 million in grants. REI’s grants program is focused on communities where the co-op is located, where the employees live and where they volunteer.
• In 2008, that support tallied up to $3.7 million, and over 250,000 individuals donating over 2 million hours of volunteer service.
• REI employees volunteer thousands of hours each year in service projects to increase accessibility to public parks, trails and waterways. In 2008, they groomed, improved and maintained 14,481 acres of land and 6,500 miles of trails.
• In 2008, REI’s Charitable Action Campaign raised $1.25 million for nonprofit organizations around the world by matching every dollar (up to $1,000) donated by an employee to non profit. 1350 employees participated, donating $677,000 of their own funds to local, national and global organizations. REI’s contribution of $582,000 took the fund to a record high—even in a tough economic environment.
• Perhaps the most unusual way REI gives back to the communities that surround its stores while creating future outdoorspeople is through programs that support recreation access and help kids become more active. REI’s Passport to Adventure Program strives to make it easier for children to experience nature and become more healthy for life. The program is growing, with nearly 24,000 kids participating by registering and picking up adventure journals at their local REI store—this is an increase of 71 percent over 2007. Kids can draw pictures, play games and write about hikes and bike rides that REI employees help them plan.

For REI employees, giving back to local nonprofit organizations, helping keep the outdoors accessible, and giving kids opportunities to be outside lines up perfectly with the co-op’s mission and values.

Starbucks is a global company with a real dedication to the communities it serves. Since its founding in 1971, the firm has expanded its corporate responsibility umbrella to include Diversity, Community, Environment Wellness and Ethical Resourcing.

Under its Community initiatives, the company has a created a program to motivate partners (employees), customers and young people to come together for the greater good.

Starbucks’ stated goal is to encourage employees and customers to contribute more than 1 million hour of community service per year by 2015. With an employee base of 150,000 worldwide, they have a built-in volunteer force ready to be mobilized for change.

One way Starbucks helps is by providing Youth Action Grants to inspire young people to take action and find solutions to problems in their neighborhoods and communities. The company is working toward a goal of engaging 50,000 youth to innovate and create action in their communities by 2015. Starbucks makes grants to organizations that provide training to young people to help them develop skills and knowledge to identify community needs, create and execute action plans, evaluate outcomes against goals, build ongoing leadership skills and communicate success stories.

One grant recipient was an Argentina-based program called Strengthening the Youth for Health Network, which trains young people to produce and communicate prevention messages to their peers through theater, film and other artistic genres.

The Starbucks Foundation, first started to fund literacy programs in the U.S. and Canada, now works around the world to help support the communities in which their coffee and tea is grown. Funds from the foundation also help finance sustainable water-access programs, foster education in China, and rebuild the Gulf Coast of the U.S. after the devastation of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Starbucks involves its customers through initiatives like (STARBUCKS) RED, a program that allows customers to choose to buy products like a special African coffee blend or pay for their usual coffee drinks and other Starbucks items with a RED card. So far, they have funneled enough money to help purchase 14 million days of medicine for HIV-positive people in Africa.

Examples of Starbucks’ commitment to community:

• Number of employees who helped rebuilding efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina: 9,000
• Number of employee volunteer hours in New Orleans: 36,000
• Total employee and customer volunteer hours in 2009: 186,000
• Total Youth Action Grants awarded in 2009: $2 million
• Number of youth engaged in community activities through grants: 20,000
• Total cash and in-kind contributions toward community-building programs in 2009: $17 million

Not only does Starbucks increase awareness of the need for community building worldwide, the company also provides the means for people to get involved and make a difference themselves—working in communities to provide a hand up, not a hand out. For Starbucks, it’s all about sustainability and creating partnerships that last.

Wells Fargo is one of America’s largest financial institutions, one of its biggest employers, with 275,000 team members, and one of the largest contributors to non profits supporting education, community development, human services, the arts and the environment.

Wells Fargo’s commitment to social and community responsibility is revealed in some very impressive numbers:

• Average daily awards to nonprofits: $554,235
• Number of employee volunteer hours in 2009: 1.23 million
• Number of employees volunteering in 2009: 32,000
• Total invested in 2009: $202 million
• Number of nonprofits receiving awards: 18,000

Working through their local financial centers, the company learns what a community’s needs are, then provides the resources—financial, social or human—that will help the most.
Wells Fargo employees, or team members, are very involved in their communities. They serve on 10,000 nonprofit boards and raised $41.9 million during the 2009 United Way campaign—the largest employee campaign in the U.S. That figure is an impressive 21 percent increase over 2008 (even when combining Wells Fargo and Wachovia’s separate 2008 campaigns).

Team members also give time to teach money management skills, build homes, mentor youth and raise funds for nonprofits in their communities. The company helps out by matching team members’ financial contributions to schools dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000 per person. Last year that added up to $14.4 million in donations!

Wells Fargo gives directly to the organizations their employees support, through Volunteer Service Awards. These grants reward team members who volunteer in their communities by contributing cash to the nonprofit or school. The top award in 2009 was $50,000 to Project Night Night, an organization that provides blankets, books and stuffed animals to homeless children to help them get a better night’s sleep. A Wells Fargo team member is involved with the nonprofit and will use the funds to provide Night Night packages to 20,000 more homeless children.

Finally, Wells Fargo offers a valuable service that few other big companies do: they give team member time off with pay and benefits to work with a nonprofit that matters to them to help build long-term sustainability. In 2007, 20 team members took advantage for the program. The company allows up to four months’ leave for team members who are accomplishing great things, like establishing orphanages in Nigeria.

Costco is known to provide good values to its members and as a good place to work for its employees. Costco has also pledged to give back to the communities it serves—and not to build market share, but because it’s the right thing to do.

The entire corporation got behind the fund drive for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). Employees encouraged members to buy paper balloons and print their names on them—with all proceeds going to CMN. To promote more balloon purchases, a Seattle employee even wore them while working! And he alone was responsible for $10,000 in donations. Altogether, more than $11.5 million was raised this year through Costco’s employees and members.

Costco launched a company-wide Volunteer Reading Program in 1998. Interested staff are trained to tutor children who need extra help developing better reading skills. They meet weekly with their students, who range from grade school to high school age.

At Costco headquarters outside Seattle, WA, the employee-run Volunteer Center acts as a clearinghouse for identifying local needs, then promoting and tracking volunteer opportunities. The center has registered about 300 Costco employees. Each month, local charities can present their programs to the group, which finds ways to help. From soup kitchens to Toys for Tots; Outdoors for All to Gilda’s Club, volunteers from Costco are giving back in big ways.

The Costco Backpack Program is a nationwide program, started in 1993. Each warehouse identifies a local school to “adopt.” Employees then distribute new backpacks filled with supplies to each student in a chosen grade. Since 2005, more than 225,000 backpacks have been given away each year by Costco in the U.S.

Individual Costco employees also find their own ways to give back, from taking bakery items to the homeless to holding disc golf tournaments to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. In Alaska, the Anchorage Costco warehouse manager helped the Alaska Air National Guard as they delivered Christmas gifts to needy families in remote villages. And in Maryland a Costco employee helps knit items for infants, soldiers and nursing home residents.

These are just a few of they way Costco and its employees volunteer in their communities, making them better for everyone!

Tom’s of Maine is a natural care products company that was started back in 1970, by a couple who wanted to simplify their lives. Unable to find the unprocessed foods and pure personal care products they desired, the decided to make their own. Their simple philosophy was that their products would not harm the environment.

Now part of Colgate-Palmolive, Tom’s of Maine still practices the business acumen that made them successful—listening to customers’ needs and coming back with natural, sustainable solutions.

Tom’s of Maine also works with its customers to fund deserving nonprofit organizations (NPOs). This year, they are inviting NPOs to nominate their community programs for a chance to share in a $100,000 Community Action Fund award. To involve more of the community, nonprofits can rally their supporters to vote for them.

This year, Tom’s of Maine is taking the program a step further—and getting volunteers involved, too! Partnering with VolunteerMatch, the online volunteer recruiting and sign-up website, nonprofits can describe their volunteer needs when applying for the Community Action Fund awards.

Through July 2, any qualifying nonprofit with a budget under $2 million can apply online at www.50statesforgood.com. Nonprofits are encouraged to explain how they will use volunteers to benefit their communities. The 50 States For Good program is designed to make it easier for people to find out what charity organizations in their communities need help. Connecting with others and spreading the word about the chance for funding and volunteers is also part of the fun.

40 finalist organizations (in honor of Tom’s of Maine’s 40th anniversary) will have their project and volunteer request showcased on the company’s website. Then in August and early September, voting begins. Five programs will each receive $20,000, to be announced in October.

Tom’s of Maine has always donated 10% of its profits to its community and offers employees paid time off to volunteer in their local communities—up to 12 days per year!

For more information, visit www.50statesforgood.com.

FedEx strives to be “a great place to work, a thoughtful steward of the environment, and a caring citizen in the communities where we live and work.” The entire company’s passion for improving the quality of life around the world is evidenced in these programs:

For the Environment: FedEx incorporates responsible environmental practices into daily operations and always looks for ways to increase efficiency while reducing waste. They recently introduced the company’s first all-electric truck.

EarthSmart Outreach directs volunteer efforts in support of environmental challenges that cities face. FedEx is teaming up with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation to help six non-profits recreate six urban spaces across the U.S. Almost 300 FedEx team members will help out, ensuring that a little more green space can be enjoyed by thousands of their fellow citizens. This month, they’re planting trees in Memphis and Pittsburgh, cleaning the Los Angeles River, helping young people plant a green roof in New York City, and developing an outdoor living classroom in Washington D.C.

For the Needy: Employees all over the world volunteer in their local communities, from teaching children to be safe pedestrians in Korea, to collecting food from restaurants and bakeries to donate to needy people in Germany .

Each fall, FedEx staff members help out the United Way in their local communities during FedEx Cares Week. Last year, days of service held all across the U.S. allowed more than 2,100 FedEx team members to volunteer in their communities. Some of the projects they participated in were organizing local food banks, painting child-care centers, and building playgrounds.

For Education: Trucker Buddies is a pen-pal program that pairs FedEx drivers with kids from grades 2 through 8. Kids love the special attention from these caring adults, which helps them learn while having fun writing back and forth to their buddy. Trucker Buddy International has helped more than 1 million school children.

For Cancer Research: Throughout the month of March, FedEx employees volunteer to help with the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days. They pack, sort and deliver millions of daffodils to help in the fight against cancer. Nearly $3 million was raised in 2008 in New England, as FedEx team members delivered more than 400,000 daffodils around Boston.

For Local Non-Profits: FedEx Special Delivery was launched in 2004 to help collect and transport food, clothing, and toys to needy kids and adults throughout the U.S. and Canada. FedEx partners with local non-profit organizations and donates transportation services and manpower to help them serve their clients.

FedEx team members busily volunteer their time throughout the year, helping the environment and their fellow citizens—and they’re supported by their employer, too, because “FedEx believes it is important to give back to the communities we serve.”

Chevron is a massive energy company, with operations in every corner of the globe, thousands of employees, and retail outlets from Canada, to China, to Colombia.

Residents of countries and communities where Chevron employees work benefit from the company’s commitment to sustainability and long-term socioeconomic benefits, like health care, water, sanitation, volunteers, and disaster response.

Chevron partners with North Star Foundation, which operates roadside health clinics at truck stops and border crossings in Africa and Asia. Their center for HIV/AIDS testing, education and wellness care is located in a “hotspot” area, where drivers and people from the surrounding communities can access services, leading to a 17% decline in sexually-transmitted infections in five years.

Chevron was the first Corporate Champion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, using its financial power, as well as its ability to leverage medical experts from around the world, to work on eradicating these devastating diseases. Chevron is giving $30 million to the fund.

In the Gulf Coast of the U.S., Chevron is a major employer and presence. After Hurricane Ike in Port Arthur, TX, volunteer employees of the local lubricants plant assisted the elderly and others who needed help with clearing debris and trees, removing flood-damaged flooring and installing temporary roofs.

In addition, Chevron launched a three-year effort to support public education in school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. From new whiteboards and computers to leadership training, the program was deemed a great success for the children, their teachers, families and communities.

Chevron Humankind is a community-based program that matches employee and retiree contributions to non profit organizations, funds grants for volunteer time and sponsors volunteer programs. In 2008, the program recorded more than 110,0900 hours of volunteering, and $20 million in contributions to NPOs.

Chevron’s efforts to improve lives both in the U.S. and around the globe are seeing real, measurable results.

All images courtesy of Chevron