Profile: Freddy Zwanzger

My occupation: IT project manager & web consultant

My responsibilities: Website relaunches & online consulting & social media marketing

What inspired me to get involved in skilled volunteering: To do more for a better world than just donating money and to utilize my professional skills for a good cause rather than only to increase profits for my employer.

Which organisations have I fulfilled volunteer projects for: Spinal Cord Injuries Australia and Make a Difference Foundation

A bit about the volunteer projects I fulfilled, what I achieved and their outcomes: Spinal Cord Injuries Australia: Consulting on website user experience (target groups, information architecture, usability, content discovery etc.); SEO & social media marketing, vendor / solution selection for donor management system as well as hands-on project coaching.

Make a Difference: Update of website content, repaired the online donation facilities, provided guidance for future web redesign

What the community group gained: Spinal Cord Injuries Australia: The new website will be more in line with their overall strategy and goals, as well as highly engaging for their visitors to increase donations / volunteering / membership. I have increased service level for their handicapped clients with online information and helped SCIA avoid costly mistakes when investing in a new donor management system. Essentially I have helped them find an effective solution for many years to come.

Make a Difference: Up-to-date website content for the press in a fundraising / advertising campaign and a renewed possibility to receive donations.

What I got out of volunteering my time and skills: Satisfaction to help out not-for-profits with limited budgets with my professional expertise and references for working with NGOs in Germany.

Tips for Community Groups working with skilled volunteers: Time is money and everybody is pretty busy these days, so after the initial scoping meeting try to stick to the agreed topics and timelines.

Tips for Volunteers working with community groups in skilled volunteering: Be patient when things are not moving along as quickly as initially thought – often the group members are also volunteers with busy lifes. But at the same time you should try to approach it just like a professional paid engagement in terms of commitment and service level.