Volunteer management platform Volaby has won the top innovation award for the “Not-for-Profit and Community Solution” category at the Queensland iAwards.
Volaby was launched in 2018 by Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, co-founders of Orange Sky Australia, a not-for-profit that provides mobile shower and laundry services to people experiencing homelessness with 31 services in Australia and two in New Zealand.
Volaby was developed out of a need to manage the growing operations of Orang Sky when it quickly scaled up to 2000 members. According to Volaby Partner Engagement Manager Alex Urquhart, Marchesi and Patchett recognised that many organisations like Orange Sky are heavily dependent on their volunteers, and without the right processes in place, it can severely hinder services and organisational growth.
“The Volaby platform was built to empower other volunteer-driven organisations to significantly reduce their administration efforts so they can save their time and energy for the more important things, like focusing on their core mission,” Urquart said. “We aim to provide the tools to streamline an organisation’s impact, through simple, intuitive and enjoyable engagement with their volunteers, as well as a means to collect and report on operations and measurable impact.
“We’ve assembled a team of the best innovators, developers, designers and engagement specialists, and I’m incredibly proud that our team has been recognised for such a notable innovation award,” Urquhart added.
The iAwards is Australia’s longest running and most broadly scoped innovation recognition program, promoting excellence in the Australian digital ecosystem from the likes of Google Maps, Atlassian, Wotif and WiseTech Global.
This award is the second notch for Volaby, having previously won the Google Impact Challenge in 2018 which awards community-driven non-profits and social enterprises with support to make their community and beyond a better place.
Volaby also recently became the first platform of its kind to offer automated SMS reminders to it’s volunteers which allows organisations to confirm shift attendance with a simple yes/no SMS response, making it easier than ever to work with volunteers from all types of demographics.
Volaby’s lead product manager said this feature has helped streamline communication and dramatically increased the response rate of all volunteers in Volaby from 40 per cent to more than 70 per cent, giving these organisations more certainty and a higher volunteer attendance rate.
Volaby currently supports large and small organisations and is available as a subscription to any organisation that relies on the support of volunteers including non-profits, schools, councils and more!
