Fido: Skilled volunteering recruitment service

March 2009 | The Centre for Volunteering

In 2008, The Centre advertised approximately 250 positions in the Sydney Morning Herald for over 100 member organisations for free through its skilled volunteering service, Fido. Many of these positions involved multiple vacancies.

We know from member feedback that Fido continues to be a very valuable service for members for recruiting skilled volunteers.

However, while Fido is used by a large number of members of The Centre, some members may not be aware of the details of its operation. In this edition of The Voice, we give some brief details of Fido and how it operates.

Fido is a skilled volunteering service for members of The Centre for Volunteering which assists them to find volunteers for a wide range of positions. The Fido Help Desk column in the Saturday and Monday editions of the Sydney Morning Herald is available for members to advertise volunteer vacancies. As this is a free service, priority is given to positions requiring qualifications, experience or certain skills.

Fido also lists vacancies on its website and details of positions are emailed to more than 1,200 people every Monday. People can register to receive the weekly Skilled Volunteering Job e-bulletin on the Fido website.

The Centre is planning to incorporate the Fido website into its volunteering website in the coming months and details will be advised to members shortly. You will still be able to send requests to The Centre to advertise in Fido, and Fido will continue to advertise in the Herald each week.

Members sometimes ask whether Fido and the Volunteer Referral Service (VRS) are linked. Fido and the VRS are separate services, although The Centre's staff and volunteers work closely together to coordinate their operation. Each week one or more positions listed with the VRS are selected to be advertised in Fido. These positions will have the VRS as the contact point for initial inquiries, whereas a position submitted by a member through the Fido website will have that member as the contact point.

If you are a member of The Centre (and have up-to-date volunteer personal accident and public liability insurance) and would like to use Fido, you can submit requests through the Fido website. You can also phone Fido Manager, Denis Porter, on 9261 3600 on Wednesdays and Thursdays or email liaisonofficer@volunteering.com.au