For years, skills-based volunteering on Catchafire has followed a familiar pattern. Nonprofits identify a need, post a project, and applications roll in from volunteers eager to give their time and skills - pro bono. Volunteers browse, apply, and hope their skills are the right fit at the right time.
That model works with nonprofits and volunteers matching in as quick as 3 days, but it puts all the momentum on nonprofits that are often already stretched thin. It also assumes volunteers should wait to be invited into impact. But we know that the desire to do good doesn't wait for an invitation. It's a fire that burns constantly.
We began challenging that assumption and asked ourselves: What if we empowered our volunteer community to lead with their strengths and ignite change first?
From waiting to offering
We are now providing our community of skilled volunteers with a new way to get involved. Instead of waiting for the ideal project to come along, volunteers can now proactively share their skills, interests, and availability.
Volunteers can showcase their strengths and experiences making this information visible to nonprofits throughout the marketplace. This small change leads to a significant transformation. It shifts the volunteer experience from passive browsing to active engagement.
Flipping the marketplace on purpose
Traditionally, our marketplace has relied on supply generated by nonprofits. Projects are proposed first, and then volunteers respond. While this approach ensures specific needs are addressed, it can sometimes result in talented individuals remaining on the sidelines because the right project description has not yet been crafted.
Supply can now be volunteer-generated as well. Nonprofits no longer have to begin from scratch each time they seek support. They can explore a pool of available talent, contact potential collaborators directly, and design projects that align with actual human resources rather than just hypothetical availability. This approach enables organizations to recognize the wealth of support at their disposal, inspiring fresh ideas for their growth.
A more human definition of generosity
Generosity is fundamentally about noticing opportunities to help and offering support without waiting to be asked.
Volunteer proposals make this kind of generosity visible. They allow people to say, "I have skills, I have time, and I want to use both for good. Not someday, not when the stars align, but now."
For nonprofits, this opens the door to more organic conversations, better-aligned matches, and support that feels collaborative instead of transactional. It builds a bridge where both sides are walking toward each other, ready to work.
Building a stronger marketplace
By enabling volunteers to raise their hand first, we are building a marketplace that reflects how people actually want to give: proactively, personally, and with purpose.
This is not a replacement for projects. It is an expansion of possibilities. When volunteers lead with what they offer, and nonprofits meet them halfway, generosity becomes easier to activate, and impact becomes easier to achieve.
We are relentless champions for the people and seek to disrupt the systemic barriers that have left them behind. Sometimes, that barrier is simply the process itself. By changing how we connect, we change what is possible for our communities.
This is just the beginning of a more balanced, more human, and more generous way to connect skills with causes that need them most. We invite you to raise your hand and join us
If you’re a volunteer, our new proposal builder is as simple as 1, 2, 3.
On the other side of the marketplace, a nonprofit sees important details and a concrete offer to help. All the nonprofit has to do is click “I’m interested in this proposal”.
