GoogleServe returns for 2022 to provide Volunteer Support to Irish Charities

Business in the Community Ireland are delighted to inform the Irish non-profit sector that Google’s annual volunteering programme – GoogleServe  – is returning for June and July of 2022 to support Irish charities through skills-based employee assistance, both in person and virtually. BITCI have been partnering with Google Ireland since 2015 to support the GoogleServe programme, and GoogleServe 2022 will build on the success of those earlier campaigns.

In the 2 years since the first pandemic lockdown, almost 300 charities, NGOs and community organisations have benefitted from the support of Google Ireland’s volunteer teams. The GoogleServe initiative has been highly effective at taking the skills and expertise of volunteers from Google Ireland’s offices and bringing them to address the most critical needs of our country’s community and voluntary sector.

How have Irish Charities benefitted from previous GoogleServe campaigns?

Among the supports and resources that Irish charities have availed of during previous GoogleServe initiatives have been expert one-to-one advice on how to make the best use of Google Ad Grants for Non-Profits and on optimising their online advertising as part of a wider digital marketing campaign. Charities could benefit from guidance on SEO and how to adapt their websites to improve their performance on Google Search (so as to generate greater awareness for their causes and campaigns). Likewise, Google employees are ready to volunteer in other capacities – from cleaning local parks to personnel support at charity events.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, non-profit organisations across Ireland could use the expert volunteer support available through GoogleServe – and Google’s digital tools – to stay connected with their employees and service users. Registered charities could also get support on how to create and amplify their organisation’s YouTube channel and – where these charities had an educational component to their services – Google volunteers were able to tutor them on the resources available on the ‘Teach from Anywhere’ Hub.

Impact of the GoogleServe Initiative

All of these resources which were available through GoogleServe – combined with the expert advice of the Google volunteers – have helped Irish non-profits to stand out online, engage their donors, and collaborate with their teams throughout the pandemic, while also helping to build the resilience and adaptability of their organisations.

Among the almost 300 Irish charities, NGOs and community organisations who over the last two years availed of support through GoogleServe has been Chronic Pain Ireland. Having participated in GoogleServe during last summer, Chronic Pain Ireland have acknowledged how valuable the support of the Google volunteers has been to their organisation: “We are most grateful for Google’s support to date. As we are a tiny charity with only one part-time member of staff due to very limited funding. GoogleServe really makes a difference especially to us smaller charities with limited resources. The volunteers’ time, patience, and dedication are an excellent reflection of Google’s core values and knowledge base. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Googlers and to benefit from their expertise”.

GoogleServe Initiative for Irish Charities & NGOs – June-July 2022

Google Ireland’s annual volunteering initiative – GoogleServe – has returned for the summer of 2022. The GoogleServe initiative gives Irish charities the opportunity to benefit from the assistance of Google volunteers who are available to help them with the challenges and needs their organisations are experiencing.

This year’s GoogleServe campaign marks a return to both in-person and virtual volunteering. Google Ireland also welcome opportunities for large groups of their volunteers – or volunteering opportunities that might require multiple shifts. This means that the possibilities are almost endless for Irish charities to benefit from the support of the Google volunteer teams.

Among the areas where the Google volunteers can provide support to Irish charities during June-July 2022 are:

• • In-person support where extra hands are needed – this might involve assistance at events, painting community buildings, etc.
  • Career readiness Training – this could include assisting with mock interviews, CV reviews, or mentorship for the service users of your organisation.
  • Environmental Support – for example, cleaning coastlines and parks, or helping out at animal shelters.
  • Wellness and Inclusion Opportunities – such as virtual or in-person visits with seniors, language training, document translation, phone banking to raise awareness about a relevant issue.
  • Education Supports – this could include Tutoring, Coding, Reading, Robotics/VR tours with students.
  • Helping the homeless or in Food Kitchens
  • Skills-based help with Google Products – such help could involve getting started with Google Workspace, using Google Docs/Sheets/Slides/Sites, etc.
  • Marketing & Strategy Support – such as thinking of new creative fundraising campaigns, generating online awareness campaigns, events organising.
  • Google Ads – help with optimising your Google Ads account and making best use of your charity’s Google Ads Grants.

How Irish Charities can sign-up to GoogleServe during June-July 2022

Volunteer support through GoogleServe will be available to organisations that are (1) a registered charity in Ireland and that (2) have an active account with Benevity.

The sign-up process for Irish Charities to avail of the assistance on offer through GoogleServe is simple. Your organisation just needs to complete this form, provide your contact details and provide an outline of the area(s) where you feel your charity could benefit from the assistance of the Google volunteers.

Although the crux of the campaign will happen in June 2022, the volunteer support on offer through GoogleServe will be available to Irish charities up until the middle of July 2022, so make sure you complete that form as soon as you can. If you have any questions or queries about whether the Google volunteers might be able to assist your charity with your specific needs, please reach out directly to googleserveireland2022@google.com and the GoogleServe Ireland team will only be too happy to assist you.

Once your organisation has registered for the GoogleServe initiative and outlined your needs on the form, the GoogleServe team will recruit Google volunteers who can help you in the areas where you require assistance. And if your organisation is already registered for Benevity – Google’s giving platform – then your charity could gain $10 for every hour that the Google volunteers ‘donate’ to you (again, please contact googleserveireland2022@google.com for any queries you might have relating to Benevity).

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