Idealist and VolunteerMatch are being merged to create a central hub for both jobs and volunteer opportunities in the nonprofit space. The two nonprofits are pioneers in the use of technology to empower people to take action for social good.
The merged organization will be known as Idealist and will be led by Idealist’s Founder and Executive Director Ami Dar.
Pending regulatory notices, the merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year, Dar told The NonProfit Times. Technically, Impact Online, Inc., doing business as VolunteerMatch, a California nonprofit corporation that owns and operates the web site Volunteermatch.org, will be merging into Ideamatch, Inc., a Delaware nonprofit corporation of which Idealist.org, Inc. is the sole member, he explained.
Idealist was launched in 1995 as Action Without Borders. Its jobs board Idealist.org became the better-known name so the organization rebranded, Dar explained. Idealist provided access to full-time jobs, internships, volunteerism, and connecting with neighbors to address local problems.
VolunteerMatch, founded in 1998, is the largest network dedicated to connecting nonprofits with individual and corporate volunteers through its website, API, and syndication partners, said Dar.
Leaders of the two organizations started talking about the combination early in the summer of 2024 after VolunteerMatch’s chief executive left and two board members volunteered to run the organization in the short term. VolunteerMatch board members Meg Garlinghouse and Chris Masto will join the Idealist board. Garlinghouse is the vice president of Social Impact at LinkedIn, and Masto is a long-time investor, advisor, and board member of entrepreneurial growth companies.
According to information provided in the announcement, across their combined histories Idealist and VolunteerMatch have:
- Connected more than 250,000 organizations with over 40 million people seeking a way to get involved in their communities.
- Delivered billions of dollars in social impact into the nonprofit sector.
- Engaged hundreds of thousands of people with educational opportunities, free webinars, and career and grad-school fairs.
“For decades, VolunteerMatch has led the way in online volunteer recruitment, while Idealist has helped millions of people find jobs in the nonprofit sector,” said Dar. Details of staff transition are still being worked out, said Dar.
“This is so exciting, and it shows what can happen when two mission-driven organizations seize an opportunity to come together to more ambitiously scale their impact,” said Masto via a statement.
According to data on its 2023 federal Form 990, Idealist.org had revenue of $6 million, expenses of $8.2 million and assets of $10 million. VolunteerMatch had revenue of $1.23 million, expenses of $1.1 million and assets of $498,549.
