VolunteerMatch.org Opens Public Access to its Network

VounteerMatch, the web’s largest and most popular volunteer network that helps people find local volunteer opportunities with over 65,000 nonprofits is opening up its network to outside developers under a Creative Commons license to expand the non-commercial use of its free service.

"This is a big step for us," said Greg Baldwin, president of VolunteerMatch. "But we are excited about the opportunity to adopt new technologies and we know it is the right thing to do."

Opening its database to outside developers will better position the organization to take advantage of emerging trends on the Web making volunteer opportunities more accessible to a new generation of web services including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, said Baldwin.

In addition to announcing the new license, VolunteerMatch is also moving to adopt the use of open XML standards to promote accessibility and improve data quality.