Golden Solution

We are in the midst of an exciting rejuvenation of civic engagement. After years of decline, people across the country - driven in large part by millennials and Gen Z - are diving into their communities more than ever. Gen Z participation in the 2020 elections were at nearly 50%, up from 39% in 2016. And after decades of holding steady, the national adult volunteering rate jumped from 25% in 2017 to 30%.

Yet despite these trends, participation is still artificially limited. Nearly 75% of Americans express interest in volunteering in their communities.

So why is there a such a huge gap between interest and engagement?

“Access” is the primary barrier to engagement. Citizens must be able to find projects to engage with, otherwise they won’t participate.

The best way for governments to increase civic engagement is with a single website where citizens can discover and sign up for projects in their communities. On the surface, this seems overwhelming. But in fact, Golden has made it very easy to collect civic and volunteer projects from NGOs throughout your community - without the hassle of managing everything yourself.

Golden - the world’s most award-winning volunteering platform - can help governments double the rate of civic engagement in one year…and give you the hard data points you need to prove it.

Golden’s partners have reported incredible outcomes: partnered with the City of Salt Lake City, the United Way of Salt Lake recruited twice as many volunteers in their first year on Golden. 20-year-old, Multinational hunger organizer, Midwest Food Bank, increased their email distribution lists by 55% in 12 months. The average new organization on Golden sees an immediate 30% increase in return volunteers.

Golden drives fantastic outcomes for civic engagement and volunteering programs by combining incredible tools for program organizers with an award-winning volunteer-facing web experience that’s designed mobile-first and works on any device (critical at a time when over 60% of web traffic happens on mobile devices).

Golden’s incredible organizing features not only allow city, state and other government agencies to list their own projects, recruit volunteers and process critical documents like liability waivers and background checks, and collect all the ensuing engagement data…but also to empower their partners to do the same.
After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, the City’s Department of Neighborhood Initiatives was able to onboard local NGOs in a matter of days to list their projects on their Golden-powered website. This massive volunteer effort was critical in getting Houstonians back on their feet across the city. Even more importantly, the City used the thousands of reported volunteer hours and automated reporting data to receive additional reimbursement from FEMA.

Golden’s award-winning volunteer experience is designed to make it easy and vibrant for individuals to find their optimal path to civic engagement - Golden’s product have higher conversion rates than Amazon at over 23%.

Volunteer centers like Hands On Atlanta, EarthShare, and United Ways around the country use Golden to collect projects from their NGO partners and to empower local citizens and volunteers to engage quickly and effectively in their communities.

With awards ranging from a Webby for Public Service, the Gates Foundation Challenge to Reimagine Charitable Giving, Apple’s Best Way to Serve Your Community, and Facebook’s Social Impact App of the Year, Golden is now the world’s most awarded volunteering and civic engagement platform.

Implementing a comprehensive civic engagement solution has taken months to years in the past, but Golden’s experienced Client Success team aims to have partners up and running in a matter of weeks. Whether you are connecting Golden to a CRM like Salesforce, Blackbaud or Microsoft Dynamics, or onboarding local food banks, homeless services, and parks organizations - the team is trained to provide a smooth and effective onboarding experience. Golden aims to generate as much engagement activity as possible - so there are no limits on the number of partners agencies, volunteers or projects that you can support.

As a California-based certified small business, homelessness is a critical issue in many of the communities where Golden is most present. Local governments need to empower residents to help solve these crises - but to do so, there must be a gateway for portal to see what services are needed most. How can I help? What food bank needs me most?

Golden’s combination of powerful organizing tools and simple volunteer experience drives results for cities, counties and states around the country. The future will be driven by civic engagement; there’s no time to waste.