Dare County nonprofits and government agencies are being encouraged to register for a new online volunteer platform that officials say will streamline recruitment, scheduling and communication while helping connect residents and visitors with community service opportunities across the Outer Banks.
The Dare County Visitors Bureau has partnered with Galaxy Digital, an Asheville-based company specializing in volunteer management systems, to launch Volunteer OBX, a centralized portal designed to support the county’s growing “voluntourism” initiative.
The platform is currently in an early rollout phase, and organizations are being asked to create profiles and begin entering volunteer needs ahead of a broader public launch.
According to the Visitors Bureau, the portal will serve as a free management tool for qualifying nonprofits and government entities, offering features such as volunteer sign-ups, shift scheduling, hours tracking, reporting dashboards, and built-in messaging tools that allow agencies to communicate with volunteers via email or text.
The system also supports digital volunteer check-in, event-specific landing pages, liability waiver management, and automated reminders.
Officials say the goal is twofold: to help agencies better coordinate volunteer efforts, and to give residents, second-homeowners and visitors a simple, all-in-one location to browse and select service activities ranging from environmental cleanups to museum support, event staffing, community meals and social-service programs.
The Visitors Bureau said voluntourism has become an increasingly important component of Outer Banks travel planning, as visitors seek meaningful ways to give back to the coastal communities they enjoy.
The new platform is expected to make it significantly easier for nonprofits to harness that interest.
In addition to basic management tools, Volunteer OBX allows organizations to:
- Create customizable volunteer opportunity pages.
- Track individual and group volunteer hours for grant reporting.
- Send alerts or updates to volunteers in real time.
- Manage recurring, one-time, or emergency volunteer needs.
- View analytics on engagement, volunteer retention and participation trends.
Agencies can also designate multiple administrators to manage their portal activity, upload their organization’s logo and mission statement, and link directly to websites or social media pages.
To take part, organizations must create an agency profile and submit it for approval. Once approved, they may begin adding volunteer opportunities, events and ongoing needs. Registration is open to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, municipal departments, educational institutions, and other qualifying entities operating in Dare County.
A full how-to guide, including step-by-step instructions on setting up an agency account, posting opportunities and managing volunteers, is available through the Visitors Bureau.
Organizations can begin the enrollment process at https://www.volunteerobx.com/agency/signup/.
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