We are offering this article as GivePulse prepares to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 21, 2026.
Roughly one in four people in the United States is living with a disability. That means at any volunteer event, in any registration queue, a significant portion of the people you are trying to reach may face barriers that prevent them from ever showing up. Not because they don't want to, but because the path to participation wasn't built with them in mind.
This guide is for volunteer coordinators, nonprofit professionals, and higher education community engagement staff who want to move beyond good intentions and build volunteer programs that are genuinely welcoming, equitable, and accessible to people with disabilities.
One of the most important mindset shifts volunteer administrators can make is recognizing that accessibility improvements benefit everyone. For example...
Remote volunteering expands access for people with physical disabilities, but it also works for parents of young children, people without reliable transportation, and volunteers whose schedules don't align with in-person hours.
Offering a variety of tasks at a single event, such as envelope stuffing, research projects, display tidying, alongside physical outdoor work, accommodates volunteers with mobility limitations, but it also works for people who are new to volunteering, who prefer quieter tasks, or who simply show up in their good shoes.
When you build for access, you build for everyone.
One concrete (and visible) step organizations can take is crafting an inclusion statement and... making it easy to find. Statements buried in website footers or legal compliance pages don't communicate welcome. They communicate obligation.
A general inclusion statement might read:
"We are committed to creating a welcoming, equitable, accessible environment where all clients, volunteers, staff and anyone involved with our organization can feel safe, valued and given an opportunity to engage in meaningful activities working toward our mission."
In addition to a general statement, consider a specific commitment to accessibility for people with disabilities:
"We strive to make our volunteering opportunities accessible to the largest number of people possible. If you have accessibility requirements in order to fulfill a volunteer role in which you are interested, please contact us, so we can work together to accommodate you."
Notice that neither statement is framed around legal compliance. Saying "we follow the ADA" tells people you obey the law. Saying "we want to work with you to make this possible" tells them you're genuinely ready to welcome them.
*Note: These are general inclusion statements. When creating your own, please take your organizational and institutional language into consideration.
Most volunteer outreach happens digitally through websites, email, social media, and registration forms. Estimates suggest that around 98% of websites have accessibility problems that could prevent people with certain disabilities from accessing them. That means the barrier to participation often exists before a person ever tries to sign up. Below are a few of the highest-impact areas to address when it comes to online and digital accessibility:
Ensure adequate contrast between text and background. This matters most for people with low vision or colorblindness, and it's not something you can always judge by eye. Free tools like WebAIM's contrast checker can analyze your pages.
Any image on your site should have alternative text (alt text) that describes what the image shows for users who rely on screen readers or braille displays. Many platforms now prompt you to add alt text when uploading images. A good description includes relevant details, i.e., who's in the photo, what they're doing, and where it was taken. Alt text shouldn't be excessive, but should give a clear idea of what is being represented and how it relates to the content being presented.
Don't rely on a single format to convey critical information. Pair maps with written directions. Summarize key data from charts in the surrounding text. Avoid using color alone as a signal; for example, if a form selection turns green when chosen, a color-blind or screen-reader user may not know the selection is registered. The word "yes" appearing alongside the color change or another confirmation cue solves this.
Use descriptive link text. "Click here" tells no one what they're clicking to. "Read our volunteer job descriptions" does. Ensure that all functions on your site can be completed using a keyboard, not just a mouse. This is essential for users with motor disabilities.
Volunteer forms and training materials should be available in accessible formats. PDFs created correctly are readable by screen readers; PDFs exported as images are not. When in doubt, offer an HTML or Word version as well.
You can run a free accessibility check on any webpage using WebAIM's WAVE tool. Don't be discouraged by a long list of errors. Many can be resolved with small adjustments.
Before you post a volunteer role, look critically at what you've listed as requirements. Ask yourself: Is this actually a requirement, or is it an assumption?
A job description that says a driver's license is required, but whose duties don't include driving, is an example of an untested assumption. A person who doesn't drive may have entirely reliable ways to get to off-site locations, and you've excluded them unnecessarily.
Other questions to ask:
For example, a soup kitchen volunteer role might genuinely require in-person presence in an accessible dining room, but could offer a separate option for a volunteer to design materials or conduct research from home. Splitting tasks allows more people to contribute meaningfully.
Another example that is seen a lot on volunteer job descriptions, and job descriptions more generally, are blanket statements used across descriptions such as "must be able to lift 25, 50, 75 pounds," "must be able to stand for X number of hours," and "ability to bend, stoop, kneel, squat, and reach," among others.
When building out your volunteer job description, it is important to think critically about whether all requirements are actually 1. nesscessary to complete the task and 2. if there are ways to support volunteers with disabilities who may not be able to perform specific tasks. For example, providing a reacher tool to volunteers who may need to pick up items off the ground or reach high-up items.
When you set up registration for a volunteer event or opportunity, include a field asking about accessibility needs or accommodation requests. This does several things:
It is also helpful to include your accessibility statement directly in the event description, not just on a standalone web page. People should encounter your commitment when they're considering signing up.
Before advertising a volunteer event, do an accessibility walk-through of the space. Note potential barriers: unpaved paths, narrow aisles, acoustics that make hearing difficult, and limited seating. Then ask: what can be corrected, and what can be mitigated?
You may not be able to make a basement kitchen wheelchair accessible, but you might be able to offer an accessible alternative task in a different part of the building. You may not be able to fix the acoustics in a large hall, but you can arrange for a portable microphone.
On the day of the event, provide information in multiple formats: verbal instructions, written instructions, and, where possible, a hands-on demonstration. Not everyone processes information the same way, and this benefits all volunteers, not just those with disabilities.
Don't forget the end of the event. Make sure reflection activities, evaluation forms, and thank-you communications are also accessible. A paper-only evaluation form excludes people who are blind or have difficulty with fine motor tasks. A digital-only form excludes volunteers without internet access. Handwritten thank-you cards, while thoughtful, may not be meaningful or accessible to everyone. Plan for variety.
Providing multiple ways for volunteers to reflect on their experience, in addition to written or verbal reflections, could include activities such as drawing, photos, or even skits.
Remote volunteering removes one of the most common barriers to access, physical presence. For volunteers with disabilities who can't easily travel, who function better in a familiar environment, or who experience sensory challenges in group settings, virtual participation can be the difference between contributing and sitting it out.
If you offer remote volunteer roles, think about how you maintain connection and recognition for those volunteers. Assign a buddy to check in with them during the event. Acknowledge their contributions in the same spaces where you recognize in-person volunteers.
A few of our favorite tips for supporting virtual volunteers:
When designing specific remote volunteer projects and tasks, the concept of micro-volunteering may be useful. The rule of 30 minutes says that if a task you want to assign to a remote volunteer will take more than 5 minutes to explain and more than 30-60 minutes to complete, you should break it down into smaller tasks to accommodate this timeframe. The 30-minute rule benefits everyone by ensuring instructions are clear and tasks are actionable.
Writing clear, detailed volunteer descriptions is always important, but may be even more important with remote opportunities since volunteers will need to carry out their day-to-day tasks more independently and without oversight from your team.
It's important to have conversations with volunteers about how long they feel it will take for them to complete a specific project, but it is also important for you to understand it's okay to set deadlines. Deadlines can help with accountability and set parameters for the project. If the volunteer feels like they can't meet a deadline, you may want to think about finding additional volunteers to work on the project.
Arguably, one of the most important aspects of remote volunteering. Schedule real-time check-ins with your remote volunteers to answer questions, provide two-way feedback, and build a connection. Be sure to find a communication method that works best for you and your volunteers. Older volunteers or volunteers who are blind may prefer a phone call, and hearing-impaired people may prefer a video call where closed captioning is available.
A buddy system for remote work is great for providing mutual support, accountability, and building connections with peers. Some people with disabilities may benefit from being paired up with another volunteer, whether they are working together on a project or supporting one another while each works on their own task.
Remember to include your remote volunteers in recognition and celebration. Volunteering remotely can feel isolating. If you have a volunteer-of-the-month column in your newsletter, be sure to include remote volunteers and give them a shout-out! COnsider whether it woould be feasible to include people in your event through Zoom or to host a separate online event for those who unable to come to your physical site.
The most important factor in a successful volunteer relationship, with anyone, including people with disabilities, is open communication. Don't assume you know what someone needs. Ask. If you're uncertain how to handle a situation, say so, and invite the person to offer suggestions.
Avoid over-focusing on a person's disability at the expense of seeing their skills and contributions. People with disabilities are often overlooked for more challenging or visible volunteer roles because coordinators unconsciously underestimate what they can do. Evaluate their work the same way you'd evaluate anyone else's, and give them the same constructive feedback you'd give any volunteer.
Key practices for accessible ongoing volunteer relationships:
It's also critical to remember that no two people with the same disability have identical needs. A person who has been blind since birth and learned braille as a child will have different access needs than someone who lost their vision as an adult. Age of onset, access to training and equipment, and the nature of the disability itself all shape what an individual needs to participate fully.
Only 36% of nonprofits include disability in their inclusion training. That means that even when a supervisor is knowledgeable and supportive, fellow volunteers may not be, and a person with a disability who encounters skepticism, exclusion, or paternalism from peers is not being included, regardless of what the coordinator intended.
Inclusion training can't be a one-time event. Staff and volunteers turn over, and the culture has to be sustained and refreshed. Make disability awareness and accessibility etiquette a consistent part of your orientation and training programs.
The most important principle in disability inclusion work is one that people with disabilities themselves have championed: Nothing about us without us.
If you're developing accessibility policies, planning training programs, or reviewing your volunteer experience for barriers, include people with disabilities in that process, not as token consultants, but as genuine participants whose expertise is valued and compensated.
Many communities have independent living centers, disability advocacy organizations, and individual consultants who can offer training, review materials, and provide feedback. If you're paying others to do inclusion training, pay these experts too. If you genuinely cannot compensate someone for their time, be upfront about that from the start.
We covered a lot in this article, but you don't have to overhaul everything at once. Here are concrete commitments you can make in the next three to six months:
GivePulse is committed to making its platform accessible to individuals with disabilities. Not just for end users, but for administrators and coordinators who manage programs on the platform. That means meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, adhering to W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2 AA), testing updates before release, embedding accessibility expertise within engineering and product teams, and documenting and prioritizing accessibility challenges as they arise.
Read the GivePulse Accessibility Statement
A note on how this was made:
This blog is based on information shared in GivePulse Accessibility Best Practice webinars from 2020 and 2026. Those webinars were created and developed in partnership by Jana and Lindsey.
Jana Schroeder, the GivePulse Community and Accessibility Specialist, has worked in higher education community engagement for 16 years, has been involved with nonprofit organizations as both a volunteer and volunteer coordinator, and Jana is a blind technology user.
Lindsey Payne, Senior Client Success and Support Coordinator, has been with GivePulse for 4 years and brings over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector across various capacities. Lindsey served as the Volunteer Coordinator at The DoSeum, working in partnership with organizations to bring volunteers with a range of disabilities to build their skills. Lindsey was also involved in accessibility and inclusion initiatives, ensuring that staff, volunteers, and guests were seen and felt a part of their mission daily.
Additionally, GivePulse is committed to transparency in how we use AI. This article was created in part using AI, which helped synthesize content from our webinar transcripts and speaker notes into a structured, accessible blog post. All content was reviewed, edited, and approved by our team. We believe using AI responsibly, and saying so openly, is part of walking the walk on inclusion.