For small nonprofits & mutual-aid groups
Turn willing volunteers into shown-up help.
A lean team, a long list of needs, and volunteers who want to help but don’t know where. Lightwork connects the ask to the hands — without a phone tree, a spreadsheet, or a dispatcher.
Free to use. Works on iOS, Android, and the web.
What it looks like
Get help where it’s needed.
Match needs to volunteers
Post what someone needs today; a volunteer nearby claims it. No dispatcher required.
Rides & deliveries
Get a client to an appointment or a box of groceries to a doorstep.
Skilled hands
A volunteer who can fix a wheelchair ramp finds the person who needs one.
Coordinate a small team
Your handful of staff and regulars see every open need in one shared list.
Surge without chaos
When a cold snap or a storm hits, spin up help fast inside a group you already trust.
Keep it dignified
Recipients can ask anonymously, so getting help never means being put on display.
Good to know
What lean teams ask.
We can’t afford volunteer-management software.
You don’t need to buy any to start. Coordinating help for your team and your volunteers is free — co-managers, a repeating schedule, and coverage you can see before a date arrives — across as many groups as you run. The part we charge for is the organization layer: a verified badge on the help you sponsor, oversight across groups your staff never joined, and the volunteer-hour records a funder asks for. That last part is still being built, so don’t plan a grant match around it yet.
Our volunteers aren’t technical.
Asking and offering each take one tap. It runs on any phone or in a browser.
How is this different from a Facebook group?
Requests don’t scroll away, you see exactly who’s coming, and people can ask privately in a group or anonymously — none of which a Facebook group does well.
Can it handle a surge?
Yes. Stand up a group ahead of a storm or a season, and it is ready when the need spikes.
What you get
Built so asking for help feels safe.
Private by default
Ask anonymously when you need to. Your identity is never revealed unless you choose to share it — end to end.
As open or as close as you choose
Post to the public feed and anyone nearby can lend a hand — no group required — or keep it private to a group you belong to: your church, your street, your school. You choose who sees each one.
A map of what’s needed
See open asks near you at a glance, so offering a hand is as easy as noticing one.
Direct, safe messaging
Coordinate the details one-to-one. Requests you decline simply disappear — no awkwardness, no pressure.
Everywhere you are
One account across iOS, Android, and the web. Start on your phone, finish on your laptop.
Free, and built to stay kind
No ads, no selling attention. Lightwork measures help given, not time spent.
Get help where it’s needed, faster.
Free on every phone and the web. Start a group for your team and volunteers.