New algorithm spreads volunteers more fairly across nonprofits, with 8% broader reach

Phys · May 05, 2026 · 1244 words · By Aimee Levitt

Researchers from Stanford, Yale, UCLA, and the RAND Corporation developed and implemented new algorithms for VolunteerMatch and Feeding America to improve the distribution of volunteers and food donations. The study indicates that these changes increased the reach of volunteer opportunities and reduced food waste while improving equity among recipient agencies.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-algorithm-volunteers-nonprofits-broader.html

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10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

13 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 4

verified Verified 3

schedule Pending 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

info

“More than a quarter of Americans participate in formal volunteer programs, creating more than $160 billion in economic value annually.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific statistics regarding 25% participation and $160 billion in value appear only in one web search result ('Using Data Science to Get Food and Volunteers Where They’re...'). Other search results for 'volunteering' are generic and do not confirm these specific figures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — American Horror Stories is an American horror anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FX on Hulu. The series serves as a direct spin-off and companion to American Horro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Horror_Stories

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gold Over America Tour may refer to: 2021 Gold Over America Tour, gymnastics-themed touring show headlined by Simone Biles 2024 Gold Over America Tour, the second gymnastics-themed touring show headl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Over_America_Tour

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wings over America is a triple live album by the British–American rock band Wings, released in December 1976. The album was recorded during the American leg of the band's 1975–76 Wings Over the World …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wings_over_America

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“Feeding America [is] one of the largest hunger relief programs in the country.”

VERIFIED

Multiple independent and authoritative sources, including Wikipedia and official organization descriptions, confirm that Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Feeding America is a United States–based non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, sh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_America

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Native Americans (also called Indians, American Indians, First Americans, and Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. The…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“Daniela Saban, an associate professor of operations, information, and technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business... has been working with both VolunteerMatch and Feeding America to improve their systems.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The search results for 'Daniela' returned a singer (Daniela Avanzini) rather than a Stanford professor. No evidence was found to confirm the existence of Professor Daniela Saban or her work with VolunteerMatch and Feeding America.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of American films released in 2024. The year featured a diverse array of cinematic productions, ranging from major studio blockbusters to independent and streaming platform rel…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_2024

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable individuals and organizations who endorsed Joe Biden's campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Endorsements listed once each.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joe_Biden_2020_preside…

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web search NEUTRAL — Daniela Andrea Avanzini Llorente (born July 1, 2004) is an American singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of the girl group Katseye, formed through the 2023 reality show Dream Academy. She …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela_Avanzini

+ 2 more evidence sources

verified

“The interface of VolunteerMatch, which has since merged with Idealist, was like a job board”

VERIFIED

Web search results explicitly state 'VolunteerMatch is now part of Idealist' and welcome users to the new home for VolunteerMatch on idealist.org.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 20, 2026 · VolunteerMatch: Find Local Volunteer Opportunities (https://www.volunteermatch.org) remains a top choice for anyone ready to give back. Its easy tools, huge selection, and focus on real…
https://www.volunteerconnection.net/volunteermatch-find-loca…

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web search NEUTRAL — VolunteerMatch is now part of Idealist We’re thrilled to welcome you to the new home for VolunteerMatch on idealist.org. Search for volunteer opportunities now, and discover tools and resources to sup…
https://www.idealist.org/volunteermatch

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web search NEUTRAL — OR Continue with Facebook We will never post anything to your Facebook profile without your permission nor access your friends list.
https://volunteermatch.networkforgood.com/donors/sign_in

info

“Saban's team conducted two large-scale field experiments with the new algorithm, which they called SmartSort, in Dallas–Fort Worth and Southern California.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results mention 'SmartSort Technologies' in the context of recycling bins at DFW airport, which is a different application than a volunteer matching algorithm. No evidence was found for a 'SmartSort' algorithm for volunteer matching tested in these regions.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town der…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Mound,_Texas

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Randalls Food & Drug L.P. is an American supermarket chain which operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the Randalls and Flagship Randalls banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randalls

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eric Lynn Johnson (born October 10, 1975) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 60th mayor of Dallas, Texas, since June 2019. A former Democrat, Johnson has been a member of the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Johnson_(Texas_politician…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“In both areas, after the implementation of SmartSort, VolunteerMatch saw an 8% increase in opportunities that received at least one response and no significant decrease in overall matches between organizations and volunteers.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists only of dictionary definitions for the word 'implementation'. No data regarding an 8% increase in volunteer responses was found.

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web search NEUTRAL — Implementation is the realization of an application, execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, policy, or the administration or management of a process or objective…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation

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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of IMPLEMENTATION is an act or instance of implementing something : the process of making something active or effective. How to use implementation in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implementation

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web search NEUTRAL — IMPLEMENTATION definition: 1. the act of starting to use a plan or system: 2. the act of starting to use a plan or system…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/implemen…

info

“VolunteerMatch's leadership... has adopted SmartSort as its default algorithm.”

SINGLE SOURCE

No evidence was found regarding the adoption of a 'SmartSort' algorithm by VolunteerMatch leadership.

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web search NEUTRAL — Want to volunteer in Castro Valley? Find the best volunteer opportunities in Castro Valley in cause areas like health and medicine, children and youth, education, community building, and more.
https://www.volunteermatch.org/s/srp/orgOpps?orgsearch=true&…

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verified

“The ad-hoc donations system was powered by an online platform called MealConnect”

VERIFIED

Multiple sources, including Feeding America's own site and Food Bank News, confirm that MealConnect is their food donation/rescue platform.

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web search NEUTRAL — Feeding America’s food donation platform, MealConnect, recently hit a major milestone: it has helped facilitate more than seven billion pounds of food rescue since its launch in 2014.What is MealConne…
https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/what-mealconnect-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Feeding America announced the launch of MealConnect, an innovative technology platform that makes food donation as simple as a click. The free platform was developed to help reduce food waste...
https://www.feedstuffs.com/agribusiness-news/feeding-america…

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web search NEUTRAL — Feeding America has made it easier for food banks in its network to take advantage of its MealConnect platform by making it automatically available in every zip code of the country. Food banks no long…
https://foodbanknews.org/feeding-america-makes-mealconnect-a…

verified

“Nearly a quarter of the ad hoc donations by total count were going to waste”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The Wikipedia results provided are about breastfeeding, a different nonprofit (Feeding Our Future), and force-feeding. None of them provide data on the waste percentage of ad hoc donations in the Feeding America system.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process whereby breast milk is fed to an infant or toddler. Infants may suckle directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a pump and then fed …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breastfeeding

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Feeding Our Future was a Minnesota nonprofit founded in 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it claimed to distribute many thousands of meals to schoolchildren, but instead stole hundreds of millions o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_Our_Future

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term gavage (UK: , US: , French: [ɡavaʒ] ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force-feeding

help

“When an unexpected donation came in, a module called Real-Time matched it with a food bank”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a module called 'Real-Time' used by Feeding America.

schedule

“Each agency had 90 minutes to respond. If it didn't, Real-Time would offer the donation to the next agency on the list. After four rejections, the donation was considered "lost"”

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“At each stage in the offer process, several agencies receive donation offers simultaneously, although they have less time—45 minutes—to respond.”

PENDING

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“One study is published in Management Science and the other is forthcoming.”

PENDING

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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New algorithm spreads volunteers more fairly across nonprofits, with 8% broader reach

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