Nonprofits dedicated to protecting animals engage in a broad range of activities. Some focus on spaying and neutering feral cats. Others provide homes for miniature pigs that have outgrown their house-pet status. Still others work to preserve exotic and endangered species or to rescue dogs from shelters and train them to assist people with disabilities.

Nonprofit organizations are taking advantage of the opportunity to post ads for volunteers at GuideStar. Any charity that participates in GuideStar can advertise volunteer opportunities for free at www.guidestar.org. The ads appear on the Needs and Opportunities page of the organization's GuideStar Report and in the Classifieds section of the GuideStar Web site.