Posting an opportunity from start to finish
The Add/Edit Opportunity page lets you tell volunteers everything they need to know about your project. Complete each section, then your opportunity page will display this information to volunteers on your site.
To edit an opportunity you've posted, use the Quick Project Tool at the top of the Special Event page. Select your project from the first dropdown menu, and Edit from the second dropdown menu, then click Go.
To post a new opportunity, click Add New Project.
If your project is not listed in the dropdown, click View All Projects, then Edit Project on the next page
If you are not a Special Event Admin, but are a Project Leader, you'll edit your project by clicking on the megaphone icon in the Your Volunteering table.
Then, click Edit Opportunity in the upper left corner.
Once on the Add/Edit Opportunity page, you can click the Help icons on the left for guidance on filling out the each section.
Opportunity Title
Your opportunity's title is what shows up in search results, so it's your first and best chance to draw in the ideal volunteer.
In this space:
- You'll want to clearly state the activity being promoted, and inspire signups with creative or compelling language that makes it stand out on the results page.
- Refrain from describing the details of the opportunity in this space - you'll have space for that below.
- If it's part of a series and you need to distinguish it, you can indicate the shift or date, for example Marketing Team Beach Cleanup Round 3 - 2:30-4PM.
Examples of effective titles include:
2015 Tribute to the Troops 5k Run and 3K Walk
Best Buddies Challenge - team up with colleagues and tutor local students
Good Corp Month of Service: Memphis Employees Habitat for Humanity Build
*Tip: The title character limit is 100 characters - keeping it under 86 will allow the whole title to display in search results.
Location
The location step lets volunteers know where your project will be taking place.
Not yet on the opportunity posting page? Click here for guidance.
If there is a specific location, choose One Location, then go ahead and fill out the address. If it's recognized by the map, that's your sign that it will pull in to local results correctly.
- This address will show in the search results as well as on the main project page.
- Volunteers can click on the link to open the location in Google maps and get directions
- Once you've completed this page and moved on to Opportunity Listing, you'll be able to expand the zip code coverage to make it show up more broadly in searches.
If this is a project people can help with remotely, choose Virtual to indicate that there is no associated address and volunteers do not need to travel or meet up to participate.
- This will remove the address fields, so no map will be shown
- This option can be used for opportunities such as website help or computer-based activities, knitting blankets that will be mailed to one central location, or phone companionship for home-bound senior citizens.
Shifts
If your opportunity has multiple specific dates, time slots, or roles, you can use our shifts feature. By clicking the Yes to the question 'Does this Opportunity have shifts?' you can accommodate these options within the opportunity. Use the 'Copy this shift' option to have all your data moved into an identical shift that you can then edit to meet your needs.
If you use the shift option your volunteer will have the option of signing up for different roles or slots within the same opportunity.
For more details about shifts see the full article
Date and Time
The date and time step lets volunteers know when they can participate in this opportunity. You can choose a specific date or range or leave it open-ended.
Not yet on the opportunity posting page? Click here for guidance.
If your activity takes place on specific day or date range, enter the date(s) in the space provided. Make the Start Date and End Date the same if the activity takes place on a single day.
If your opportunity is ongoing or flexible, check the box to the right. If you select this option, you will not be able to specify any dates or times.
Next, you'll indicate the time of day that volunteers need to commit for. In the description section and in communications with volunteers, you'll be able to tell them when to meet and any other details around timing.
- If your opportunity covers a date range, for example every Wednesday in January from 9AM-11AM, list those times of day, then use the description to communicate the frequency of the activity and overall time commitment.
- After the opportunity takes place, you'll be able to track hours for those who volunteered in whole-hour increments. You can set up auto-add hours on the second page of the project creation and opportunity listing page.
Finally, you'll indicate how many volunteers are needed for the project.
- This number will show up on the search results page in terms of how many volunteers are still needed, and as a total on the opportunity details page.
- If the wait-list option has been turned on for the Special Event (campaign) that this opportunity is a part of. Volunteers will be added to the wait-list once the project has reached the number of spots indicated here.
In this section, you'll give prospective volunteers a snapshot of what this opportunity is all about, and help them decide if they are a good candidate to volunteer.
Not yet on the opportunity posting page? Click here for guidance.
Description
In the description field, include a brief explanation of the volunteer activity
- You won't need to repeat information about the date, location, or cause areas of the project - volunteers will be able to see all the fields you are filling out on the project listing page, so focus on any information that is not included elsewhere
- This is a great place to put a "call to action" for why volunteers are needed and what impact they can make
- Leave project requirements such as age limit, as well as key skills, for the next fields
- Select the ABC tool to proofread your description's spelling
- You can format this field like a Microsoft Work document, with bold, italic, list bullets or numbers, and hyperlinks.
Next, you can add the skills that you'd like volunteers for this project to possess
- You can select up to six skills - these will be shown in the details column of the opportunity page
Finally, add in the specific requirements, such as a driver's license, that all volunteer's must have to participate.
- You can choose from standard skills, or describe your own in the open text field
- The time commitment should include any training before the activity
- These will show in the details column above the desired skills
Here is how the volunteer looking at the page will see the description, skills and requirements sections:
Selecting a Benefiting Organization
While creating your Project, you have the option to choose a Nonprofit Partner or Benefiting Organization for your Volunteer Activity. Selecting NO will apply the Special Event as the Beneficiary for reporting and the volunteer opportunity listing page. Selecting YES will display a drop down menu to select from a list of Benefiting Organizations.
This drop down menu contains any Private Organizations you or other site administrators have created. If you select one of these Organizations, an additional Select Contact field will appear below. The contact(s) of the selected Private Organization will display in the drop down menu below. Find out more information about Private Organizations.
If you need to add another Organization, select ADD NEW BENEFICIARY and a pop up window will appear and have 2 options:
- Manually add an Organization
- Search the VolunteerMatch Public Network
Please disable any pop-up blockers on your browser settings, this may prevent the Add Beneficiary window from appearing.
Manually adding an Organization will automatically fill out the Contact field on the Opportunity Listing Page with the first and last name of the Organization contact provided. Benefiting Organization Contacts will receive the following communications:
- Volunteer signup notification
- Volunteer removal notification
- Guest Signup notification
- Guests removal notification
Adding a Public Network Organization will not yet display the option to select a contact because Public Org administrators have not consented to managing this Activity. VolunteerMatch hopes to provide this connection soon! Please contact your CRM if you're company is interested in supporting this initiative!
Note: The benefiting Organization Contact is not displayed to the Volunteer on the Opportunity Listing Page. The Special Event Admininstrator is displayed as the Activity Contact on the details page, until an Opportunity Admin or Leader is selected or recruited. See this article for more info on Opportunity Admin & Leader management permissions.
Adding an Opportunity Photo
Capture your volunteers attention! Add a photo that not only represents the Activity, but also draws them into signing up and getting involved! Volunteering action shots are always appealing!
Select the ADD IMAGE link and a pop up window will appear. Please disable any pop-up blockers on your browser, this may prevent the window from appearing.
Choose a jpeg file from your computer to upload to the Opportunity Listing Page that your volunteers see. The Title (required) and Caption will also appear below the photo on the volunteer Activity details page.
Once you've uploaded your photo, you'll have the option to select that same image from the drop down menu for any additional Activities you create in the same Special Event.
To add and manage photos for the Special event, go to the Manage Special Event page, and select the 'Photo Manager' link in the 'Customize Projects' section.
Help Employees Find your Listings
You can make sure your opportunity shows up in search results by connecting it to relevant causes, keywords, and special groups in this step of creating and editing a project.
First, choose up to three cause areas that this opportunity relates to.
- Scroll down to see all the available causes, or type to search for the one you're looking for.
- When volunteers search by cause area or click on a cause area link within the site, this will ensure that you're project is tagged to show up in the results
Next, add in keywords that volunteers may search for - this will link those words to your project, and ensure that when they are entered, your project is pulled into the search results.
- When a term such as "environment" is searched, the title, activity description, and keywords of your opportunity listing will be scanned, and the opportunity will be shown in the results if the word appears in any of these fields
Finally, you can mark your project as a good fit for specific groups such as kids and teens. On the search results page, these categories are available as filters - projects that have been checked in these categories will show up in filtered searches.
Access to changing project photos and documents
Both Special Event (Campaign) Managers and Opportunity Administrators have access to the opportunity posting page. However, there are a few adjustments on this page that only Special Event or Full Site admins have the ability to edit.
Customizing greetings and other documents such as questionnaires, and adding a new photo (previously uploaded photos will be available in a dropdown), needs to be done by a Special Event admin.
The links from the project posting pages will take you to the Special Event edit page if you have this access, but will give Opp Admins an error message. In that case, please check in with the campaign manager and ask for needed changes.
Please note it can take our servers 30-45 minutes to begin displaying newly added or updated projects.