FAQs

The more information you give about yourself, your interests and your background, the better we can match you to a potential organization that needs your skillset. This also gives organizations more information about you and what you are looking for in a volunteer role.

Once you’re logged in to your account, locate the Board Positions tab on the nav bar. This will show you a list of all your possible matches.

Consider adjusting your preferences, if possible. For example, you may be matched with more organizations if you change your preferences from an in-person opportunity to remote.

You can request to add your organization to the site by selecting Organization Login on the home page, then click Sign Up in blue at the top of the page. Click on Request to Add Your Organization in blue and fill out the form completely. The Site Admin will review your request and reach out to you if they have any questions before they approve your request.

Skills-based opportunities are volunteer roles that leverage and require specific skills and/or experience, particularly professional expertise. Skill-based volunteer opportunities create a unique opportunity for volunteers to donate their expertise to nonprofits while bolstering their resumes or portfolios and expanding their experience. Example opportunities may fall under professional areas such as finance, human resources, technology, and fundraising.

Skills-based volunteers are best for short- or mid-term, project-based tasks that are flexible but require professional skills, such as accounting or marketing. Volunteer opportunities should have clear scopes and flexible timelines. It’s important to remember that volunteers are donating their time and may have other commitments along the way. For roles that involve mission-critical, daily, or long-term responsibilities, or require highly specialized expertise and fast turnaround, hiring staff or consultants is often the better choice.

You can post an opportunity as soon as both your organization and user account have been approved.

Once you’re logged in to your Organization Admin account, click on your profile name in the upper right-hand corner. Under your organization, select “Post Skills Based Opportunity”. This will allow you select from skill-based opportunity templates or create your own.

You do not need to use the skill-based opportunity templates. If you would like to post a position that we do not have a template for, or start from a blank form, select “Create Your Own” at the top of the list of available templates.

While each opportunity is different, there are a few practices we encourage all organizations to consider when posting a new opportunity:

a. Craft a Clear and Compelling Title: Ensure the opportunity title is concise yet descriptive. A strong title helps attract the right volunteers by clearly conveying the nature of the opportunity (e.g., “Web Designer Needed for Nonprofit Website Overhaul”).

b. Provide a Detailed Opportunity Description: Use the description field to explain the tasks and goals of the project. Highlight the expected impact and how the volunteer’s skills will contribute to the nonprofit’s mission. Clear expectations about deliverables and deadlines help attract committed volunteers.

c. Include Onboarding and Project Details: In the additional info section, provide information on how the volunteer will be onboarded and what support they will receive. This can include training, regular check-ins, or any necessary resources. If there are specific deliverables, list them to give the volunteer a better understanding of the project scope.

d. Set Realistic Time Commitments: Be clear about the anticipated time commitment. Volunteers should know whether the project requires a few hours per week or a long-term engagement. Allow flexibility when possible, offering options for “At Your Own Pace” or scheduled meetings to accommodate volunteers’ availability.

e. List Required and Nice-to-Have Skills: Select the relevant skills that are essential for the role from the available list (e.g., Graphic Design, Data Analysis). Also, add “nice-to-have” skills to attract volunteers who may bring additional expertise that can further enhance the project.

f. Select the Cause Area(s): Identify which cause your opportunity supports (e.g., Environment, Education, Health). This helps volunteers align their passions with your project and boosts engagement.

g. Choose the Appropriate Format: Specify whether the opportunity is in-person, virtual, or a hybrid of both. Virtual opportunities can increase the pool of potential volunteers, allowing people to contribute from anywhere​.

Once you’re logged in to your Organization Admin account, click on your profile name in the upper right-hand corner. Scroll down to Your Listings. Here you can edit the opportunity listing or click “Active Candidates”. This will show you a list of all your possible matches. Alternatively, you can view potential volunteer matches by selecting “Explore” from the main menu and click on “Volunteer Candidates”. You will then need to select the opportunity from the list of available listings to see relevant volunteer matches for that opportunity.

Relevancy is the match score calculated using on an algorithm comparing volunteer skills and preferences in to your opportunity’s requirements, such as desired skills and remote/in-person requirements. Volunteer relevancy scores range from 1-100, with 100 being the highest relevancy to your position.

It is very unlikely that a volunteer candidate will have a relevancy score of 100. The relevancy score is used to bring the most relevant candidates to the top of the list for your review. We encourage organizations to not aim for a certain relevancy score, but use this feature to more easily search through available volunteers. However, adjusting the requirements of your skill-based opportunity may change the relevancy score of available volunteers.

Consider adjusting your requirements, if possible. For example, more volunteers may fit your need if you change an in-person opportunity to remote.

Yes, you can have as many people from your organization join as you need.

Yes, everyone can review volunteer matches, but not everyone can edit the organization profile or post opportunities. The person who is deemed the administrator of the site can assign different levels of responsibility.

The roles are:

• Group Admin – has full access to all functionality, can assign roles to other organization reps
• Position Manager – can add, edit and remove volunteer opportunities, can see all active matches, can reply to responses
• Representative – can see all active matches, can reply to responses