USER GUIDE FOR AGENCIES:

INITIAL SET UP

  1. How do I set up the Agency Profile?
    Volunteer United can be a great marketing tool for your organization. Each agency has an individual profile to share information about the organization’s mission, leadership, focus areas, social media accounts, photos and videos. To set up a new Agency Profile, click here. To login to your existing profile, click here. 
  1. How do I view and edit my Agency's Profile?
    Once     you are logged in, you can toggle back and forth from your individual profile and your Agency Manager page. To view the Agency Manager page, look on the top tool bar and select MY AGENCY. You can edit your organization's needs and information there. 

POSTING NEEDS (VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES)

  1. How do I create and post volunteer Needs?
    To create a volunteer opportunity (known as a “Need”) you will need to be logged into your profile. Click MY AGENCY at the top, select the NEEDS tab on your profile; then click ADD NEW NEED. Complete the form fields and submit.
      • Once you have entered your volunteer Need, you can edit details, view the Need as volunteers would see it and review responses for each Need. You may also directly message volunteers for the specific Need. 
  1. How do I use keywords to get my Need noticed?
    When a volunteer conducts a search on the volunteer site, they type a keyword into the search box related to the type of Need they are looking for. When you write your Need listings, think about what terms someone might use to search for it and include those words in the title and/or description of your listing.
  1. Can we post unlimited Needs?
    There is no limit. You may post as many Needs as you want. You have unlimited characters for descriptions; however, we recommend keeping it short and to the point, especially for mobile users.
  1. Can I link the Needs I post on Volunteer United to my agency’s website?
    Yes! To find the link, log into your Agency Profile, click on the MY AGENCY on the tool bar. Click NEEDS and select the NEED you would like to link.Copy the NEED LINK URL to be used on your website, newsletter, emails, etc.
  1. Do I get notified when someone has responded to my Need?
    Yes, you will get an email from volunteer@unitedwayrocflx.org when a volunteer has responded to your Need. Then you can log in to your profile to see the details. Please update your email settings to make sure that volunteer@uwrochester.org is not going to your junk mail so you receive future communication. If these communications become overwhelming, we recommend to set up a “rule” in your inbox to capture site emails and review them on a regular basis. Here are instructions for Outlook and Gmail.
  1. Can I only allow certain volunteers to access my Needs?
    Yes! Volunteer United agency managers can make a NEED private to both individual volunteers and teams. This capability is particularly useful for corporate volunteering, as you can give companies and other organizations exclusive access to respond to certain Needs. To make a Need private:
      • Go to your Agency Manager panel by clicking MY AGENCY on the top menu, go to the NEEDS tab and click on the NEED (or click to create a new Need). Scroll down to the Privacy field and select PRIVATE.
      • If you are creating a NEW NEED, complete all other applicable fields.
      • Click CREATE NEED or UPDATE NEED as applicable at the bottom of the page. Go back to your NEEDS tab and select VIEW for the need you would like to share. Copy the URL link and send to your team contact. 
      • You can share this private link with your company contacts. You can always make the NEED Public if your contact is unavailable to volunteer this year. 
  1. What should we do if we are an organization with multiple sites and different volunteer management staff?
    If your volunteer management is centralized,it is easiest to list all your opportunities under one organization and add multiple organization managers to your profile. Each manager can post opportunities using their site’s address.

    If your sites are decentralized, you may find it easier to create multiple organization accounts so the volunteer managers at each site can be the organization manager for that site. However, you will be better able to track that all your locations are in the system if you list your parent organization at the beginning of your organization name for sorting and searching purposes (ex: Needs: Accelerator is one organization account, XYZ: Earth Service Corps is another organization account, etc.). 
  1. When a volunteer uses the location to search for opportunities if my organization has alternate sites where the opportunity can take place, will it know the organization spans a greater area than just my headquarters?
    The system is not able to recognize additional locations unless there are opportunities posted for those locations. The best suggestion is that if an opportunity spans multiple locations, use the CLONE NEED feature and create Needs for those specific areas you are targeting.

Additional Resources

Still Have Questions?

We're here to help! Contact us at volunteer@unitedwayrocflx.org