❖ Heads up! This article is only intended for Agency Managers.

Once your Agency is set up, start posting volunteer Needs—these are the Opportunities volunteers can find and respond to. Volunteers can search by Interest or Agency, so make your Needs clear, compelling, and engaging!

Creating Needs

Go to My Agency > Needs. If you manage more than one Agency, then the button is labeled My Agencies.
Click Add New Need. This opens the Create Need page.
Fill out all required fields and any optional ones you want to include.
Click Create Need to finish.

Key fields explained

Field	Description
Title	Give your Need a title.
Description	Add a description that lets volunteers know more about your organization or the kind of work they can expect to participate in when they volunteer for this Need.
Cover Image	Personalize your Need with a cover image.
Interests & Abilities	Select Interests & Abilities that are relevant to your Need. These help match volunteers with them.
Qualifications	Select a Qualification as applicable.
Designate a Site Supervisor or Contact Person	Toggle this On to provide contact information for a person that volunteers can reach out to about this Need.
Duration	Select how often the Need occurs (i.e., one-time or recurring).
Capacity	Set the maximum number of volunteers required to participate in this Need.
Hours	Set the number of hours volunteers are expected to participate in for this Need (e.g., 4 or 2.5).
Hours Description	Set the time volunteers are needed (e.g., 9 am - 3 pm).
Virtual Need?	Check Yes if this Need can be done from home or in another remote setting. Check No if this Need is in-person only. Leave N/A if this does not apply.
Address fields	Share the location where this Need takes place.

Duration Types explained

Duration Type	When to Use It
Is Ongoing	For Needs with no end date—always looking for help. Ideal for: • Clerical tasks • Donations (e.g., sew blankets) • Park clean-ups • Pen pals for seniors/vets Note: Not a placeholder—you can’t switch to shifts later!
Runs Until	For Needs with a set end date. Perfect for: • Book or coat drives • Tutoring programs with fixed timelines Note: Not a placeholder—you can’t switch to shifts later!
Happens On	For a one-day Need with a specific date. Use for: • 5Ks (e.g., Water Station Attendants) • Holiday events (e.g., Santa’s Crew) • Back-to-school drives Note: Not a placeholder—you can’t switch to shifts later! Time is shown as 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM
Multi-Date	For Needs that span consecutive days. Great for: • Camps • Multi-day events (e.g., Nov. 20–25) • Retreats or workshops Note: Not a placeholder—you can’t switch to shifts later!
Custom Shifts	For Needs with varied shift times. Ideal when: • Shift times differ by day/time • You need multiple shifts per day Examples: • Scoop soup: 10 am to 2 pm or 4 pm to 7 pm • Museum greeter: 8 am to 12 pm or 2 pm to 5 pm
Recurring Shifts	For repeatable shifts on a schedule. Perfect for: • English Tutors: Mon/Wed/Fri 4 pm to 6 pm • Farmstand: Sat/Sun 8 am to 5 pm

Changing a Need or Opportunity’s duration can cause data issues, like volunteers being unable to log hours. To avoid this, clone it or create a new one with the correct duration type.

Promotions and Sharing

Select how you wish to share your Need.

Scroll to the Promotions and Sharing section of the Create or Update Need form.
Select the privacy setting for this Need.
- Public: The Need is shared publicly with users on the site.
- Private: The Need is only accessible when shared with users manually via a link or by Initiative. If the Need is assigned to a User Group, then User Group members will also gain access to the Need.
Select the Initiative, if applicable.

Additional Options

There are several additional options available to personalize your volunteer Need.

Scroll to the Additional Options section.
Fill out each field as applicable.
Click Create Need to finish.

Field	Description
Allow Team Registration?	Select Yes to allow volunteers to sign up for this Need as a team. Select No to disable this ability. Select Teams only to only allow team signups for this Need.
Minimum and Maximum Age fields	Set the minimum and maximum ages allowed to participate in this Need. Note: This doesn't restrict the Need to those ages. It simply informs users of the age restrictions.
Family Friendly?	Check Yes if this is a family-friendly opportunity. Check No if this is not a family-friendly opportunity. Leave N/A if this does not apply.
Outdoors?	Check Yes if this Need occurs outdoors. You'll have the opportunity to share an inclement weather plan. Check No if this Need occurs indoors. Leave N/A if this does not apply.
Wheelchair Accessible	Check Yes if this Need's location has wheelchair access. Check No if this Need's location does not have wheelchair access. Leave N/A if this does not apply.
Attributes	Add additional important details here, like "wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty" or "we serve refreshments at 2 pm".
Additional Notification Recipient(s)	Toggle this On to provide contact information for a point of contact that volunteers can reach out to about this Need.
Comments	Comments are private. Only Site Managers can see comments on Needs. These are not visible to volunteers.
Clickwrap Waiver	Use a clickwrap waiver when you don't require a volunteer's signature for them to qualify for a Need.