Once you've found an opportunity that aligns with your interests or skills, it's time to volunteer! To let an organization know you're interested in volunteering with them, you need to respond to a volunteer Need or Opportunity. Some sites use Needs, while others use Opportunities. This is just a language choice for the site, but they are interchangeable terms.
Some Needs or Opportunities may have requirements you must complete to qualify for them. These are called either Prerequisites or Qualifications, depending on the site. You may have even encountered these when registering your account.
Responding to Posted Needs or Opportunities
Log into your volunteer account and navigate to the Needs or Opportunities area from your dashboard.
You can filter these or click View Details for any you're interested in learning more about.
Once you've found the one you want, click a Respond button.
Click Respond if you wish to volunteer alone.
Click Respond as Team if you wish to volunteer with coworkers, family, or friends.
If this opportunity has scheduled shifts, select the shift(s) you're interested in.
The Need or Opportunity Response form may have different options than the example. What appears on the form depends on how the site has set up the opportunity.
Complete any questions or requirements, as applicable.
If this opportunity has Prerequisites or Qualifications, you may have to wait until those have been approved before completing your response.
Once you've completed the form, click the Submit button.
After you submit your response, you may see a prompt with any of the following:
Create a Calendar Event: Create a calendar reminder.
Share: Share this opportunity to your social media platform of choice.
Donate: Make a donation to the site.
What appears in the popup confirmation, depends on the site's settings.
If an opportunity has a lock icon on it, then it's private. You can only view private opportunities if you've been assigned one or received a link to it.