❖ Heads up! This article is only intended for Agency Managers on Center sites.
Is this your first time posting on a volunteer site? Just got recruited to manage something called an 'Agency'? Did you find a volunteer site and register your organization as an 'Agency' on it? If you said yes, then you're in the right spot!
ℹ️ So you know: Some sites have language overrides in place. This means you might see Needs in place of Opportunities, Agencies in place of Programs, or Prerequisites in place of Qualifications.
What is an Agency?
Before we dive into what an Agency Manager is, let's talk about what an Agency is and its purpose on a Center site.
A Center site is like a hub site—it's where non-profits and organizations can register their Agencies and then post and share their volunteer Needs with the Center site's larger volunteer community.
An Agency is an organization that registers on a volunteer site. You could be a nonprofit, religious organization, or any type of organization that needs volunteers to help meet your mission or goals. For example:
If you're a food bank, you may need volunteers to pack and deliver boxes of produce to those in need.
Maybe your organization works within a hospital setting and needs volunteer candy stripers to help with daily operations.
Whatever your volunteer needs may be, you can register an Agency on a site where your volunteer Needs live. From there, you can manage your Agency and keep track of your volunteers and their contributions as an Agency Manager.
What is an Agency Manager?
An Agency Manager is someone who has been assigned to oversee the day-to-day of an Agency. While the Site Manager oversees everything and anything regarding the overall site, you only oversee the Agencies you're assigned to as an Agency Manager on that site.
Agency Managers can:
Post and manage volunteer Needs
Schedule volunteers for Needs or check volunteers in and out for Needs
Track your Agency's stats
Agencies only have access to schedule and communicate with volunteers who have already responded to one of their Agency's Needs in the past.
As an Agency Manager, you have access to two invaluable resources:
Agency Manager Dashboard: The Agency Manager Dashboard is where you oversee and manage the Agencies you've been assigned to. This is where you can review stats about your Agency, manage your Agency's Needs, and more.
Agency Manager's Toolbox: The Agency Manager's Toolbox is a resource you can access anytime from the Agency Manager perspective. This is where you go when you need to contact your Site Manager or to quickly access articles that are most commonly used by other Agency Managers like you!
What are Volunteer Needs?
Volunteer Needs are the opportunities posted by an Agency for volunteers to sign up for! You must have a registered Agency on a volunteer site to create and post your Needs. An Agency helps a volunteer site keep things nice and sorted—plus it's easier for volunteers to search for things they're interested in since they can filter Needs by Agency. Here's an example that illustrates how an Agency helps keep Needs sorted:
What if I Need Help?
Right here in the Help Center! We have several articles in the Agency Manager folder dedicated to guiding you through the how-to's of managing your Agencies. However, if you find that there are any issues with the site itself, or if you run into any issues that you can't find a resolution in the Help Center for, then we recommend contacting your Site Manager. Your Site Manager knows everything about their site and is the first line of support for Agency Managers.
How Do I Contact My Site Manager?
You can contact your Site Manager at any time from your Agency Manager's Toolbox. Navigate to your Agency Manager's Toolbox and click Contact My Site Manager. This opens up a new email window for you to send them an email with your questions.
Remember, the Site Manager is your first line of support if you ever get stuck when managing your Agencies. They know how their site is configured and are the ones running the show from behind the scenes. So, they are your knowledge experts for anything related to the individual site they manage where your Agency is listed.
Remember, the Site Manager is your first line of support if you ever get stuck when managing your Agencies. They know how their site is configured and are the ones running the show from behind the scenes. So, they are your knowledge experts for anything related to the individual site they manage where your Agency is listed.
FAQ
Who do I ask for help if I have questions?
Contact your Site Manager from your Agency Manager's Toolbox if you have any questions.
They are the ones in charge of the site's settings and the day-to-day management of the site—they're the most knowledgeable about any and all things site-related.
How do I join a site?
When you're ready to register your Agency on a site:
From the site's homepage, select Click here to register your organization.
Fill out the Agency Signup form.
Click Request Account to finish.
Depending on the site settings the Site Manager has put in place, you may be able to go ahead and start building your Agency profile; however, you may have to wait for your Agency to be approved.
How do I get volunteers?
While there are many ways to promote volunteer engagement, you'll want to try out a few options and see what works best for your Agency and organization. However, here are a few steps to help get you started:
Post volunteer Needs.
This one is the most important step because, without any posted volunteer Needs, volunteers can't sign up to participate with your Agency.
Share your posted volunteer Needs.
Share your Needs on social media, with friends and family, or in online forums and other sites where your volunteer Needs align with their markets.
Sometimes it's all about exposure and word of mouth! So put your Agency and your Agency's Needs in front of the community.
Host an Event to showcase your Agency and recruit volunteers.
Is there a fair or convention going on in your market? These are great venues for spreading awareness of your Agency and needs!
How do I add another Agency Manager?
You can always add additional Agency Managers for any Agencies you manage. While you remain the primary Agency Manager, you can add or remove the other Agency Managers whenever.
Click Edit from your Agency Manager view.
Enter a Name or Email in the field under Agency Managers.
Select a user from the dropdown.
Repeat this process as many times as necessary to add more Agency Managers.
You can also delete any Agency Managers by clicking the X by their name.
A warning pops up asking you to confirm your selection—click Yes to confirm or No to cancel.
If you wish to make someone else the primary Agency Manager, click the star by their name.
A warning pops up asking you to confirm your selection—click Yes to confirm or No to cancel.
Please note that once you make someone else a primary Agency Manager, then you can no longer add or remove Agency Managers.