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

Interests help match volunteers to Needs. Volunteers receive notifications about new Needs that align with their selected Interests and can filter and search for them by Interest as well.

Here are some examples:

If	Then
If you have volunteer Needs for rebuilding homes...	Add custom Interests like Home Repair, Restoration, or Construction
If you have volunteer Needs that involve working with shelter animals...	Add custom Interests like Animal Care, Veterinarian, or Animal Rescue
If you have volunteer Needs to work in a food pantry...	Add custom Interests like Cooking, Food Prep, or Food Handling

Adding a Custom Interest

Go to Settings > Interests.
Click Add a New Interest.
Enter the new Interest name, then select an icon and color for it.
Click Submit Interest to finish.

Be sure to select an Icon and Color; otherwise, the system defaults to an apple icon and a gray color for that interest.

Editing Interests

Go to Settings > Interests.
Click the pencil icon under the Options column for the Interest you wish to update.
Apply your edits and click Submit Interest to save your changes.

Applying Interests to Volunteer Needs

Interests are selected when creating a volunteer Need, or they can be applied to an existing one.

Either create a new Need or go to Volunteerism > Needs and select an existing one.
Scroll until you see Interests & Abilities.
Select each Interest you want applied to the Need.
Either finish creating the new Need or continue to edit the existing one.
When you're ready, click the Create or Update button to finish.

How Volunteers Interact with Interests

Interests appear on the Need profile page when a volunteer visits it. Volunteers can also search for Needs based on Interests that align with their skills and strengths.

They can also select Interests from their profile area to receive a curated list of volunteer Needs in their inbox and on their dashboard for Needs with those Interests.

Filtering Users by Interests

Managers with access to the User Filter can also filter their user list by Interest.

Go to Volunteerism > Users.
Click the User Filter.
Select User Data > User Interests > is > [Interest Name].
Click Submit. The list is filtered to users who have selected that Interest on their profile.