Frequently Asked Questions
Our volunteer website is used to help organizations recruit volunteers by giving them a platform to post volunteer opportunities and events as well as to help match potential volunteers to opportunities they are interested in. Please review our FAQ's and Resources to become familiar with the site. Feel free to reach out to Amanda Burns at aburns@bc-unitedway.org if you have any questions.
How to Create an Account:
Before using the site we recommend watching Butler County United Way's pre-recorded training led by our site's vendor, Galaxy Digital. The live training is done on a test site so the site and language may look slightly different but the steps for navigating the site will be the same. Here is also a quick video on how to post opportunities/needs on the site also led by our vendor so the site may look a bit different.
Opportunity and Community Event Questions:
Q: What is the difference between “Community Events” and “Opportunities”?
A: A Community Event is used when you want people to attend (not volunteer at) an event such as a fundraiser, walk-a-thon, community meeting, training, etc. An Opportunity is when you are recruiting volunteers to do a specific activity. Opportunities can be listed as ongoing, date specific, or shifts. Events may need volunteers – in which case you would list as an opportunity and link to each other.
Q: How do I post an opportunity?
A: Here is a video on how to post opportunities or events.
Q: Do I get notified when someone has responded to my opportunity?
A: Yes, you will get an email from no-reply@galaxydigital.com when a volunteer has responded to your opportunity. Then you can log in to your profile to see the details. You will also receive an in-app message. Please update your email settings to make sure that no-reply@galaxydigital.com is not going to your junk mail so you receive future communication from our site.
Q: Can I add links to an application or registration platform within my opportunity description?
A: You cannot add links in the description of your opportunity that lead to other registration forms. The way we measure how effective our website is for our nonprofit partners is by tracking the referrals that come through the site. The referrals are created when a potential volunteer clicks the respond button on your opportunity page. When a volunteer responds through the site, you will get an email from no-reply@galaxydigital.com (make sure this is not going to your junk mail) and will be able to log in to your account and manage volunteers that have responded as well as easily communicate with them directly through our tool. All their information lives in your organization’s profile and can be exported.
Q: Can I link the opportunities I post on United Way’s website to my organization’s website?
A: Yes! To find the link, log into your organization profile, click on the opportunity tab and select the opportunity you would like to link, then scroll down to “Opportunity Links” and copy and paste the link to be used on your website, newsletter, emails, etc.
Q: How do I bump up my opportunity listing to the top of the page?
A: Our site ranks volunteer listings that have been created or updated more recently than those that have not been modified in a while. To help your listing rise to the top of volunteer searches, make sure to update them frequently (once a week or once every two weeks) by clicking on the blue update opportunity button. Recently updated listings are also highlighted on the landing page that volunteers see.
Q: How do I use keywords to get my opportunity listing noticed?
A: Often, when a volunteer conducts a search on the volunteer site, they type a keyword into the search box related to the type of opportunity they are looking for. When you write your volunteer 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.
Q: Can we post unlimited opportunities or events?
A: You may post as many opportunities and events you have; no limit. You have unlimited characters for descriptions; however, we recommend keeping it short and to the point, especially for mobile users.
Q: When a volunteer uses the location 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?
A: The system is not able to recognize additional locations unless there are opportunities posted for those locations. Best suggestion is that if an opportunity spans multiple locations, to use the “Clone Opportunity” feature and create opportunities for those specific areas you are targeting.
Q: Can volunteers search for family or group opportunities?
A: Yes! Volunteers can search for group and for family-friendly opportunities.
Q: Is there a way for court-ordered volunteers to only see court-ordered volunteer opportunities?
A: Yes, they can filter by clusters. Clusters are how we group opportunities together. Simply select the court ordered cluster within your opportunity and it will show up when a volunteer is searching for opportunities that accept court-ordered volunteers. A volunteer can search for this by going to Keyword, and searching for “court ordered”.
Q: Can we add more than one waiver?
A: No, but you can attach one document with multiple pages and forms. The volunteer will need to print out and return to you.
Q: Can you add a photo to an opportunity or event?
A: Yes! Just use the text editor's "Insert/Edit Image" icon.
Q When posting a community event can they make the event exclusive/only invite a particular audience or set of people vs. making public to the ENTIRE site?
A: No-Anything posted as an event will be visible to the entire site.
Links to Get You Started:
