Volunteering opportunities let you get support from your community to complete specific tasks or activities. This guide walks through the Post Opportunity form section by section so you can publish with confidence.
📝 Note: The opportunity types available to you depend on your app's configuration. If you don't see Volunteering as an option, it may have been switched off for your app - this is your programme manager's decision. Reach out to them if you think it should be available.
1. Open the Post Opportunity form
Click the + Post Opportunity button in the top right of the home page or open the profile dropdown menu and select Post Opportunity.
💡 Tip: The form includes tips and explanations inline, so you can simply get started - or read on if you'd like to know what each field is for.
2. Select the opportunity type
Choose Volunteering as the type. This tells the community you're looking for people to give their time and skills.
3. Link the opportunity to an Activity
Every opportunity must be linked to an Activity, which groups your delivery work, opportunities and hours together. Select an existing Activity from the dropdown, or create a new one if none fits.
👉 See also: What is an activity? for a deeper look at how Activities work.
4. Review the inherited fields
Once an Activity is linked, several fields will be automatically populated:
Host: inherited from the Activity. You can edit this if needed - remove the inherited host and select a different one for this opportunity.
Beneficiary groups: inherited from the Activity. You can remove groups here if needed, but to add new ones you'll need to update the Activity first - they'll then appear on this post opportunity form.
Cause: no longer a field on the opportunity form. It's inherited from the Activity and shown as a badge on the Activity card.
5. Tell us about your opportunity
Opportunity Title: the first thing volunteers see - make it engaging and descriptive. For example, "Help us craft a social media strategy for our new sustainable product suite."
Your Need: explain the challenge you're looking to address. The more detail volunteers have upfront, the quicker they'll know whether they're the right fit.
Your Goals: add the tangible outputs and outcomes you'd like to achieve, so supporters understand how their help makes a difference.
6. Describe the supporters you're looking for
Skills & Experience: list the primary skill you need plus up to three additional skills and the level of experience required.
Documentation: tick any documents or checks you need from participants. There's no free-text box here — you choose from set options: References, a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, and Identification (driver's licence or ID card).
Document Uploads (coming soon): a new Document Uploads section will let your team share template documents (such as safeguarding guides or do's and don'ts) on the Post Opportunity form, and let opportunity leads upload their own supporting PDFs for volunteers to see.
Accessibility requirements: note any accessibility features or limitations.
Timing: set when you'd like the opportunity to begin. If you don't have a fixed timeframe, select Flexible.
Commitment: let volunteers know how much time to expect to dedicate.
📝 Note: If you're not sure about the time commitment, don't worry - you can align with volunteers when you first connect. Setting a baseline still helps manage expectations.
7. Set the parameters
Your involvement: indicate whether you, as the opportunity lead, are also taking part as a volunteer. If you select "yes", your hours will be counted in the volunteer hours too.
Capacity: how many supporters you need.
Location: answer "Where will this opportunity take place?" - choose On site, Remote or Flexible. If you choose On site, search for the location and the postcode is filled in automatically, or drop a pin on the map.
Deadline: toggle this on to set an application deadline.
⚠️ Important: Once deadline is reached, the opportunity will be removed from the homepage and applicants will no longer be able to apply. You can change the deadline at any time. Beyond the deadline date, the opportunity closes and you'll no longer receive applications.
8. Add the finishing touches and post
Privacy: by default, opportunities are public. Set this to private if you'd like to limit visibility only to a specific directorate/team (or department, branch etc as you may be calling in your app)..
🙌 And that's it - click post to publish your opportunity to the community.
What's next
👉 See What does the "your involvement" question mean? to decide whether to log your own hours, and How to accept or decline participants once applications start coming in.
💬 Need more help? Contact us anytime at support@goodsted.com.