{"id":231,"date":"2026-10-12T13:47:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=231"},"modified":"2026-10-12T13:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:47:30","slug":"what-makes-a-good-volunteering-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/what-makes-a-good-volunteering-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes a good volunteering opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volunteers decide in a few seconds whether an opportunity is for them. A clear, specific opportunity gets more signups, and better-matched ones. Here&#8217;s how to set yours up so the right people say yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. One opportunity for each thing you&#8217;re looking for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep each opportunity focused on one role or task. If you&#8217;re looking for help with fundraising <em>and<\/em> mentoring, create two separate opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volunteers search for the kind of work they want to do. A mentor scrolling past an opportunity that&#8217;s mostly about fundraising won&#8217;t stop to read the detail. Two focused opportunities each reach the right people, and you can tag skills and choose a type that fits each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Write a title that says exactly what the role is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your title is the first thing volunteers see, so make it do the work. Say what the role is and, where it helps, what it&#8217;s for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Instead of<\/th><th>Try<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Volunteers needed<\/td><td>Fundraising volunteers for our Christmas appeal<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Help wanted<\/td><td>Mentor for young people starting their first job<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Website project<\/td><td>Web designer to rebuild our charity website<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t have to include your organisation&#8217;s name in the title. It&#8217;s shown to volunteers automatically alongside every opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Choose the right opportunity type<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The type you pick tells volunteers what kind of commitment they&#8217;re signing up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Assignment:<\/strong> for ongoing roles or projects that run over time, such as becoming a trustee, mentoring, or building a website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>One-off event:<\/strong> for when you&#8217;re looking for people to show up on a specific day, such as a fundraising event, a community clean-up or a food bank shift.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Tag the skills that matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Skills tags help us match your opportunity to volunteers with the right experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>If the role calls for experience<\/strong> (for example, accounting for a treasurer role, or design for a website project), tag those skills so volunteers know what to bring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>If anyone can do it<\/strong> and you&#8217;ll train people up during the engagement, choose <strong>Any skill level<\/strong>. This keeps the opportunity open to everyone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Choose as many skills as are relevant<\/strong>, across all the categories. A mentoring role might draw on communication, coaching and career skills at the same time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Pick an image that stands out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choose a picture that catches the eye and gives volunteers a sense of who you are. Photos of your team, your space or your work in action tend to do better than stock images or logos. Make sure it&#8217;s clear and bright, and that you have permission to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/why-a-good-cover-image-matters\/\">Why a good cover image matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Let your profile tell your story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Volunteers can see your organisation profile from every opportunity you publish. That&#8217;s where your mission, your track record and the communities you work with live, so you don&#8217;t have to repeat any of it in each opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before you publish, check your profile is up to date. Then keep your opportunity description focused on the role itself: what the volunteer will do, when, where, and the difference it will make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/update-your-profile-with-key-information\/\">Update your profile with key information<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Don&#8217;t forget to publish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can save your opportunity and come back to it at any time, but volunteers won&#8217;t see it until you publish. Once everything looks right, hit <strong>Publish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Publishing doesn&#8217;t commit you to anything. Every signup comes to you for approval, so you stay in control of who takes part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quick checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One role or task per opportunity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A title that says exactly what the role is (no organisation name required)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assignment for ongoing roles, One-off event for a specific day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relevant skills tagged, or Any skill level if you&#8217;ll provide training<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An eye-catching image that shows who you are<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An up-to-date organisation profile<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Published<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/how-to-create-a-volunteering-opportunity\/\">How to create a volunteering opportunity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/update-your-profile-with-key-information\/\">Update your profile with key information<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/managing-volunteer-signups-and-messages\/\">Managing volunteer signups and messages<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Volunteers decide in a few seconds whether an opportunity is for them. A clear, specific opportunity gets more signups, and better-matched ones. Here&#8217;s how to set yours up so the right people say yes. 1. One opportunity for each thing you&#8217;re looking for Keep each opportunity focused on one role&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[22],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-231","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-volunteering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/231\/revisions\/234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=231"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}