❖ Heads up! This article is intended for volunteers registering on a site. If you're looking for information about registering your agency on a volunteer site, click here. If you're a site manager looking for information about managing your site, click here.
Have you received a link to a site with listed volunteer opportunities that interest you? Maybe a friend or coworker has asked you to tag along for a volunteer op. Whatever the case may be, you can create and mange your own volunteer account and start tracking your awesome contributions in your community! With your new account, you can keep track of your hours, build your volunteer resume, and take part in your community through volunteerism. Ready to get started? Here we cover:
ⓘ So you know: You may not encounter some of the steps describer here when registering on a site. Site managers establish a site's registration process and pick what information they want volunteers to answer during registration.
Registering on a site
When you're ready, go to the site you want to register on and click Sign Up. 
- You can also click Volunteer Now.
- This takes you to a list of volunteer Needs—or opportunities—that you can review.
- If you click View Details > Respond for a Need, then a popup appears letting you know that you must be logged in to respond to the Need.
- You can click Sign Up to be taken to the registration form from here!
- If a site has Facebook sign up enabled, you can also sign up using your Facebook account!
ⓘ So you know: You may see the option to provide more information during registration if there's a disaster going on in your area.
Password requirements
Most sites don't require a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. Passwords are also not case-sensitive. Passwords must be at least eight characters long.
Different registration steps
Depending on how a site's registration process is established, you may have to complete multiple steps to set up your account. Some sites may only have one step and others may have up to six steps. These steps might include answering registration questions, selecting Interests and Causes that can help match you with volunteer Needs, fanning agencies you want to follow, or submitting responses to qualifications. In this example, there are six steps to complete when registering a new account:
ⓘ So you know: Unless a step is required, you can always skip a step by clicking Continue to Next Step. Please note that you may not be able to respond to Needs if you don't complete all of the steps in the registration process. Skip a step by accident? No worries! You can always sign into your account with the email and password you provided in step one to finish setting up your profile.
Why do I need to register on a site?
You may be curious about why you need to create an account, or "register", on a site before you can start volunteering. There are many benefits for both you and the organization hosting the site! Let's take a minute to review each.
Benefits for you, the volunteer:
- Browse and respond to volunteer needs
- Let organizations know when and where you are going to volunteer
- View an on-site calendar of your volunteer need responses
- Add volunteer shifts to your personal calendar
- Download a volunteer resume of all your accomplishments
Benefits for the organization:
- Track impact, like responses and hours, to use in grant and funding applications
- Prepare for the number of volunteers signed up for a particular need
- Understand the volunteer community to better so you can have the best volunteer experience ever!