❖ Heads up! This article is intended for volunteers looking for more information about responding to Needs. If you're a site manager looking for information about managing your site's Needs, click here. If you're an agency manager looking for information about managing your agency's Needs, click here.
Once you find the right volunteer Need for you, you can respond to it! Responding to a Need lets agency and site managers know that you're planning on participating in that Need. Basically, it's a way for you to say, "I'll be there!"
In this article, we cover how to respond to non-shift Needs and Needs with shifts. If you want to learn more about responding to Needs as a team, click here. If you're looking for information about waitlists for full Needs, click here.
ⓘ So you know:
- Some sites have language overrides in place.
- This means you may see Opportunities in place of Needs, Programs in place of Agencies, or even Prerequisites in place of Qualifications.
- You may have to submit a response to a qualification before you can finish responding to a Need.
- All Needs have the option to Respond Individually—except Needs that are closed or full.
- Some Needs also include the option to respond as a team.
- If waitlists are enabled on the site, you may also see the option to be added to a waitlist for full Needs.
Responding to Needs
1. Go to the Needs area from your side menu navigation.
2. Click View Details on a Need. 
3. This opens the Need information page where you can learn more about it and start responding!
How to respond to a non-shift Need
Some shifts are ongoing and don't have scheduled shifts. When you respond to one of these Needs, an email confirmation is sent to you and the agency manager that posted the Need.
1. Click Respond. 
2. Fill out the Need Response form.
- This may include customized response questions that are either required or optional.
3. When you're done, click Submit Need Response. 
How to respond to a Need with shifts
Some Needs have scheduled shifts that you can respond to. When you select a shift to respond to, you agree to arrive at the time your shift starts and work for the duration of that Need shift.
1. You can either click Respond for the Need or Respond Individually for the specific shift you wish to respond to. 
- If you click Respond, it opens the Need Response form where you can select shifts.
- If you click Respond Individually on a specific shift time, then it opens the Need Response form with that shift already pre-selected.
2. Fill out the Need Response form. 
- You can select as many shifts as you'd like.
- Want to select all shifts? Toggle the button beside Respond to All Shifts to Yes.
- You can also filter the list of shifts to Show All or to show only specific days of the week—e.g., Show Tuesdays.
- If you'd like to see past shifts, you can also click Show Past Shifts.
- The Need Response form may include customized response questions that are either required or optional.
3. Click Submit Need Response when you're done.
- You can then add the shifts you responded to, to your calendar!
How to create a calendar event for scheduled shifts
When you respond to a Need with scheduled shifts, you are prompted to Create a Calendar Event after you click Submit Need Response.
- This only appears for Needs with scheduled shifts since ongoing Needs don't have specified shifts.
1. Respond to a Need with scheduled shifts.
2. Click +Add To Cal when prompted. 
- You can create a calendar event with:
- Outlook
- Office 365
- Apple
Sharing your volunteer activity on social media
After responding to a Need, you can share your volunteer activity on social media. This is a great way to inspire coworkers, family, or friends to join you in your volunteer journey! Just click the Share button after you respond to a Need when prompted and start sharing your impact today.
- You can share to Facebook or Twitter when you click Share from the Thank You For Volunteering popup.
- Want to share the Needs you've responded to on other social media platforms? You can share agencies, events, and Needs with any of their share buttons.
