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Create an opportunity: Step 4 – Volunteer Brief

This article shows group managers how to create a volunteer brief for an opportunity, to be sent to approved volunteers.

Volunteer briefs are available only to Be Collective Plus, Pro and Full Platform subscribers. To learn more about Be Collective's subscription plans, please see Be Collective's product plans & pricing

In the fourth step of the opportunity builder, volunteer managers are also able to create a Volunteer Brief at any time before the start of the opportunity.

Once a volunteer has been approved for a role, Be Collective sends an email to that volunteer on behalf of the organisation, including your volunteer brief which contains all the information they need to know before the role starts.

Get to Step 4 – Brief

  1. Open your group management page

  2. Click Create opportunity, or open Opportunities and click Edit on a draft

  3. Complete Steps 1–3, clicking Save and continue after each

  4. You will land on Step 4 – Brief

When is the volunteer brief sent to volunteers?

The volunteer brief is sent automatically to each volunteer immediately after their application has been approved.

Create a volunteer brief

  1. Click Yes when asked if you would like to include a volunteer brief
  2. Complete the Volunteer Information section (compulsory)

The Volunteer Information section can be used to provide volunteers with important details they need before their opportunity begins. For instance:

  • Is specific clothing needed for the volunteer role, e.g. closed shoes?

  • Does the volunteer need to bring any stationery or equipment, e.g. writing paper, pen, camera?

  • Is the entrance behind a shed? Is it a red door? Let your volunteers know where to meet you.

  • Do volunteers need to arrive 5 minutes before their shift begins to register?

  • Where can volunteers park their car or bike?

  • Does the volunteer need to complete any forms before the opportunity begins, e.g. an online induction?

You can also attach files to your volunteer brief – these files can include forms your volunteers need to complete and bring with them to their first shift, maps or guidelines. You can upload documents via the Docs and links tab in the admin view of your group page (How do I add documents and links to my group profile?), or upload them when you create the opportunity.

Tip: if using the same document across multiple opportunities, consider uploading the doc to your docs and links library to save you time.

Attach documents

  1. Under the Documents heading, click Attach an existing file or New document

  2. If attaching an existing file, select the document from the drop-down menu

  3. If adding a new document, follow the upload prompts

Continue to the next step

When you're done, click Save and continue to move on to the next step of the opportunity builder.

Adding a volunteer brief to an existing opportunity

If you chose not to create a volunteer brief when creating your opportunity, you can do so at any time:

  1. Open your group management page

  2. Open the Opportunities tab

  3. Click Edit under the published opportunity

  4. Open the Brief section and click Yes to add a volunteer brief

  5. Complete the brief fields and save

If you've already assigned volunteers to the opportunity before adding the brief, you'll be asked if you wish to send the brief to these volunteers after saving. Click Send brief to notify them, or Don't send if you'd prefer to contact your existing volunteers personally.

From this point on, the volunteer brief will be sent to all future volunteers immediately upon approval.

Updating a volunteer brief

You can update your volunteer brief at any time by making the relevant changes in the opportunity and clicking Save and exit.

These changes will be reflected in the notification email sent to new volunteers, but it will not be sent as a new email to existing volunteers. However, existing volunteers can see the new volunteer brief through their volunteer dashboard at any time.

If for any reason you'd like to notify your existing volunteers of an updated volunteer brief, we suggest you disable the existing brief by clicking No in this step of the opportunity builder and saving your opportunity. This will remove the volunteer brief text and any attachments altogether.

You must then re-open the opportunity builder, click Yes to re-enable the volunteer brief and enter the updated details from scratch, including any documents you'd like to attach.

Next steps

Earlier steps