# Best Practices for Organisations on Goodae

A practical guide for volunteer coordinators — how to post, recruit, run, and
report on volunteer work so that volunteers show up, stay, and come back.

**How to use this:** skim the [one-page checklist](#the-60-second-checklist) at
the end for a quick self-audit, then read the stage that matches where you are
right now. Each practice says what to **do**, **why** it matters, and — where the
product supports it — how to do it **in Goodae**.

> Voice note for volunteers: on Goodae the people who show up for your cause are
> giving you their Saturday. The single thread running through every practice
> below is **don't leave them guessing** — about whether they got in, when to
> turn up, or whether the plan changed.

---

## 1. Set up and build trust

Coordinators won't invest real effort — and volunteers won't apply — until the
organisation looks real and trustworthy.

- **Do:** Complete your organisation profile before you post: real name, a real
  logo/photo, a short description of who you are and what you do.
  **Why:** Trust is decided in the first 30 seconds. A named, photographed,
  clearly-described org converts far better than a blank one; anonymous or empty
  profiles read as "is this legitimate?"
  **In Goodae:** Fill out your org profile from the dashboard; the completeness
  bar shows what's still missing.

- **Do:** Use real photos of real events, not stock imagery.
  **Why:** Volunteers can tell the difference, and specificity signals a genuine
  operation.

- **Do:** Be transparent about data. Tell volunteers what you collect and why.
  **Why:** Under Singapore's PDPA the _organisation_ is accountable for volunteer
  data. Being upfront is both compliant and a trust signal.
  **In Goodae:** You can export your own account data at any time from
  **Settings → Export data**. (Note: this is your org's own record — applicant
  identities belong to the volunteers, who export their own copy.)

---

## 2. Write a great event

The listing is your pitch. A vague post gets vague interest.

- **Do:** Write a clear, specific title and a 2–3 sentence summary that says what
  the volunteer will actually do.
  **Why:** People apply to concrete asks ("Sort food donations, Sat 9–11am in
  Clementi"), not abstract ones ("Help our community").

- **Do:** Add a cover image.
  **Why:** Posts with a photo draw materially more views and applications.
  **In Goodae:** A cover image is required before you can publish — the draft
  checklist flags it.

- **Do:** Say whether it's a one-time or recurring commitment, and be honest about
  the time and effort involved.
  **Why:** Mismatched expectations are the #1 cause of drop-off and no-shows.
  **In Goodae:** Add a single session or set up a recurring series when you create
  the event's sessions.

- **Do:** Fill in accessibility details, benefits/perks, requirements, and
  eligibility.
  **Why:** Accessibility info lets volunteers with needs self-select in rather
  than bounce; benefits and clear requirements improve applicant quality.
  **In Goodae:** These are dedicated sections on the event's Manage page,
  each with an inline hint.

---

## 3. Recruit and respond

Getting applicants is half the job. Responding to them is the other half.

- **Do:** Respond to every applicant promptly — aim for within 48 hours.
  **Why:** Volunteer enthusiasm decays fast. A fast, kind yes or no keeps people
  warm to your org even when it's a no.
  **In Goodae:** Accept or decline from the applicants list. Either outcome
  automatically emails and notifies the volunteer — so _do_ act on applications;
  silence is the one thing volunteers feel.

- **Do:** Decline kindly rather than ghosting.
  **Why:** A declined volunteer who felt respected will apply again. A ghosted one
  won't, and may tell others.
  **In Goodae:** Declining sends a gentle, pre-written "not this time" message —
  it's kinder than silence and takes one click.

- **Do:** Screen for fit when you have more applicants than slots.
  **Why:** The right-sized, right-skilled roster shows up more reliably.
  **In Goodae:** Applicant profiles and your knowledge-base Q&A help you judge fit
  before accepting.

- **Do:** Invite volunteers directly when you know who you want.
  **Why:** Proactively re-engaging good past volunteers beats waiting for
  applications.
  **In Goodae:** Use **Invite** to send a named volunteer straight into your
  event; they get an in-app + email invite.

---

## 4. Schedule and rely on reminders

An accepted volunteer isn't a confirmed one until they're on a session.

- **Do:** Assign every accepted volunteer to a specific session.
  **Why:** "Accepted" is interest; a session assignment is a commitment with a
  time and place — and it's what triggers reminders and check-in.
  **In Goodae:** From the event's Sessions, add accepted volunteers to a
  session. They're notified they've been added.

- **Do:** Let the automatic reminders do the nudging — don't rely on manual
  WhatsApp blasts.
  **Why:** Automated reminders cut no-shows by roughly 30–50%. That's the single
  biggest lever on whether your event is fully staffed.
  **In Goodae:** Confirmed volunteers automatically get email + push reminders
  **24 hours and 2 hours before** each session. You don't set these up — they're
  automatic once a volunteer is on a session.

- **Do:** Check your confirmed headcount before the day.
  **Why:** Knowing you're short _before_ Saturday lets you recruit; finding out
  _on_ Saturday doesn't.

---

## 5. Run the event (day-of)

The day-of experience is what volunteers remember and repeat.

- **Do:** Use mobile check-in instead of a paper sheet.
  **Why:** It gives you a live, accurate headcount and — crucially — auto-logs the
  data you'll need for reporting, with no reconciliation later.
  **In Goodae:** Check volunteers in from your phone at the event via the
  QR/link check-in — no app install for anyone.

- **Do:** Mark attendance honestly (attended / incomplete / no-show).
  **Why:** Attendance is what credits volunteers their verified hours and keeps
  your records accurate for funders.
  **In Goodae:** Marking a volunteer attended credits their verified hours to
  their transcript automatically.

---

## 6. Communicate changes — never let a volunteer find out by surprise

Plans change. What separates a trusted org from a frustrating one is _how_ the
change is communicated. This is where volunteers most often feel let down.

- **Do:** If you cancel a session, cancel it as early as you can and give a
  reason.
  **Why:** A volunteer who planned their day around your event deserves more than
  a silently-vanished slot. An early heads-up with a reason preserves goodwill.
  **In Goodae:** Cancelling a session automatically emails and notifies every
  confirmed volunteer, includes your reason, and stops their reminders — so always
  add a short reason when you cancel.

- **Do:** If you remove an already-accepted volunteer from a session, know that
  they _are_ told — so do it thoughtfully.
  **Why:** Being quietly dropped from something you committed to is the fastest way
  to lose a volunteer for good.
  **In Goodae:** Removing a confirmed volunteer now notifies them in-app, by push,
  and by email that they're off that session. (You can't remove someone already
  marked attended — that would erase their record.)

- **Do:** Keep event time and place current; edit the session rather than telling
  people informally.
  **Why:** The volunteers who show up at the old time are the ones who trusted your
  listing most.
  **In Goodae:** Editing a session's time or location notifies and emails
  confirmed volunteers with the new details.

- **Do:** Answer volunteers' questions before the event.
  **Why:** An unanswered question is a reason not to show up.
  **In Goodae:** The assistant that answered volunteers from your event's
  knowledge base is temporarily unavailable. Put the answers volunteers need most
  into the listing itself, and keep the knowledge base current for its return.

---

## 7. Close the loop and keep them coming back

The second event with a volunteer is far cheaper than the first. Retention is
where the real value is.

- **Do:** Thank volunteers after the event.
  **Why:** Recognition is the top reason volunteers return; its absence is a
  quiet reason they don't.

- **Do:** Debrief — look at who showed, your show-up rate, and what worked.
  **Why:** Patterns (e.g. weekday evenings out-perform Saturday mornings) let you
  schedule for reliability.
  **In Goodae:** The **Analytics** view shows new vs. returning volunteers,
  per-event applied/accepted numbers, and month-over-month trends.

- **Do:** Re-post good events instead of writing from scratch.
  **Why:** The habit of re-posting is what turns Goodae from a one-off tool into
  your standing volunteer pipeline. A coordinator who posts a second time is far
  more likely to keep going.
  **In Goodae:** **Duplicate** an existing event to spin up the next one
  with its details pre-filled — change the date and publish.

- **Do:** Re-engage past volunteers for new shifts.
  **Why:** People who already showed up for you are your most reliable pool.
  **In Goodae:** Invite past volunteers directly into a new event.

---

## 8. Report and prove your impact

For most orgs, reporting is a chore and a deadline. Do it as you go, not at
quarter-end.

- **Do:** Let attendance capture your hours as you run events, rather than
  reconciling a spreadsheet later.
  **Why:** Manual hours reconciliation is hours of monthly work and a source of
  errors. Captured-at-source data is clean and always ready.
  **In Goodae:** Every checked-in, attended volunteer's hours are logged
  automatically — no separate tally.

- **Do:** Track your cumulative impact for board and funder reporting.
  **Why:** Funders increasingly require volunteer-hour numbers; having them ready
  removes a recurring scramble.
  **In Goodae:** Verified hours accrue per volunteer and roll up in your org's
  records and analytics.

> Not yet in Goodae: one-click roster CSV export and auto-generated board-ready
> impact PDFs. If you need these today, you'll still assemble them manually — they
> are candidate improvements, not current features. Don't promise volunteers or
> funders a feature the product doesn't have yet.

---

## 9. Anti-patterns to avoid

Things that quietly destroy volunteer trust. Don't do these.

- **Ghosting applicants.** Silence after someone applies is the most common and
  most damaging failure. Always respond.
- **Silent cancellations or removals.** Never let a volunteer discover a change by
  finding an empty schedule. Cancel with a reason; the platform will tell them.
- **Over-promising the commitment.** Understating time or effort to attract
  applicants guarantees no-shows and bad reviews.
- **Requiring intrusive info up front** (e.g. NRIC/ID) without a real reason.
  Volunteers bail, and it makes your org look paranoid.
- **A broken mobile experience for yourself.** You'll triage applicants and check
  people in from your phone — verify your flow works on a phone before event day.
- **Going quiet after a first event.** No thanks, no re-post, no follow-up — and
  the volunteer forgets you exist. Close the loop every time.

---

## The 60-second checklist

**Setup**

- [ ] Org profile complete with real name, logo, and description
- [ ] Data/PDPA posture is clear to volunteers

**Every event**

- [ ] Specific title + 2–3 sentence summary of the actual task
- [ ] Cover image added
- [ ] One-time vs. recurring stated; time commitment honest
- [ ] Accessibility, benefits, requirements filled in

**Every applicant**

- [ ] Responded within 48 hours (accept _or_ kind decline — never silence)
- [ ] Accepted volunteers assigned to a specific session

**Before the event**

- [ ] Confirmed headcount checked; reminders left to run automatically
- [ ] Volunteer questions answered

**Day-of**

- [ ] Mobile check-in used
- [ ] Attendance marked honestly

**If anything changes**

- [ ] Cancelled early, with a reason
- [ ] Removed/edited volunteers were notified (the platform does this — do it via
      the product, not informally)

**After the event**

- [ ] Volunteers thanked
- [ ] Outcome reviewed in Analytics
- [ ] Event duplicated / past volunteers re-invited for the next one

---

_Sources: this guide distills the organisation research in
`docs/research/2026-06-01-0300-rooted-volunteer-matching/psychology/` (org pain,
trust signals, retention loops) into coordinator-facing practice, grounded in the
features Goodae ships today. Product references were verified against the codebase
at the time of writing; re-check the "In Goodae" pointers when features change._