# 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 opportunity

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 event or set up a recurring series when you create
  the opportunity's events.

- **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 opportunity'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
  opportunity; 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 opportunity's Events, 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 AI assistant answers common questions from your opportunity's
  knowledge base and escalates the rest to you — answer those promptly.

---

## 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-opportunity applied/accepted numbers, and month-over-month trends.

- **Do:** Re-post good opportunities 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 opportunity 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 opportunity.

---

## 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 opportunity**

- [ ] 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
- [ ] Opportunity 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._