We are always working to ensure that nonprofit organizations have a positive experience on Catchafire’s platform and want to share more about how we’ve designed our platform, so that you feel empowered to vet your volunteers on your terms and work with them in a way that feels safe and comfortable to you.
The processes we’ve set up work to give you a safety check when engaging with the platform and individuals that you are being connected with. It is important to utilize the system the way it was designed as we strive to create Trustworthy Volunteering for our communities.
Because of the great work you all do, we have thousands of volunteers who register on our platform daily. While we wish we had personal relationships with each of these volunteers, we simply do not. As such, we strongly recommend the following practices:
Fully reviewing volunteer applications
Interviewing all prospective volunteers
Utilizing the messaging system on the Catchafire platform for initial vetting conversations
Passing on volunteers that you don’t feel 100% comfortable with
Information Security is an important issue for everyone to pay attention to. This issue can arise unknowingly, without active involvement from users. Again, the first line of defense is to be in touch with the volunteer ahead of time to discuss the opportunity and develop a core level of trust. To protect everyone, we want to ensure you are practicing safe and secure information practices.
Here are some basic information security practices:
Use strong passwords: Create unique passwords that are at least eight characters long. Avoid reusing passwords.
Keep software up to date: Set software to automatically install updates when they're available. This includes the operating system on your machines as well as software that you use to accomplish daily tasks.
Be cautious when sharing information: Think before you share sensitive information, especially online. If you are not expecting to receive a document from a volunteer, be cautious. Look for signs that a web page is safe before entering personal or business data.
Develop and deploy a solid anti-virus strategy.
Be cautious when clicking links: Pause and review before opening attachments or clicking links in emails or chats, even if you know the sender.
Check email addresses: Ensure you recognize the sender and their email address before interacting with an email.
Protect your data when using public Wi-Fi: Choose the most secure option, even if it costs extra.
Understand your data: Know the sensitivity of the data you handle and follow your organization's data retention and destruction policies.
Security awareness training: Train employees on how to defend against cyber threats. There are multiple free trainings available that will ensure your staff are well equipped to spot and mitigate information security risks.
As a reminder, our Terms of Service for each user type can be found here. At the time of onboarding, all nonprofit representatives and volunteers are required to review and sign their respective Terms of Service. It is advisable to regularly review these terms so everyone is on the same page as we strive to generate truly Trustworthy Volunteering.
If you ever feel that our Terms of Service might have been violated, please let us know at [email protected]. Our team will investigate and enforce our terms as appropriate.