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(For Volunteers) Scheduling & Conducting 1-Hour Calls
(For Volunteers) Scheduling & Conducting 1-Hour Calls

How to schedule - or reschedule - and conduct a 1-hour phone call.

Lauren avatar
Written by Lauren
Updated over a week ago

Congratulations on being selected for a 1-hour phone call! Read below to learn how to schedule a time and get started.


Getting Started

Catchafire's scheduling system makes it easy to coordinate a time to speak with a nonprofit organization. Once you've matched on a call, the Organization will propose at least 5 different dates and times to speak, so all you need to do is check your calendar and see if any of them work for you! If so, feel free to select your choice on your Catchafire dashboard.

After you select your time to speak, you will be prompted to confirm your phone number. Don't forget to take note of the time zone when scheduling!

Enter a U.S. phone number for the call. If you are located outside of the United States, please check "I'm not in the U.S.", and we'll provide you with a suggested list of free online conference call systems that you can use to help schedule your call.

💡Tip: 1-Hour phone calls can be scheduled over the next 14 days. If you are not available until after this timeframe, return to the scheduling page when you're ready to select times.


Proposing Another Time to Speak

In the event that an Organization's proposed dates and times don't work for you, no worries! Just select "Send Alternatives" on your dashboard. You'll then be prompted to choose a handful of times to speak. If you need to edit your time zone, you can do so at the top of the page!


Next Steps

After selecting Submit or Send Availability, your selected time slots will be sent to the Organization, and you'll receive a confirmation with call-in information via email, as well as a message pop up on your dashboard.

On the day of the phone consultation, our system will automatically call you at the agreed upon time. In case you miss or disconnect from the call, no worries! You'll be able to call right back in using the dial-in and PIN provided to you in your confirmation email or on your Catchafire dashboard.


What if I need to reschedule or cancel?

We understand things happen! This is why you can easily reschedule or cancel a call directly from your dashboard by selecting "Reschedule" or "Cancel" from the "Call Actions" dropdown menu as illustrated below.

If you need to do so, it's always best to also update the Organization by sending them a message through your Message portal.


Conducting your 1-Hour Call

The most successful phone calls happen when Volunteers (and Organizations!) are prepared with discussion topics and specific questions. Read below for tips and tricks on how to best prepare for your 1-hour call.

Prepare an Agenda

Prior to your call, you can reach out to the organization via the messaging portal to suggest or ask for an agenda.

Be sure to look at the Organization’s website and review any questions they'd like to cover before your conversation. If you have any resources you’d like to send ahead of the call, or want to make sure you're accurately prepped, reach out to them via your Message portal!

Consider Using a Video Conferencing Tool

Depending on the call topic, you may find it helpful to share your screen. We recommend services such as: Zoom, Join.Me, UberConference, Google Hangouts, or Skype.

If you do utilize an external video conferencing tool like those mentioned above, make sure you log back into your dashboard after the call to mark it "Complete"!

Refer to Catchafire's Project Menu

Think of yourself as a consultant. Our Organizations see you as the expert and will likely ask for your opinion on what next steps to take after the call.

Some Organizations may need project help as a next step. Use the Catchafire Project Menu as a resource while advising on next steps. You can help the Organization pick their next great project!

If the Organization doesn’t need a full project, but you’d like to hold a follow up call or do some additional advising, you’re welcome to do so! If you two hit it off, we’d love to see you continue the relationship. However, our Organizations understand that you’ve volunteered for a one hour call. Taking on any additional work is entirely up to you.


Questions? Feel free to reach out to us at help@catchafire.org, or via the blue chat bubble at the bottom of your screen.

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