The most successful phone consultations 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
You’ll receive the email address for the project's organizational point person as soon as the call is scheduled, so you can reach out to suggest or ask for an agenda. You can also message them directly and/or find their contact information within your Catchafire dashboard.
As a Volunteer, 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 email or through 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.
If you're not sure what to offer as next steps, or have any trouble managing expectations before/after your call, feel free to reach out to our team using the blue chat bubble on the bottom-right of your screen! (For keyboard-only and screen-reader users, please email us at help@catchafire.org. This link opens in a new tab.)