If you have volunteered on Catchafire as an individual volunteer, there is now a new and exciting way to collaborate with your colleagues while helping nonprofits. Keep reading to learn more about Team Projects and Calls!
*Please note that the team project feature is only available for certain organizations and volunteer teams.
What is a Team Project or Call?
A team project or call gives you the opportunity to collaborate with your colleagues and leverage your collective expertise to help nonprofits.
Before applying to a project, you should already have your team established. You will need to form your volunteer team off-platform by engaging with your colleagues.
Your team can have anywhere from 2-8 people, and you must select 1 person as the Team Lead. The Team Lead will be responsible for applying to the projects and will be the direct point of contact with the Volunteer Manager. This will ensure that the Volunteer Manager is receiving consistent communication and updates from your team.
Applying for a Team Project or Call
You can find projects that are eligible for teams by filtering on the project search page. On the search page you'll see this prompt to view group listings.
When scrolling through the project menu, you'll see the "Good for groups" tag on any call or project that is eligible for teams.
Once you have chosen a project, click on "Apply as Team". When filling out the application, the Team Lead should respond to the questions for the whole team.
For example - let the Volunteer Manager know why the team as a whole is interested in or qualified for the project!
For ease of scheduling, team members should share their availability with the Team Lead. It is not required that all team members attend the interview with the Volunteer Manager, but try to find a time that works for as many people as possible! The Team Lead will need to share the call information with the team members.
Tips for Collaborating With Your Team
Team projects are best completed synchronously. We have found that teams are most successful when they can work on a project together at the same time (if it is appropriate for the kind of project you're working on). Try to set aside some time on everyone's calendars to work together, so that you can more easily collaborate, ask questions, and make an impact!
💡Tip: You can use collaboration tools such as Zoom whiteboarding to help facilitate conversation in-person or virtually!
Completing Your Project
Once completed, mark the project as "Complete" on your dashboard. A post-project survey will be sent to the Team Lead. Your feedback on your experience is greatly appreciated so that we can continue to improve our processes!
What's next? You can share your experience on LinkedIn, and whenever you're ready, start looking for your next team or individual project!
Questions? You can reach out to us at [email protected] or click on the blue chat bubble at the bottom of your screen.