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What types of needs can be posted?

External, Need Types

There are two types of needs that can be posted in Meet The Need 1) volunteers and 2) goods(items).

Volunteer needs have different types based on the frequency of the need.

Volunteer Needs

There are many categories and subcategories to choose from when you post a volunteer need
1) One Time – only happening on one day
2) Recurring – happening over a series of days (consecutive days, weekly, monthly, etc).
3) Open Ended – no particular day is required for the need to be completed (you are flexible to the volunteer’s availability)

Goods(Items) Needs

Any item needed as part of your outreach activity can be posted (except for money). Choose from the list of categories and subcategories when you post a need.

As the full quantity of your need is met (either one at a time or as as a group of items) the need will no longer be visible on any website. Once the date of the need passes, the need will expire and no longer show on any website. If a commitment is cancelled for a volunteer/item, the quantity of the need will increase for someone else to meet that need.

Can I restrict the view of needs to only be seen by certain people?

External, Need Types

All the types of needs (volunteer and goods) have the same option when you post the need to choose WHERE you want the needs to show (on which websites).

Public – visible on the websites of other organizations that are a part of MTN (if they have not hidden your organization from their template)

Semi-Private – only visible on your website (anyone visiting your website can see the needs and log-in when they are ready to commit to a need)

Members Only – only visible on your website but approved members must log-in first to see the need (this status is meant for highly confidential needs/teams – i.e. letting a group of Deacons know that someone is in the hospital)

How do I view another organization’s Dashboard and their needs?

Internal, Personal Dashboard

 Click the Select Other Organization drop down box (next to the Dashboard icon in the top right hand corner of your main Dashboard page) to select which Dashboard (and needs) you want to view. If you are a Key Contact of that organization, you will see the Organizational Dashboard. If you are a Regular Member (not a Key Contact of that organization), you will see that organization’s current needs on the right hand side of your Personal Dashboard, as follows:

  1. Our Organization Needs – Volunteer and resource needs posted by that organization
  2. Our Local Families Needs – Family/individual needs posted by that organization
  3. Our Missionaries & Missions Needs – Needs of missionaries or mission trips sponsored by that organization

Where can I see my past commitments to meet needs? (View Instructional Video)

Internal, Personal Dashboard

On your Personal Dashboard under My Giving Activity, see your Pending and Completed Commitment as well as Offers you have made for goods or services:

  1. My Pending Commitments – A list of your current uncompleted commitments, where you can view, cancel, increase, decrease or complete that commitment by clicking on the appropriate (Change or Complete button in the Action column). You may narrow the list of pending commitments using the date range drop down box in the top left corner of the page.
  2. My Completed Commitments – A list of your completed commitments, where you either completed it yourself on the My Pending Commitments page above, or the commitment was moved to completed status automatically 90 days after the scheduled fulfillment date. You may narrow the list of completed commitments using the date range drop down box in the top left corner of the page.
  3. My Offers – View and edit any “offers” you made through Meet The Need. An offer may be entered when you have a skill or item to give away, search the Meet The Need database, and no one needs that skill or item. At that point, the system invites you to make an “offer” so that the next time a Key Contact of a local organization tries to post a need for that same skill or item, they will find your offer and can choose to accept your offer, which will send you an email notification along with the contact information of that organization.

How do I remove my association with an organization?

Internal, Personal Dashboard

Under Connect with My Church & Local Ministries on your Personal Dashboard, look under Your Approved Organizations to see the list of all organizations where your request for an association has been accepted by the organization. If you are not a Key Contact of a particular organization, you may click the Remove Link button to end your association with that organization.

If you are a Key Contact of an organization, go to that organization’s Dashboard (using the View Another Organization’s Dashboard drop down box next to the Dashboard icon in the top right hand corner of your main Dashboard page), then click My Account, and then click Approved Members. If you are the only Key Contact of an organization, you cannot remove your association from that organization. If there is more than one Key Contact, have that other person make you a Regular Member so that you can remove your Association with that organization on the Connect with My Church & Local Ministries page on your Personal Dashboard.

How can I see a different Dashboard each time when I log in?

Internal, Personal Dashboard

Under Connect with My Church & Local Ministries on your Personal Dashboard, look under Your Approved Organizations to see the list of all organizations where your request for an association has been accepted by the organization.

Click the Make Primary button next to an organization’s name if you would like that organization’s Dashboard to be the one you see first every time you log in.

You can also click the Switch Dashboard button next to an organization’s name if to you want to go directly to that organization’s Dashboard immediately.

Where can I see what organizations I am currently connected with?

Internal, Personal Dashboard


On your Personal Dashboard, under Manage My Account, click the link Connect with My Church & Local Ministries. You can also view the organizations you are connected with by clicking Select Other Organization in your dropdown box next to the Dashboard icon at the top right of your main Dashboard page. Choose one of those other organizations on the drop down list if you would like to see their needs (on the right hand side of your Personal Dashboard).

 

How do I as an individual get connected with a local charity, my church or a ministry within my church to get updated about new needs they post?

Internal, Personal Dashboard

  1. When Signing up to Meet a Need – When you commit to meet a need of a local charity, Meet The Need will automatically provide a pre-checked box asking if you would like to receive email updates the next time that charity posts needs.
  2. When Creating a Serve Account – You may be asked to create an account by your church, company or charity or you can do so directly on meettheneed.org via our registration link. On the second page of your registration, select the name of your organization from the drop down list.
  3. On Your Personal Dashboard – You can search, select and opt in to receive email notifications from particular organizations (or teams/groups within those organizations) through your Personal Dashboard. If you already have a Meet The Need account, login and on your Personal Dashboard under Manage My Account, click the link Connect with My Church & Local Ministries. In the third section, select from the drop downs to “Join” a particular organization, which will add you to that organization’s Dashboard as a Pending Member.
  • Join Church – If you are not already a Pending or Approved “member” of a church in Meet The Need, then you may select one church to “join” so that you may see its needs and be notified when the church posts new needs
  • Join Ministry or Missionary Organization – Shows a list of all charities within the search radius you specified above for you to consider “joining” to see their needs and opt in to email notifications when they post needs
  • Join a Team from ______ – If you are an approved member of an organization and they have set up teams in Meet The Need under that organization, then you can see that list of teams on the drop down box(es) and request to Join one or more of those teams (to see their needs and opt in to email notifications when they post needs)

Once approved by the organization, you will be able to see their needs, receive email notifications when they post new needs, and/or to be made a Key Contact.

Under Your Pending Organizations you will see organizations with whom you have requested an association (to see their needs and receive email notifications when they post new needs) but where the Key Contact(s) of that organization has not yet approved your request.