Before posting a need, Meet The Need requires that the Key Contact first search the offers currently in the system because there is no reason to post a need if someone in your area has already submitted an offer to provide those goods or services. You must select from all four of the drop down boxes all the way through to the Subcategory level in order to Search Offers and/or Post Needs.

In the event that the system locates an offer for that particular need/category, simply select Match with this Offer, which will send out e-mails to whoever made the offer with contact information for your organization and instructions for how to meet that need. An e-mail will be sent to the Key Contacts of your organization as well.

If no offers are found or if the offer(s) does not match well with the need you want to post, click the Post Need button to bypass the offer and post the need. The Category and Subcategory information you entered in the Search Offers box will already be preselected on the form.

On the My Offers page, you ca view and edit details about your current and past offers, including deactivating them. On that page, click Show to narrow the search results in the table to show only those offers you have made within certain date ranges. Click Edit to change the Description of the offer, the Expiration Date or the estimated Value of the item or services. You may set the Display Status to Inactive if the offer is no longer applicable or available.

On the Post Offers page, fill out all of the information in the Post Offer box, including the zip code (if in U.S.). As you are posting the offer, the system will search for open needs that match your offer. If a need is found that matches your offer the need will be shown (so that you can meet that need with the offer you were about to post). If no need was found that matches the offer you want to make, fill out the form by entering a Description of the offer, an Expiration Date and an estimated Value of the item or services.

Click Match with this Offer to connect with the individual or organization who made the offer you want to accept. The page will show you details about the offer:

• Accepted by – You and your organization’s information
• Made by – Contact details about the individual or organization who made the offer
• Info – Description and details about the resources or services offered

When you click Match with this Offer, you will receive an email with contact information for the other organization and instructions. An e-mail will be sent to the Key Contact of that organization as well.

Individuals who made an offer should login to Meet The Need through their church’s, company’s or charity’s web site, which will take them to their Personal Dashboard, where they can click My Offers and Edit next to the offer.

Organizations can see their current offers by logging in to Meet The Need, clicking My Account and then My Offers and Edit next to the offer.

Yes, offers have Expiration Dates and will show in the system until they are matched, expire, or until the person who made the offer deactivates it on their Personal Dashboard (for offers made by individuals) or on the Organizational Dashboard (under My Account).

Administrators of organizations using Meet The Need and individuals who are “approved members” of registered organizations, but only after they have searched for local needs (but could not find one that matched with the goods or services they want to provide).

An offer is an item or service someone has indicated that they have available to provide. Only Key Contacts of approved organizations may see offers either when they are posting a need (in that same category and subcategory) or through the View Offers page on their Dashboard. If they find an offer they want to accept, the system will provide them the contact information to connect with that person who made the offer.

Yes. Communicating needs to those who can help is critical. It is equally important to communicate what assets each organization has to offer. Needs and assets are essentially two sides of the same coin. Asset Based Community Development is a common theme among organizations and organizers trying to unite and mobilize cities to address key social issues like hunger, poverty and disaster relief. Meet The Need has developed tools for Asset Based Community Development including the ability to:

• Show the organizations in your area and the services they provide on a customizable, searchable directory system. Contact Meet The Need for more information about the directory solution.
• When “approved members” of a registered organization search for a need they want to meet but are unable to find one that fits their search criteria, they may post an offer to provide that item or service. The next time a Key Contact of a local organization posts a need in that same category and subcategory as the offer, the Key Contact will see that offer and can decide whether to match up with that offer or bypass the offer and continue with posting the need.
• Organizational administrators may also view local offers, post their own offers and view their own offers directly on their Dashboard