If you cannot help the family today, you can communicate their needs (privately, securely and anonymously) to see if someone in your network can help. When you post a need: 1) It shows up on your website and Facebook page (if you have set up those buttons/links), 2) It will also appear on the web sites of local churches and businesses using Meet The Need (if they have the appropriate buttons and have not chosen to hide your needs), and 3) Emails go out to those interested in your organization showing them those needs. Those who want to help the family can sign up through any of those options.
To post a need:
- For a family you have not helped before, click Search Network/Add Family, run the search for that family in the system, fill out the details about the family, submit that form, which will then take you directly to the Search Offers & Post Needs
- For a family already on your account, go to the Details button to the right of the family’s name, select the Needs tab and click Add Need.
Before posting a need, Meet The Need requires that you first search the offers currently in the system. There is no reason to post a need if someone has already submitted an offer to provide those goods or services. You must select from all four of the drop down boxes down 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, simply select Match with this Offer, which will send out e-mails to the individual who made the offer with contact information for the Key Contact of your organization and instructions for how to meet that need. If no offers are found or if the offer does not match well with the need you want to post, you may click the Post Need button to continue with posting the need. The Post Needs form will appear showing the Category and Subcategory information you entered in the Search Offers box, placing the need in the proper Subcategory. Then you may enter the need into the system by filling out information about that need.
You can show the needs of families or individuals on your web site and/or partner sites (or Facebook pages) and let people sign up to help. To learn more about showing needs, see the videos for the Creating Your Links and Creating Your Template.