Volunteer Guide

AidOrbit AI For Volunteers

AidOrbit AI can provide clearer next-step guidance for onboarding, readiness, missing requirements, recommended Missions, and re-engagement. Volunteer-facing AI never exposes private staff notes, internal risk rankings, sensitive background-check detail, or unauthorized program data.

If an AI explanation says a requirement is blocking signup, use the linked readiness or task workflow to complete the requirement. Staff still reviews sensitive documents, waivers, background-check-related items, and Mission approval decisions.

Use the AI Copilot Prompt Library

Open AI Copilot and use the Prompt Library to choose an outcome such as finding eligible Missions, understanding a registration blocker, reviewing your hours, or checking a family schedule when you have Guardian access. The available prompts follow your active persona, current program or family scope, plan entitlements, and permissions. In Copilot preferences, you can adjust how much detail and how often suggestions appear; preferences never expose staff-only or another person's data.

On the Volunteer dashboard, use AI readiness guide to see safe next steps based on your schedule, readiness items, program access, and visible Mission matches. The guide can point you to requirement updates, missing checkout steps, application status, or a recommended Mission without showing staff-only notes or private review details.

Purpose

Volunteers use AidOrbit to discover programs, apply or join, manage their schedule, complete requirements, track tasks, join teams, record hours, and see their impact. Use this guide when you want to know what to do next and how to become ready to serve.

Volunteer navigation is grouped by the main work you are trying to complete: Overview, My Profile, Missions, My Programs, and My Tasks & Forms. Schedule lives under Missions; applications and program browsing live under My Programs; skills, credentials, hours, and recognition live inside My Profile. Security, privacy, login, connected access, and personal usability preferences live in Account Settings from the user menu.

Default Persona Access

Default access is based on the user's assigned persona and scope. A user can have more than one persona, and narrower location, program, Mission, shift, group, or team scopes can further limit what they see.

Persona	Default scope	Default access	Not included by default
Organization Leader	Whole organization	Organization profile and readiness, staff access, billing portal, volunteer hubs, organization communications, organization insights, and organization settings.	Program persona pages such as Missions & Events, program operations, volunteers, tasks, and reports unless the user also has program permissions; AidOrbit platform, support, and billing operations.
Organization Staff	Whole organization operations	Organization operations, volunteer hubs, organization profile and staff views, organization communications, organization insights, and organization settings.	Program persona pages such as Missions & Events, program operations, volunteers, tasks, and reports unless the user also has program permissions; billing management unless the user also has Billing Representative access; platform or support administration.
Billing Representative	Own organization billing	Customer billing portal, plan and usage review, invoices, payment methods, checkout, and billing support materials.	Program operations, volunteer management, Mission management, staff administration, and platform billing administration.
Program Leader	Assigned programs	Program readiness, applicants and training, requirements, program settings, program GoodNearby page, Missions & Events, assigned-program volunteers, communications, incidents, reports, and program staff coordination.	Organization-wide settings, billing, staff administration outside assigned scope, and unrelated programs.
Program Staff	Assigned programs, Missions, shifts, groups, or teams	Day-of attendance, assigned-program rosters, limited volunteer support, requirements view, communications, task queues, incidents, and scoped Mission support.	Program configuration, organization settings, billing, broad reports, and unrelated programs unless separately granted.
Volunteer	Own profile and approved volunteer relationships	Profile, applications, approved programs, eligible Missions, schedule, tasks and forms, credentials, teams, hours, impact, and recognition.	Staff workspaces, other volunteer records, program administration, billing, and organization settings.
Guardian	Linked minor or household context	Guardian consent, required forms, household profile updates, quiet hours, transport notes, and minor-related approvals where configured.	Staff operations, program administration, billing, and unrelated volunteer records.
Donor	Donation and impact context when enabled	Donor-facing impact updates and giving context for supported programs when donor features are enabled.	Donor workspace access is disabled by default in this phase; no staff, volunteer management, billing admin, or platform access.

Visual Map

👤 Complete profile
  ↓
🏢 Choose an organization
  ↓
🧭 Apply to the right program
  ↓
✅ Get approved and complete requirements
  ↓
📅 Join eligible Missions and track impact

Get Started

Outcome: make your account ready for organizations to work with you.

1. Open My Profile.
2. Add or review your name, contact information, home address, emergency contact, location, and preferences.
3. Upload a photo if your organization uses photos for badges, check-in, or staff identification.
4. Open My Programs, then choose Browse Programs.
5. Find a program that matches your interests, location, and availability.
6. Remember the path: organization → program → Mission. Programs are the approval layer that controls which Missions unlock for you.
7. Apply, join, or follow the program depending on what the program allows. If you need more time, choose Save draft and reopen the same Program later; optional application attachments accept PDF, JPEG, and PNG files up to 5 MB each.
8. Open Overview, My Applications, or My Programs when you need a live summary of approved, pending, invited, waitlisted, or not-approved program states.
9. Open Overview and review AI readiness guide for safe next steps such as requirement updates, pending applications, missing checkout steps, or recommended Missions.
10. Open My Tasks & Forms.
11. Complete assigned forms, waivers, trainings, or credentials.
12. Open Missions, then choose My Schedule before you serve.

✅ Done when your profile is complete, you have a program or mission path, and no required tasks are blocking you.

Complete Your Profile

Outcome: help organizations contact you and match you to the right service.

1. Open My Profile.
2. Review your contact details.
3. Add your full home address when your organization requires it for reporting or emergency coordination.
4. Add emergency contact information if requested.
5. Review demographic or preference fields.
6. Update your photo if needed.
7. Save changes.
8. Reopen the page or check for a saved confirmation.

📌 Keep your profile current when your bio, phone, email, home address, location, availability, or emergency contact changes.

Find a Program

Outcome: join an organization or program that fits your interests.

1. Open My Programs, then choose Browse Programs.
2. Search or filter by topic, location, organization, or service area.
3. Open a program that interests you from the selected program view inside Browse Programs.
4. Read what the program does, where volunteers serve, requirements, and next steps.
5. Choose the next action:
   • 📝 Apply if the program requires approval.
   • ✅ Join if the program allows direct enrollment.
   • ⭐ Follow if you want updates before committing.
6. Check My Applications for pending, invited, waitlisted, or not-approved states.
7. Check My Programs to confirm only approved programs appear as Mission-ready memberships.

Interested? ⭐ Follow
Ready but approval needed? 📝 Apply
Ready and open enrollment? ✅ Join

Serve in More Than One Program

Your profile is shared, but your membership, requirements, Mission eligibility, registrations, messages, and hours stay with the Program that owns them. Use My Programs to check the status of each Program separately. An approval, completed requirement, registration, or hour entry in one Program does not change your status in another Program.

When switching organizations, wait for the workspace to finish loading before reviewing hours or impact. AidOrbit reloads the active organization's records so that prior organization data is not shown as current. Use a Program-specific Mission link or filter when you need to review one Program's Missions; do not assume similarly named Missions or messages belong to the same Program.

Apply to a Program

Outcome: submit the information staff need to review you.

1. Open the program from My Programs > Browse Programs, or from the selected program view linked by My Applications or My Programs.
2. Review the organization > program > Mission explanation so you know which Missions unlock after approval.
3. Select Apply. On GoodNearby program pages, signed-in volunteers who are already approved see Mission access instead of another application form; pending or invited volunteers are routed to application tracking.
4. Share your motivation, relevant skills, and availability.
5. Review your answers.
6. Submit.
7. After submission, program leaders are notified to review the request.
8. Open My Applications to check whether the program is pending, approved, waitlisted, invited, or not approved. For Disaster Response / Emergency Management Programs, intake, screening, credential review, and readiness follow-up still appear as pending until staff makes a decision.
9. Review the applied and reviewed dates so you know whether staff still need to act or already made a decision.
10. Watch My Tasks & Forms for follow-up requests.
11. If the program shows Invited, open My Applications and complete the requested invite step before expecting Missions to unlock.
12. After approval, open My Programs to confirm that the program has moved from application tracking into active Mission access.
13. Reopen Overview any time you want a quick entry summary. It mirrors the same approved, pending, invited, waitlisted, and not-approved vocabulary used across volunteer pages.

✅ Done when the program status appears and you know whether staff need anything else before Missions unlock.

Sign Up for a Mission

Outcome: reserve a shift you can actually attend.

1. Open Missions or open a program from My Programs.
2. Review the full visible Mission catalog, then use filters such as location, distance, program, date, and Eligible now when you want to narrow the list.
3. Open the mission details.
4. Review date, time, location, role, requirements, and cancellation rules.
5. If the Mission says you must apply to its program first, continue into the full program application and submit your motivation, skills, and availability before coming back.
6. Confirm the program status first. Pending, waitlisted, rejected, or invited program states can block Mission signup until staff resolves them.
7. Check that you can meet the requirements before signing up.
8. Select the shift.
9. Confirm signup and read the returned state carefully. AidOrbit can show Registered, Pending approval, or Waitlisted depending on capacity, approval rules, and the live shift state at submit time.
10. Open Missions, then choose My Schedule to verify the Mission appears with the same state shown on Mission details. If disaster-response staff assigns you to a deployment Mission shift, the assignment appears through the same schedule path.
11. If you arrived from a program-specific link, keep the program filter in place so you only review Missions for that approved program.
12. During an active shift, use Mission Photos on the Mission detail page to upload pictures for staff review.

📅 Before confirming, ask yourself: "Can I arrive on time, meet the requirements, and stay for the full shift?"

Complete Tasks and Forms

Outcome: remove blockers that prevent you from serving.

1. Open My Tasks & Forms.
2. Review due dates and priority.
3. Open the task.
4. Complete the form, waiver, training, credential upload, or requested update.
5. Submit or save.
6. Return to My Tasks & Forms.
7. Confirm the task is complete or waiting for staff review.

Task status 🧭
Open → You need to act
Submitted → Staff may need to review
Complete → You are clear for that item

Upload or Renew Credentials

Outcome: prove you meet requirements for missions that need documentation.

1. Open My Profile and choose Credentials & Compliance.
2. Review missing, expired, or expiring items.
3. Select the credential or requirement.
4. Upload the requested document or complete the assigned training.
5. Check expiration date if one applies.
6. Submit for review.
7. Wait for staff approval if the item requires review.
8. Recheck the mission or program requirement after approval.

✅ Done when the credential is active, approved, and no longer blocking signup.

Resolve Requirements and Renewals

Open My Profile → Credentials & Compliance when a Mission, Program, or organization asks you to complete a requirement. Use the matching section: Agreements to review and sign the active version, Training to complete or renew a module, Certifications to submit a permitted document, or Background Check to give consent and start a provider flow when available.

Requirement status tells you what happens next:

• Missing, Not started, or Expired: sign, renew, start, or upload the requested item.
• Submitted, In review, or Pending: staff or a provider must act; do not send a duplicate unless they request one.
• Rejected: read the reviewer reason in the document timeline, then use Replace and resubmit to send a corrected copy.
• Approved, Signed, or Completed: no action is needed unless a new version is assigned or it expires.

Background-check details remain protected; the Volunteer view only shows the eligibility status and any safe next action. Return to the Mission after you complete a requirement because registration and check-in recheck the current requirement state.

Set Skills and Availability

Outcome: help staff match you with the right missions and service options.

1. Open My Profile and choose Skills & Availability.
2. Add skills you can safely and confidently use.
3. Remove skills that are no longer accurate.
4. Add the days and times you are usually available. Use broad patterns such as every weekend, each weekday, or every day when your normal availability is consistent, then adjust the start and end time if needed.
5. Update preferences such as location, remote service, or service type if available.
6. Save changes.

💡 Better matching comes from honest availability. Do not mark times you usually cannot serve.

Use My Schedule

Outcome: know where to be and what to do next.

1. Open Missions, then choose My Schedule.
2. Review the combined calendar for available and signed-up Missions plus Events.
3. Use the filters when you need only signed-up items, only available items, only Missions, only Events, or a tighter date window.
4. Confirm whether each Mission is Scheduled, Pending approval, Waitlisted, Canceled, or in the live check-in window before you plan around it.
5. For Missions, check arrival time, location, parking, dress code, required items, and staff instructions.
6. For Events, confirm the RSVP state and add the invite to your calendar if needed.
7. In the Android app, review the permission banner before you travel. Enable precise location so AidOrbit can start tracking when you arrive inside a Mission geofence or within one mile of an Event address on days when you have a Mission shift or Event.
8. Keep the Android app signed in. AidOrbit refreshes your local Mission/Event schedule about every two hours and keeps the session refreshed so onsite tracking can start without a new login prompt.
9. Enable camera access when you need to update your profile picture or take photos at Missions or Events.
10. Cancel early if you cannot attend and cancellation is allowed. Confirm the cancellation and optionally add a reason so staff have accurate context; leaving a waitlist or withdrawing a pending request uses the same Mission schedule controls.
11. Choose Change only when it is available to move to another open shift for the same Mission. AidOrbit checks current capacity, requirements, and schedule conflicts before it changes your registration.
12. Use Report issue on the affected shift when an injury, hazard, equipment issue, near-miss, or other safety concern needs staff follow-up.
13. If the Overview AI readiness guide flags a missing checkout, open the schedule and complete or report the issue so staff can review attendance and hours.
14. Contact the organization if cancellation or a shift change is not available but you cannot serve.

Understand Mission Updates

AidOrbit sends registration confirmations, reminders, schedule updates, cancellations, requirement review outcomes, and post-Mission follow-up only through the notification channels you have enabled. A requirement review message confirms the outcome and next step without showing staff-only rationale or sensitive evidence. After a completed check-in and check-out at a completed Mission, you may receive a thank-you with links to your hours and any Program follow-up.

Report A Safety Issue

Outcome: document safety concerns from a mission so staff can follow up.

1. Open Missions > My Schedule and find the affected shift, or open the mission details for a mission you are signed up for.
2. Choose Report issue or Report Safety Issue.
3. Select the severity that best matches the situation.
4. Enter a short title and a clear description of what happened.
5. Add the specific location, involved people, witnesses, immediate actions, and photos when you have them.
6. Mark follow-up needed when staff should act quickly.
7. Submit the report and continue any emergency or on-site instructions from staff.

Join or Manage a Team

Outcome: serve with a group when the mission supports team response.

1. Open the Mission details, schedule item, or invitation link for the team response.
2. Use the invitation or join link if someone invited you.
3. Review the team mission details.
4. Confirm your participation.
5. If you are a team leader, review the roster and make sure members know the mission time, place, and next steps.
6. Update participation if your availability changes.

Team response and guardian consent actions appear on Mission details only when staff has enabled group/team or family/minor participation for that Mission.

Record Hours

Outcome: make sure your service history and impact are accurate.

1. Open My Profile and choose Hours & Recognition.
2. Choose Record Hours if your organization asks volunteers to submit time.
3. Select the program, mission, or date.
4. Enter the hours served.
5. Add notes if staff need context.
6. Submit.
7. Check whether the hours are approved, pending, or need correction.

🏅 Your impact view updates when hours are approved. Submitted, needs-review, and rejected entries remain in your hours workflow but do not add to impact totals or recognition.

Review Impact and Recognition

Outcome: understand your approved service history and recorded awards.

1. Open My Profile and choose Hours & Recognition.
2. Review the approved-hour total, chart, and contribution history.
3. Open an hour entry when you need to check whether it is approved, submitted, needs review, or rejected.
4. Review badges only as recorded recognition awards; a configured badge does not appear as earned until it is approved and awarded.
5. Contact your Program Manager if an approved service record or expected award is missing.

🔒 Your impact and recognition details are private to your signed-in account. AidOrbit does not display a cross-Volunteer leaderboard on this page.

Before You Serve

• ✅ Confirm you are signed up for the correct mission and shift.
• ✅ Check location, arrival instructions, parking, dress code, and required items.
• ✅ Complete all required forms and credentials.
• ✅ Review messages from staff.
• ✅ Cancel early if you cannot attend so the organization can fill the spot.

Troubleshooting

I cannot sign up for a mission

1. Check whether the mission is full.
2. Check whether the signup window is open.
3. Check whether the mission requires program approval.
4. Check My Applications for a pending, invited, waitlisted, or not-approved program state that still blocks Mission signup.
5. Open My Tasks & Forms and My Profile → Credentials & Compliance for missing requirements.
6. If signup says required Volunteer profile fields are missing, open My Profile and complete editable required organization or program questions. For a staff-maintained field, contact the Program Leader for a Program field or the Organization Leader for an organization-wide field.
7. Contact the organization if you believe you should be eligible.

I do not see any programs

1. Open My Programs, then choose Browse Programs.
2. Search for the organization or program.
3. Apply, join, or follow the program.
4. If you expected an existing membership, contact the organization and include the email address on your AidOrbit account.

My hours are wrong

1. Open My Profile and choose Hours & Recognition.
2. Find the mission and date.
3. Check whether the hours are pending review.
4. Contact the organization with mission name, shift time, and the hours you believe should be recorded.