When you create incredible Opportunities to share with your community of volunteers, you can establish the duration type for them. There are five duration types to choose from. Here, we cover those five duration types and when to use them.

Duration types and when to use them

The five duration types include: 

• Flexible: This duration type is great for Opportunities that volunteers complete on their own timeline! 
  • Do you want to reach a goal by the end of the year? Then this is the duration type for you! 
  • Use this duration type if you have a goal to reach by a certain time or an Opportunity open for an extended period that doesn't require special shifts. 
  • Example: We're collecting bereavement bears until December 31, 2022! 
• Happens On: This duration type is best for Opportunities scheduled for a specific date, or the day it "happens on".  
  • Use this one for special Opportunities that happen on a specific date. 
  • These opportunities are usually one-time events that don't require special shifts. 
  • Example: We need 50 volunteers to help clean up the gardens around Chapel Hill on Saturday, October 8, 2022! 
• Multi-date: This duration type is best for Opportunities scheduled on multiple dates. 
  • Use this duration type if you have an Opportunity scheduled over several days. 
  • This is great for Opportunities close to the holidays and Opportunities that occur on more than one day. 
  • Example: Our annual Spooky-Bash starts October 29th and lasts through Halloween! We need volunteers to help collect tickets, set up and breakdown, and more! 
• Custom Shifts: This duration type is great for Opportunities with scheduled shifts—especially if those shifts are at different times on the same day or different days. 
  • Use this duration type when you have an Opportunity that requires special shifts that aren't recurring. 
  • Example: Are you ready to help the Farm? We need farmstand volunteers to hand out food on Friday, October 7th from 8 am - 5 pm. 
• Recurring Shifts: This duration type is best for Opportunities with scheduled recurring shifts—daily, weekly, or monthly. 
  • Use this duration type when you have an Opportunity that requires special recurring shifts. 
  • Example: Our clinic is growing! We need volunteers every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am - 2 pm to help distribute clean linens!