Volunteer Detail Template

TNC Volunteer Page Template

• The Volunteer Page template is used to display individual Volunteer opportunities (also used for the general volunteer aggregation landing page). Volunteer opportunities are volunteer work for our supporters to give back to TNC (they are donating their time and skills to us).  
  • Volunteer opportunities formatted as volunteer detail pages can be searched under the Volunteer Aggregation page, and also pulled into the C25 Related Events component (volunteer variation). 
• Volunteer opportunities are different from events in that they are typically aimed towards a skilled group and may be ongoing or remote. Different field details are prioritized and displayed based on the relevant information volunteers are seeking versus event attendees. 
• All volunteer pages should be created in the Volunteer section of nature.org under Get Involved > How to Help > Volunteer. (Note: Volunteer detail pages should not be authored under "Find Volunteer Opportunities" in order to optimize a more direct and shorter URL.)
• If you have a BU specific volunteer landing page, it is recommended that you supplement that page by linking to the individual volunteer opportunity pages.  
• Learn more about the volunteer section in the training from Dec. 2022: Volunteer Training Deck; Volunteer Training Recording. 

Volunteer Page Examples (will open in Stage Environment!!!)

• Volunteering at Blowing Rocks Preserve
• Prescribed Burn at Nachusa Grasslands

What if we have a date that is both an event and volunteer opportunity?

It will always be a case by case decision, but we recommend that if you have an event that also has an opportunity for volunteering that you create and promote both the event page and a volunteer detail page.

The event page will show up with your other events and attract people who want to learn about TNC and/or experience our work. The volunteer opportunity should talk more specifically about how to get involved from a volunteering aspect. Authoring as a volunteer opportunity will also be able to engage potential volunteers who are on our volunteer aggregation page looking for volunteer work near them. 

Volunteer Page Style Checklist

 Make sure the following items are completed:

• Completed Properties in the Basic, Image, OG (Social Share), SEO and Volunteer Page tabs.
• Hero title should be opportunity name in title case.
  
• Hero subtitle is typically the location of the opportunity, generally the state name.
• Right hand column is properly configured, including date, time, location, contact information and call to action (typically email to reach out to coordinate (format URL as "mailto:email@tnc.org") as applicable.  
• Links to relevant pages in the text (such as the preserve page if applicable), and C25 related events component at the end of the page. 

Properties

The following properties tabs must be filled in. Below is a brief list, followed by a complete list of all the fields that are required and optional. 

BASIC TAB

• URL: This field will be used to auto-generate the URL. Include the state name or some other indication of location for SEO purposes. Write the URL in URL format - use only lower case letters, numbers and dashes (e.g. volunteer-seagrass-restoration-virginia). The URL will be cut off at 64 characters, so keep your URL shorter than that or words will get cut off. Do not include capital letters, underscores or special characters or extra spaces in the URL.
• Owner or Business Group: Make sure you designate your BU as the business group (only include one Business Group in this field). 
• Page Title: Appears on the browser tab, and more importantly, is the headline you’ll see in search results, pulled onto cards in the volunteer landing page and page cards in the C25 related articles. 
• Page Description: This is the promotional text you’ll see in internal search results, pulled onto cards in various components, and on the volunteer landing page. Keep this to one sentence (150-160 characters maximum) and describe the basics of what the volunteer opportunity is about.
• On Time and Off Time: Leave these blank.
   

IMAGE TAB

The image path you use here will dictate which image loads on cards on the volunteer landing page and C25 related events. 
 

OG and SEO TABS

Follow the general instructions in the properties guide and other SEO guidance from Global Digital.
 

VOLUNTEER PAGE TAB

• Content Type: Volunteer
  
• Business Group: (completed in page creation - one BU who owns the page)
• Audience: Select media or influencer
• Geographic Location: Select 1-3 locations that apply.
• Places We Protect: Tag a preserve or landscape project if applicable. Otherwise leave blank.
• Topic: Tag up to 4 that apply.
• Date: Required—populates the date in the page hero text.
• Location: Required. Use the format, City, State 2 Letter Abbreviation (i.e. Chicago, IL)
• Business Group Leads: Should autopopulate with author’s name. Add other names of people who should get expiration warnings if desired.

Component Instructions

Volunteer Detail Component (C124)

Left Column Tab: 

• RTE: The left side of the component will display the header Volunteer Overview automatically. In the RTE enter any important context about the opportunity to display below the header. 
   

Right Column Tab:

• The right column displays key details about the volunteer opportunity is a scannable layout - author these details in the Right Column tab of the authoring dialog.
• Display Google Map?: You can choose to display a google map thumbnail. If you do, you will need to provide an address for the map pin and an alt text description of the map image
• Video Directions Modal Dialog & Open in Maps Link: You can choose to display both “View Directions” and “Open in Maps” links. If you check this box, you will need to provide text for the Directions pop-up box and a link to the location on Google Maps.
• Location Information: text that will display under the map and provide any additional context needed. 
• Alternate Date/Time Display: If you are not going to display a time range, you will want to enter custom details to show under the Time heading in the volunteer details.
• Contact: check the box to enable contact detail fields.
• Resources: to add links to resources, check the “display resources” box and then click the “Add” button. 

Screenshot of authoring dialog with all fields shown from both tabs

On the left side is the Volunteer Overview description. On the right side is a sidebar listing details of the volunteer opportunity, a map thumbnail, and a sign up CTA. 

Ending Components

A related events component is suggested! You can also include a related articles component if you want to link to a preserve page or other related content. Or, direct users to other related pages using a C11 Title Text CTA block that can path them to your BU's state landing page or state volunteer page (if applicable). 

Questions?

Contact the Storytelling & Content Team through the Marketing Requests Portal.