Register

Register at go.uic.edu/serviceopps. Fill out required information, and anything else you’d like to share. Once your agency is approved, you can update this information at any time.

Get Approved

Submit your information and SLCE will be notified to approve your agency. We will do our best to review all submissions within 2 business days.

Enhance Your Profile

After approval, take the time to add additional information to your agency profile. Suggestions:

• Logo (minimum size is 540×540 pixels)
• At least one additional “agency manager” – another staff person, or a general email address for inquiries/volunteers
• Website and social media accounts
• Click “submit agency” at any time to save your updates

Once you’re an approved agency, make sure to add at least one volunteer opportunity or event, and keep your volunteer opportunities updated on a regular basis.

Terminology

• “Opportunities” or “Needs” are volunteer opportunities – something for which you would like to recruit volunteers.
• “Events” are opportunities for people to attend/participate, not volunteer.
• For example, if you are hosting a fundraiser, you may post an “opportunity” for volunteers to help with setup/cleanup, and you may post an “event” for people who want to attend the fundraiser.
  • Most posts on the UIC Service Portal will be shared as opportunities, rather than events.

Process

• Log in. Click on the “Opportunities” tab.
• Click the blue box with “Add new opportunity”. Fill in required information and anything else you’d like to share.
  • Make sure to select an end date for a post to run. There is an option to select “is ongoing,” but we do not recommend this option, as it is easy to forget to regularily check and update information. Instead, you can select “runs until” and choose a date that’s a few months out, or even a full year away. You can then later clone this opportunity to rerun it again in the future, in order to keep it ongoing but reviewed and updated.
• Note: “Public” means it will be visible to all UIC users. “Private” means it will be visible only to agency managers and anyone to whom you send a direct link.
• Click “Create opportunity”. The opportunity will be posted. You can edit it at any time.

Best Practices

• The more information shared with students, the better. Students are more inclined to respond to an opportunity when they know the details and what will be asked or needed of them.
• Rather than sharing one ongoing opportunity, share opportunities in smaller batches more frequently. When a student has become a “fan” of your agency, they will receive notifications when you post new opportunities. Even if you’re reposting the same volunteer opportunity once a quarter, once a semester, or once a year, it will send reminders to students to sign up – rather than requiring them to visit the site and manually search for the volunteer opportunity.
• Contact SLCE for more ideas and suggestions! Just email slce@uic.edu. We will also share new opportunities via our student-facing weekly newsletter if you request via email once you have posted it on the UIC Service Portal.

For additional training on how to use the platform, please view the Agency Manager’s Toolbox. You can also sign up to attend a webinar training hosted by the platform’s team.

If you need help or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at slce@uic.edu.

Stay Connected

• Sign up for the SLCE Community Partner newsletter to stay informed on a regular basis!