skip to content

Projects Tool

The Projects tool is similar to the New Cases tool on probono.net, but features volunteer opportunities other than legal cases. The tool allows probono.net site users to filter, search, and view projects approved/edited by site admins and submitted by other users. It also allows admins the ability to manage email sharing settings.

It will help ensure that attorneys searching for pro bono opportunities are guided to the right type of opportunity and training. For more information about this tool, please email support@probono.net.

This guide will cover:

Filtering and Searching for Projects

The Projects tool user interface uses a search and filter driven interface, similar to the PBN Opportunities Guide. This means that a user sets the Project filter fields that are used to search fields on the tool’s Project forms. It utilizes a default set of filters, which are chosen by site admins in the Projects Admin Tool. The following are the Default Search Fields:

  • Project Type
  • Population Served
  • Projects For
  • Skills Developed
  • Location
  • Subject Area
  • Text Search

Multiple selections may be chosen in each filter and the filters are internally inclusive – projects meeting ANY of the criteria selected (e.g. for New York or Kings county) will be returned. Searches with criteria selected across filters are exclusive – ONLY projects meeting the specified criteria will be returned (e.g. searching for projects for an attorney in Cook County will only return projects located in Cook County that are ALSO appropriate for an attorney). If no selections are chosen, then all project results will be returned to the user.

Please note that admins can enter text in the CKEditor above the filters.

If no matches are found, the platform will alert the user and they may retry new filters. If matches to their filters are found, the user will be taking to a results page. On the results page, users are provided with a listing of the volunteer projects, along with some information about the project. The following information is provided in the search results (if it is available for a case):

  • Organization
  • Project For (type of volunteer e.g. Law Student, Mentor, etc)
  • Populations Served
  • Location

Users may then click on the Project Name to access the project content page, which will provide all information relevant to the user about that project. For more information about the fields available, please see the Posting Projects section. If a user would like to find out more about a project, they can contact the volunteer project contact.

Posting Projects

Projects may be posted upon completion of the Project Form and with approval by a site admin. Members, non-members and admins can add a project by clicking on “Add a project” in the upper right hand corner of the Projects tool. This will take users to the Project Form with the fields mentioned below. Please note that multiple options may be selected when using the select boxes.

General Information
To be completed by all users. Asterisks indicate a required field

  • Title* - Type the title of the project
  • Sponsoring Organization* - Type the name of the organization sponsoring the project. If the organization is listed in the Opportunities Guide, clicking on the organization from the auto-complete list will associate the project with the organization’s listing in the Opps Guide. If you manually enter the organization and do not click from the auto-complete list, the Project will not associate; to associate, you must select from the drop-down list. For more information see the Opps Guide section of the Admin Manual.
    • Note: Previously listed projects are not automatically associated with organizations. The project must be edited and the organization must be re-selected from the drop-down menu for the project to associate with the organization.
  • Add a sponsoring organization - Select additional sponsoring organizations.
  • Description* - Type a description of the project in the CKeditor
  • Project Type - Select the tyep of project from the drop down menu
  • Other Project Type - Type in the other type of project if not covered in the list

Contact Information
To be completed by all users. Asterisks indicate a required field

  • First Name* - Type the contact person's first name
  • Last Name* - Type the contact person's last name
  • Email* - Type the contact person's email address
  • Phone - Type the contact person's phone number

Location
To be completed by all users. Asterisks indicate a required field

  • Location Name - Type in the location name, if one exists
  • Address* - Type in the address where the project occurs
  • City* - Type in the city where the project occurs
  • State* - Select the state where the project occurs from the drop-down
  • County* - Select the county where the project occurs from the drop-down. Note that this is a default filter used to search for projects on the Projects Tool Search Page and on the Opportunities Guide Search page
  • Zip Code - Type in the zip code where the project takes place

Additional Details
To be completed by all users. Asterisks indicate a required field

  • Date - Type in the project date
  • Additional Date Description - Provide additional scheduling information (e.g. a clinic that occurs on the first Tuesday of every month)
  • Start Time - Select the time the project starts
  • End Time - Select the time the project ends
  • Project For* - Select volunteer type you are seeking in the multi-select box. Note that this is a default filter used to search for projects on the Projects Tool Search Page.
  • Other Project For - Type in other volunteer type(s) if not mentioned in the previous multi-select box
  • Populations Served* - Select the type of population served. Note that this is a default filter used to search for projects on the Projects Tool Search Page. 
  • Other Populations - Type in other population type(s) you are serving if not mentioned in the previous multi-select box
  • Subject Areas* - Select the subject area of the project. Note that this is a default filter used to search for projects on the Projects Tool Search Page.
  • Other Subject Areas - Type in other subject area(s) if not available in the previous multi-select box
  • Skills to be Developed - Select skills to be developed from the multi-select box. Note that this is a default filter used to search for projects on the Projects Tool Search Page
  • Other Skills - Type in other skills if not available in the previous multi-select box
  • Minimum Commitment - Check this box if there is a minimum commitment required of volunteers
  • Mentoring Provided - Check this box if mentoring is required
  • Training provided - Check this box if training is provided to volunteers
  • Relevant Experience preferred - Check this box if training is provided to volunteer
  • LAR certification Required - Check this box if LAR Certification of volunteers is required
  • Malpractice Coverage Provided - Check this box if malpractice coverage is provided to volunteers
  • Sign-up URL - Type in a URL if you have an online sign-up page for volunteers

Settings
To be completed by site admins only

  • Status - Select which status you would like to have for this Project. This is where you can Approve, Delete, or Reject a submitted Project. Note that you can also manage Project status through the Admin Inbox
  • Share this content item with other probono.net sites - Check this box if you would like to share this Project with other probono.net sites.
  • Mark content as a priority item

Access Restrictions
To be completed by site admins only

  • No restriction, all users will see this item - selecting this will allow all users to see this item, but only if the tool is in front of a password
  • Restrict to only members of this site - this will allow only logged-in site members to see the project
  • Restrict access to only the following selected member types - this will allows only certain members from the Member Type Restrictions multi-select box to view the project.

Area Topics
To be completed by site admins only

  • Topics* - Select and assign topics/subtopics from the multi-select box

Approving User-Submitted Projects

Non-admin users are permitted (and encouraged) to submit projects of their own. However, such projects are not automatically published to the site; they appear in the Awaiting Approval section of your Admin Inbox until an Area Administrator reviews and approves them. (See the Admin Inbox of the admin manual chapter for more information about how the Admin Inbox works.)

To publish such a project go to your Admin Inbox. You’ll have all Awaiting Approval content displayed, so just click Project and also the magnifying glass icon beside it. Click on the project’s title you want to review. Before approving, be sure to review or reformat the following:

  • Sponsoring Organization (especially if you wish to associate it with an organization in the opps guide)
  • Description
  • Address
  • Shared
  • Access Restriction
  • Topic(s)

Now switch the project’s status to “Approved” and click Submit at the bottom of the page. You can update or Delete the content from this form page as well.

  • NOTE: The name and email address of content submitters displays at the bottom of each form. If you have any questions about the project, click on the email address to send a query.
  • TIP: If the project includes a link to another website, make sure you copy and paste the URL into a new browser window to check the link.

Remember, you can also access and manage individual projects while signed in as an Administrator to the Projects Tool. Simply click on the pen and paper icon on the project to update.