Posting on Cumbria Exchange is really easy! And you’ll just need a few things to get started.
To create a support wanted request you need to be:
- A not for profit; that generally means you need to be a community group, a registered charity or a social enterprise. Any other type of not for profit please contact us first before submitting a post, we’ll let you know if you’re eligible to use the Exchange for your request
- Based in Cumbria
To submit a support request you will need:
- A contact name and contact details
- Your logo or an image – if it’s the latter, please ensure you have permission to use it!
- Knowledge of your community organisation
- Knowledge of what you want to ask for
To get started, carry on reading 👇
Section 1
First, we will assume you know what you are going to ask for and have all the basic details of your community group at hand. We are also going to assume that you are online and have navigated to the ‘request support‘ page.
Fill in section one with your name, community organisation and contact details. Please do include your logo or a image.
Section 2
Second, we need to understand what type of request you are wanting to post. The form will give you two immediate options – Resource or Service.
Resource in our world means equipment or materials. It’s a physical item. If you opt for resource, two further boxes will appear asking for a date when you need the resource and the type; equipment, material or general. You only need to add a date if you have a deadline.
Service in our world means something which involves people. It includes professional advice, labour, space, volunteering or training. If you opt for service, four further boxes will appear asking for; duration of support, time required, date service is needed by and type. Duration of support is used to understand whether your request is a one-off, short-term or long-term request. Time required is optional, this is designed to give people and businesses a good understanding of how much time they might need to offer to your request.
Section 3
The third section is one of the most important – we can’t stress how important it is! You have two core sections: 1) the title, 2) the description area.
What you enter here will make up your support wanted post. It’s the title that will spark a total stranger to think ‘maybe I could help’. It’s the description which potentially gives a total stranger enough information to respond to your post and offer assistance.
Let’s focus on description. Write the description based on the assumption the reader doesn’t know about your organisation; they don’t know what you do or why you do it. Think about structuring your description like this:
- Introduction; your group and its purpose
- What do you do?
- Why it is so important
- What you need (when by if applicable) and why it will make a difference
Here’s a couple of my favorite examples that might be worth a look for inspiration: Example 1: Can you help us revise our Health and Safety policy? Example 2: Volunteers to support listening ear service. Example 3: Can you support us with a business plan?
Section 4
Section 4 is really easy. All you need to do is enter the address of your community organisation and choose which part of Cumbria you are based in. You then need to agree to our Terms and Conditions and hit submit.
Your post will then be reviewed by by our team, altered if needed – with consultation – and posted. We aim to review and publish within five working days but please be patient, sometimes we get super busy!