Understanding Golden's Enhanced Privacy Controls

What's New?

We've upgraded the Privacy Settings you use every day. Instead of one combined setting, you now have two independent controls that work together to give you unprecedented flexibility in managing your Opportunities.

The Two New Controls

Visibility controls who can see your Opportunity.

Accessibility controls who can sign up for it.

These settings work independently, allowing you to create powerful combinations that weren't possible before. For example, you can now make an Opportunity visible to everyone while limiting registration to specific groups, or keep an Opportunity private to certain groups for both viewing and registration.

Understanding Visibility Settings

Visibility determines who can discover and view your Opportunity on your portal and in search results.

Public

Everyone can see this Opportunity. This is the most open setting and allows maximum discoverability.

Who can see it: Anyone visiting your portal or receiving a link.

Best for: Community-wide events, public service days, general volunteer opportunities that you want to promote broadly.

Example use case: A neighborhood park cleanup event where you want maximum participation from the community.

Private

Only people belonging to selected groups can see this Opportunity. This setting requires you to specify at least one of the following:

• Credentials: Participants who have completed specific Credentials or Credential Packages
• Participant Groups: Members of selected Participant Groups
• Affiliations: People associated with specific Organizations

Who can see it: Only Participants who match at least one of your selected criteria.

Best for: Internal programs, exclusive opportunities for trained volunteers, organization-specific events.

Example use case: A medical volunteering opportunity that should only be visible to volunteers who have completed healthcare training credentials.

Additional Privacy Option: When you select Private visibility, you can also choose to "Hide Share Button on Sign-Up Screen" to prevent Participants from sharing the Opportunity link with others.

Unlisted

Only people who have a direct share link to this Opportunity can see it. The Opportunity won't appear in search results or browse pages.

Who can see it: Anyone with the direct link to the Opportunity.

Best for: Invite-only events, sensitive programs, beta testing new Opportunities before making them widely available.

Example use case: A pilot program for a new volunteer initiative that you want to test with a small group before opening it more widely.

Understanding Accessibility Settings

Accessibility determines who can actually register and sign up for your Opportunity after they can see it.

Open

Everyone who can see this Opportunity or has a link can sign up for it.

Who can sign up: Anyone who can view the Opportunity through any means (browsing, search results, direct link, visibility criteria).

Best for: Opportunities where you want maximum participation from everyone who discovers them.

Example use case: A public volunteer fair where you want anyone who finds the event to be able to register immediately.

Restricted

Only people who meet specific restrictions can sign up. When you select Restricted, you must specify at least one of the following:

• Credentials: Participants who have completed specific Credentials or Credential Packages
• Participant Groups: Members of selected Participant Groups
• Affiliations: People associated with specific Organizations

Who can sign up: Only Participants who match at least one of your selected criteria.

Best for: Opportunities requiring specific qualifications, training, or organizational membership.

Example use case: A tutoring program that requires volunteers to complete a background check credential before they can register.

Match Visibility Settings: When using Restricted accessibility with Private visibility, you have the option to check "Same as selections above (who can see this Opportunity)." This convenience feature automatically applies the same Credentials, Participant Groups, and Affiliations from your Visibility settings to Accessibility, ensuring that anyone who can see the Opportunity can also sign up for it.

Combining Visibility and Accessibility

The real power of these new controls comes from combining them in different ways to match your program needs. Here are some common scenarios:

Maximum Openness

• Visibility: Public
• Accessibility: Open
• Result: Everyone can see and sign up for the Opportunity
• Use for: Community-wide events, public service opportunities

Selective Registration

• Visibility: Public
• Accessibility: Restricted (require specific Credential)
• Result: Everyone can see the Opportunity, but only trained volunteers can sign up
• Use for: Specialized roles that require certification while promoting the opportunity broadly

Private Community

• Visibility: Private (specific Affiliation)
• Accessibility: Open
• Result: Only members of your organization can see it, but all members can sign up
• Use for: Internal employee volunteer programs

Fully Restricted

• Visibility: Private (specific Participant Group)
• Accessibility: Restricted (same groups - using Match Visibility)
• Result: Only specific group members can see or sign up
• Use for: Exclusive programs for verified, trained volunteers

Invitation-Only

• Visibility: Unlisted
• Accessibility: Open
• Result: Only people with the direct link can see and sign up
• Use for: Pilot programs, surprise events, invite-only opportunities

Advanced: Public Discovery with Qualification Gates

• Visibility: Public
• Accessibility: Restricted (specific Credential Package)
• Result: Everyone can discover the opportunity and see what's required, but only qualified volunteers can register
• Use for: Building awareness for specialized programs while ensuring only qualified volunteers participate

What This Means for You

The good news is you don't need to do anything for your existing Opportunities.

Automatic Migration: All existing Opportunities have been automatically updated to the new system. Your current privacy settings have been converted to the new Visibility and Accessibility model, so your Opportunities work exactly as they did before.

No Participant Impact: Your Participants won't notice any changes to existing Opportunities. The registration and viewing experience remains the same.

New Flexibility: When creating new Opportunities or updating existing ones, you now have enhanced options to control exactly who can see and register for your programs.

Legacy Compatibility: The system maintains backward compatibility, so any integrations or workflows you have in place continue to work seamlessly.

Make sure to check out our Frequently Asked Questions about this new update! If you have any questions about the new Privacy Settings or need help configuring your Opportunities, please feel free to reach out to your Client Strategist or email support@goldenvolunteer.com.