A key reason why this site was created was for youth led and youth serving organisations to find each other to partner each other; for people in need to find organisations offering help; and for funding organisations to find organisations with which to partner. Directories can store a lot of information, and we want you to be able to find what you need.
There are several ways to search for the information you're looking for. For the purposes of demonstrating these various methods, we will use the Beta Testing Example.
Alphabetically
If you know the name of the organisation, you can click on the letter corresponding with the name of the organisation you're looking for. It will load all organisations whose name begins with that letter.
Directory Search
Directory Search will find any word or phrase in any entry listed on the site that is an exact match. So if you're looking to partner with organisations that assist orphans, remember that the information is self-submitted. Try several variations of that word. For example if you use the word 'orphan', it currently returns 10 organisations. If you use the word 'orphans', it returns 8 organisations. If you use the word 'orphaned', it returns only one listing.
Using the Map
By default, the Google Map at the top of the site shows every published entry listed in the directory. It is a useful tool if you want to find organisations regionally, or even in a narrow geographic location. The +/- buttons at the bottom right allow you to zoom out or zoom in. For example, zooming in to the Johannesburg area in South Africa, you can see all of the organisations locally based, including the Beta Testing Example. If you click on the pushpin, it loads the organisation name and logo. If you click on the name, it will load that organisation's entry.
Map Search Field
The map search field returns data from the Country of Operation field on an organisation's entry. It does not return entries by address. So if you type in South Africa into that field, it will return organisations that may be based in Ethiopia, like the International Youth Parliament, but which operates out of South Africa. If you would like to find all organisations within a single country, use the map zoom tool above, or use the country search tool in Filtered Search (next).
Filtered Search
Filtered Search is a powerful tool that allows you to narrow results to only fields which may have relevance to you. You can apply multiple filters to limit results even more. So for example it is possible to select countries in the southern African region, then the focus of the organisation, Education and Skills Development, if it is registered (yes/no), profit-making or not (yes/no), etc., click on Submit and see your results limited by those selections.
If it is overly restrictive, clear the filters and try again with fewer filters selected.
Alternately, search for one filter at a time.
