Managing Affiliations

What Are Affiliations?

Affiliations are the formal connections between an organization and individual users on Opengates. When a freelancer or client becomes affiliated with an organization, they are recognized as a member or associate of that organization on the platform. This is one of the most distinctive features of organization accounts and plays a central role in how teams operate on Opengates.

Think of affiliations as a digital representation of your real-world working relationships. If a designer works for your agency, a developer is part of your company, or a volunteer contributes to your non-profit — affiliating them on Opengates makes that relationship visible and official on the platform.

What Happens When Someone Is Affiliated?

When an individual user is affiliated with your organization, several things happen:

• Your organization's logo appears on their profile — Anyone viewing the affiliated user's profile will see your organization's logo, signaling the connection between the individual and your entity.
• Their posts and activity carry your branding — When affiliated users create posts or engage on the platform, your organization's identity is associated with their activity.
• The affiliation is visible to other users — Freelancers, clients, and other organizations can see the affiliation, building trust and credibility for both parties.
• The individual retains their personal account — Affiliation does not merge accounts. The individual user still has their own independent profile, skills, reviews, and account settings. The affiliation is an additional layer on top of their existing identity.

Who Can Be Affiliated?

Any individual user on Opengates can be affiliated with an organization:

• Freelancers — Freelancers who work with your organization can be affiliated to show they are part of your team. This is especially useful for agencies that want their freelancers to be recognized under the company brand.
• Clients — If individuals within your organization have their own client accounts (for example, project managers who also hire freelancers independently), they can be affiliated with your organization as well.

Only organization accounts can create affiliations. Individual users (freelancers and clients) cannot initiate affiliations — they can only accept or decline invitations sent by organizations.

How to Invite Users

Sending an Affiliation Invitation

To affiliate a user with your organization, you need to send them an invitation. Here's how:

1. Log in to your organization account — Make sure you're signed in with your organization credentials, not a personal account.

2. Navigate to the affiliation management section — In your organization's settings or dashboard, find the Affiliations, Team Members, or Invite Members section.

3. Search for the user — Enter the username, display name, or email address of the person you want to invite. The platform will search for matching users.

4. Select the user — From the search results, select the correct user. Review their profile to make sure you're inviting the right person.

5. Send the invitation — Click the Invite or Send Invitation button. The user will receive a notification about your invitation.

6. Wait for a response — The invited user will need to accept or decline the invitation. You'll be notified of their response.

Writing an Invitation Message

When sending an invitation, consider including a brief message explaining why you're inviting the user and what the affiliation means. While this may not be required, it helps the recipient understand the context — especially if they're not expecting the invitation.

For example:

"Hi Sarah, we'd like to affiliate you with OpenTech Solutions on Opengates. As a member of our design team, this will display our logo on your profile and connect our work together on the platform."

Bulk Invitations

If you need to affiliate multiple users at once — for example, when onboarding an entire team — send invitations one at a time through the platform's invitation system. Take care to verify each user before sending to avoid inviting the wrong person.

How Users Accept or Decline Invitations

Receiving an Invitation

When your organization sends an affiliation invitation, the recipient receives a notification through the Opengates platform. Depending on their notification settings, they may also receive an email or push notification.

The invitation includes:

• The name of the organization sending the invitation
• The organization's logo and type (For-profit, Non-profit, or Government)
• An option to accept or decline the invitation

Accepting an Invitation

When a user accepts an affiliation invitation:

• The affiliation becomes active immediately
• Your organization's logo begins appearing on their profile
• They appear in your organization's list of affiliated members
• Both parties receive a confirmation notification

The user does not need to change any account settings or create a new account. The affiliation is simply added to their existing profile as an additional element.

Declining an Invitation

A user can decline an affiliation invitation for any reason. Declining an invitation:

• Does not create any affiliation
• Does not negatively impact the user's account or standing
• Sends a notification to your organization that the invitation was declined
• Does not prevent you from sending another invitation in the future (though we recommend respecting the user's decision)

Pending Invitations

Invitations that haven't been responded to remain in a pending state. You can view pending invitations in your organization's affiliation management section. If an invitation has been pending for a long time, consider reaching out to the user through Opengates messaging to remind them or clarify the purpose of the invitation.

Managing Your Affiliated Members

Viewing Your Affiliations

To see all users currently affiliated with your organization:

1. Go to your organization's dashboard or settings
2. Navigate to the Affiliations or Team Members section
3. You'll see a list of all affiliated users, including their names, account types (freelancer or client), and when they became affiliated

This list gives you a complete overview of your team on Opengates.

Understanding Affiliation Status

Each affiliation can be in one of these states:

• Active — The user has accepted the invitation and the affiliation is live. Your branding appears on their profile.
• Pending — The invitation has been sent but the user hasn't responded yet. No branding changes take effect until the invitation is accepted.
• Declined — The user has declined the invitation. No affiliation exists.
• Removed — The affiliation was previously active but has since been removed by either party.

Member Roles Within the Organization

When users are affiliated with your organization, they maintain their individual account roles (freelancer or client). The affiliation itself is a connection layer — it does not change the user's account type or permissions on the platform.

However, within your organization's context on Opengates:

• Affiliated freelancers can showcase your organization's branding while offering their services to other clients on the platform. This is useful for agencies where freelancers work both on internal projects and external gigs.
• Affiliated clients represent your organization's hiring arm. When they post tasks or hire freelancers, the organization's presence is associated with their activity.

The organization account itself serves as the administrative hub. The person or team managing the organization account handles invitations, branding, task postings under the org's name, and overall organizational settings.

Removing Affiliations

When to Remove an Affiliation

There are several reasons you might need to remove an affiliation:

• The individual no longer works with your organization
• The affiliation was created in error
• The individual has requested to be removed
• Your organization is restructuring its team on the platform

How to Remove an Affiliated User

To remove an affiliation from your organization's side:

1. Go to your Affiliations or Team Members section
2. Find the user you want to remove
3. Click the Remove or Unaffiliate option next to their name
4. Confirm the removal when prompted

When you remove an affiliation:

• Your organization's logo is immediately removed from the user's profile
• The user is no longer listed as an affiliated member of your organization
• The user retains their individual account, reviews, and history — nothing else about their account changes
• Both parties receive a notification about the removal

Users Can Also Leave

Individual users can choose to leave an affiliation on their own. If an affiliated user decides they no longer want to be associated with your organization, they can remove the affiliation from their own account settings. The effect is the same — the affiliation is dissolved, branding is removed, and both parties are notified.

How Affiliations Appear on the Platform

On User Profiles

The most visible effect of an affiliation is the organization's logo appearing on the affiliated user's profile. When someone visits an affiliated freelancer's or client's profile, they'll see:

• The user's personal profile information (name, skills, reviews, etc.)
• Your organization's logo, typically displayed near the user's profile image or in a dedicated "Affiliated with" section
• A link to your organization's profile, so visitors can learn more about your entity

This creates a professional impression and signals that the individual is backed by an established organization.

On Posts and Activity

When affiliated users create posts or engage in platform activities, the organization's branding may be associated with their content. This extends your organization's reach and visibility across the platform, as every piece of content from an affiliated user reinforces your brand presence.

On Task Listings

When your organization directly posts tasks (through the organization account), the organization badge appears prominently on the listing. This is different from an affiliated individual posting a task — tasks posted through the organization account carry the full organizational branding, while tasks posted by affiliated individuals through their personal accounts may show the affiliation connection more subtly.

Best Practices for Managing Affiliations

Keep Your Affiliations Current

Regularly review your affiliated members list to ensure it accurately reflects your current team. Remove affiliations for people who have left your organization and invite new team members promptly. An outdated affiliations list can lead to confusion and diminish trust.

Communicate With Your Team

Before sending affiliation invitations, let your team members know what to expect. Explain what the affiliation does (branding on their profile), what it doesn't do (it doesn't merge accounts or change their permissions), and why it benefits both parties.

Respect Individual Choices

If a user declines your affiliation invitation, respect their decision. There may be personal or professional reasons why they prefer not to have your organization's branding on their profile. Maintain a positive relationship regardless of their affiliation decision.

Monitor Your Brand Representation

Since affiliated users carry your organization's logo on their profiles, be mindful of who represents your brand on the platform. Affiliate users who align with your organization's values and professional standards.

Use Affiliations Strategically

Affiliations are most valuable when they create a clear, recognizable team presence on the platform. If you're an agency with ten designers, affiliating all of them creates a powerful impression of your team's depth and capabilities. If you're a non-profit, affiliating your key volunteers and staff shows the breadth of your organization's reach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a user be affiliated with multiple organizations?

No. A user can only be affiliated with one organization at a time. If a user wants to join a different organization, they must first leave their current affiliation before accepting a new one.

Does affiliation give the organization access to the user's account?

No. Affiliation is a branding and association feature only. Your organization cannot access, modify, or control an affiliated user's account. The individual retains full control over their profile, settings, earnings, and activity.

Will removing an affiliation affect the user's reviews or history?

No. Removing an affiliation only removes the branding connection. The user's reviews, completed projects, ratings, and all other account data remain completely unchanged.

Can I re-invite someone after they declined?

Yes, you can send a new invitation to someone who previously declined. However, we recommend reaching out to them first through messaging to discuss the affiliation before sending another invitation.

Still need help? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to assist you.