Get started with Volunteer

• Enable volunteer grants.

• Use the Display Name field to customize the volunteer grants tab on the My Volunteering page; there can be a different name assigned for each segment.

• Limit grant qualification to certain types and/or categories.

• Add a custom campaign section header that appears to event creators.

• Add a Create Event Date Range, which determines when event creators can select this campaign. This controls when events can be added to a campaign.

• Add a Search Opportunities Date Range, which determines when participants can search for events tied to this campaign.

• Determine whether or not they want to require event creators to select a campaign when creating draft events within the community.

• Enable Volunteer Time Off (VTO).

• Customize the VTO menu option label on the Volunteer menu. There can be a different name assigned for each segment.

Create VTO program

Program Details

Communities can customize program details, such as:

• What do you want to call your VTO program? - 35 character maximum program name

• The program description - Enter a description for this program.

  Note: Employees can see this description.

• The starting date and time.

• The ending date and time

• The time zone.

• Button text. "Apply Now" is the default label - 50 character maximum.

• Whether the requested hours require approval by an admin or a manager. If admin or manager approval are not enabled, VTO requests are auto-approved.

Program Eligibility

Communities can:

• Enter the program hours cap.

• Select whether the hours cap applies to all employees or a set of employees from the HR file columns.

  Note: Hour caps can vary by employee set.

Custom Question Set

Communities can select the custom question set presented to employees each time they submit a VTO request.

Communities can select project features, such as:

• Allowing users to log hours for specific volunteer projects they have been confirmed for.

• Enabling a company-wide disclaimer for recording project hours.

Custom Question Set

Communities can require project creators and/or participants to answer custom questions.

Charity - Add your own

This option allows project creators to add charities.

Project Approvals

Communities can require project approval before project creators can publish projects.

Require Volunteer Campaign Selection

Communities can require project creators to select a volunteer campaign when creating or editing a project.

CRA Question Set

Communities can select a CRA survey question set that all project creators and/or participants must answer.

CRA Eligibility

Communities can choose which participants to prompt with the selected CRA survey(s).

Types, Categories, and Tags

These settings allow communities to collect additional reporting data points about volunteer activities. Use these settings for filtering opportunities, determining eligibility for incentives or rewards, and segmenting data in reports.

You can use the same types, categories, and tags for events, projects, and individual activities, or you can customize them for each activity type.

Admins can create and manage volunteer campaigns for their community. See Volunteer Campaigns.

This option enables admins to add a custom list of organizations. Your employees can volunteer for your company added organizations.

This list applies to the following features:

• Create Opportunity

• Record Individual Activity (RIA)

See Company added organizations.

• Enable NPO Events

• Enable Community Partners

• Identify community partners individually or in bulk

• Require admin approval for events from specific partners

• Require custom questions for specific partners

• Enable VolunteerMatch

• Enter client-specific API credentials provided by VolunteerMatch

• Choose a custom question set to be presented to participants signing up for these events.

• Customize a disclaimer that will be presented to all participants signing up for these events.

The settings below can be managed from Event settings.

Tip: Event settings text fields support custom translations.

Main Image

• Include a custom header image (required size is 1024 x 780 pixels) for your community.

• Optional: Add custom description text.

  • Uses Markdown

  • 600 character maximum

  • Default text: Start by creating an event draft. Once your draft is created, you will have the option to configure shifts and other settings. If you are trying to record your individual volunteering efforts, you can do so on the Record Individual Activity page.

Guests

This option enables guest additions to any event within your community.

• Event creators can further choose whether to enable guests for their specific event.

• Optional: Add a custom guest policy.

  • 200 character maximum

  • No default text

Charity - Add your own

This option allows event creators to add charities.

Event Approvals

This option requires administrator approval for all employee-created events within your community.

Note: If this feature is enabled, admins must approve event creators' submitted events before they are publicly available and allow employees to participate.

Require Volunteer Campaign Selection

This option requires event creators and editors to select a volunteer campaign when creating or editing an event.

Custom Question Set

This option allows your community to select the custom question sets presented to event creators and/or participants. For more information, see Custom Question Sets.

CRA Question Set

Use this option to select the CRA question sets presented to event creators and/or participants. They can also adjust CRA approval settings for event participants.

CRA Eligibility

This option controls how CRA eligibility for shifts is determined.

Types, Categories, and Tags

These settings allow communities to collect additional reporting data points about volunteer activities. Use these settings for filtering opportunities, determining eligibility for incentives or rewards, and segmenting data in reports.

You can use the same types, categories, and tags for events, projects, and individual activities, or you can customize them for each activity type.

T-Shirts

Allowing T-shirt ordering is configurable by event. Communities can customize t-shirt offerings and event creators can enable these options based on what they would like to include for their event.

Note: The system displays T-shirt options in the order in which they were entered.

Disclaimer

Communities can require event participants agree to a custom disclaimer before confirming their participation.

The character limit is 15,000 characters (including spaces) and can include hyperlinks.

Allow users to add participants

Communities can determine whether event creators, organizers, and volunteer admins can add participants to events, either individually or in bulk.

Client admins can:

• Enable specific emails for their community.

• Apply different email settings per community segment.

See Event & project communication settings and the CSRconnect Email Library.

The settings below can be managed from Record Individual Activity settings.

Landing page

• Include a custom header image (required size is 1024 x 780 pixels) for the landing page.

• Optional: Add custom description text.

  • Uses Markdown

  • 600 character maximum

Add Your Own

This option allows employees to add their own charities when recording individual activities.

Note: For individual activities, Add Your Own charities do not qualify for rewards.

Custom Question Set

This option allows your community to select the custom question set presented to participants when they are recording their activities. For more information, see Custom Question Sets.

CRA Question Set

Use this option to select the CRA question set presented to participants when they are recording their activities.

Types, Categories, and Tags

These settings allow communities to collect additional reporting data points about volunteer activities. Use these settings for filtering opportunities, determining eligibility for incentives or rewards, and segmenting data in reports.

You can use the same types, categories, and tags for events, projects, and individual activities, or you can customize them for each activity type.

Disclaimer

Communities can:

• Customize a disclaimer to present to those recording individual activity.

• Require participants to agree to the disclaimer before confirming their individual activity hours.

The character limit is 15,000 characters (including spaces).

Landing page

Communities can include a custom header image (required size is 1170 x 300 pixels). See Search Opportunities settings.

Create an Event

Character (including spaces) and size limits

The following character limits apply to each field:

• Event Name can include 100 characters.

• Event Description can include an unlimited number of characters.

• Upload Event Photo dimensions are for a square, 300 x 300 pixel image.

• Meetup Instructions can include 1000 characters.

• Adding your own benefiting organization name can include 100 characters.

• Shift Name can include 100 characters.

• Reason to Contact can include 32 characters.

Enable guest attendees

If enabled at the community-level, event creators can further choose whether or not to enable guests for their specific event.

Manage Event

The following character limits apply to each field:

Character (including spaces) and size limits

• Shift description can include 500 characters.

• Document Name can include 30 characters.

• Event disclaimer can include 1500 characters.

• Event Photos dimensions are for square, 300 x 300 pixel images.

• Photo Description can include an unlimited number of characters.

Sign Up Questions

• Event creators can implement their own set of questions to be presented to participants signing up for this event.

• Event creators can view the responses to these questions on the participant export for the event.

T-Shirts

• Event creators can choose to enable t-shirts and select the community-approved sizes they would like to offer for their event.

Docs and Disclaimer

• Event creators can implement their own waiver/disclaimer that participants must agree to before completing the sign-up process.

• Event creators can upload documents that will be accessible to those viewing the event page.

Create a Project

Character (including spaces) and size limits

The following character limits apply to each field:

• Project Name can include 100 characters.

• Project Description can include an 2000 characters.

• Upload Project Photo dimensions are for a square, 300 x 300 pixel image.

• Adding your own benefiting organization name can include 100 characters.

Project Dates

Project creators can align the way they will be running the project with either standard (fixed) or flexible dates.

Registration Options

Project creators specify whether volunteers can express interest in the project or join the project and receive auto-confirmation for the role they select.

Default Role

Project creators create a default role for the project (such as Volunteer) where they can specify the description, number of participants needed, and skills needed for that role.

Project Type

Project creators can select a project type to help employees find their project when filtering search results. This information also appears in project reporting.

Project Category

Project creators can select a project category to help employees find their project when filtering search results. This information also appears in project reporting.

General Tags

Tags listed in this section have been predefined by the community administrator and are used as search filters. Project creators can select one or more tags listed, but the tag options are managed by your Customer Success Manager.

Character limits (including spaces)

• Activity Name can include 100 characters.

• Activity Description can include 1,000 characters.

• Adding your own benefiting organization name can include 100 characters.