Volunteering
Finding helpers by phone and on paper lists means nobody knows who is coming, and nobody counts the hours people give. Volunteering shows every job that needs helpers, lets members put their own name down, and adds up the hours. (Volunteering is a module: see Modules.)
- Open Volunteering in your organisation's menu and press New shift.
- Say what it is for (Summer fair: kitchen), the day, when it begins and ends, the place, and how many helpers you need. Leave the number empty for as many as come.
- Press Open for names. Tick Tell the members and every member gets a notice.
- Members open your organisation under My memberships, choose Volunteering and press Put my name down. When the shift is full the next ones wait; when somebody takes their name off, the first one waiting moves up by themselves and is told.
- On the day, open the shift and mark who came, or press Check-in screen and let helpers scan the QR code or show their card.
Hours count by themselves: a shift with a beginning and an end gives its length to everyone who came (10:00 to 13:00 is 3 hours). For someone who left early, type their own hours next to their name.
A reminder: the day before a shift (or as many days before as you choose under Reminder before a shift at the foot of the Volunteering page, where you can also switch it off) everyone whose name is down gets a message (by email, by WhatsApp if you have it, and in the app). When you cancel a shift, they are told the same way. When you open a shift, tick Also by email and "helpers wanted" goes out as a message too.
Helpers who are not members: tick Anyone with the link can put their name down. Once the shift is open it has a page of its own: copy the link and share it. People give their name and email address, without signing in. They get an email with a button to take their name off again, an email when a place comes free, and a reminder the day before. You can also write someone down yourself: Add someone who is not a member. With the Website part, tick Show it on our website and the shift is listed there under "Help us". On that page they can also tick what they can help with and when they are usually free. The page from their email also shows their pass for the door: a code with a picture to scan. On the Check-in screen, scan it or type its letters, just like a member's card. On the day, that page also has a button I am here; it works while check-in by themselves is switched on for the shift (Check-in screen). Someone who types the email address of a member is put down as that member, so their hours count with their others.
Several shifts at once: on a new shift, under Make several at once, choose a last day and how often: every week (every Saturday in the charity shop), every two weeks, or every month on the same weekday (every second Friday). Add jobs of the day (Kitchen, Stewards, Setting up) and one shift is made for each job. Shifts made together can be opened or cancelled together with one tick.
For an event or a project: choose it under What is it for?. The page of that event or project then has a box "Helpers wanted" with its shifts and a button to make one. Shifts are in the calendar too. With branches, a shift can belong to one branch: it is then for that branch's members.
Who can do what: on the Helpers page, write the skills you ask about (First aid, Driving, Cooking). Members tick what they can do and the days they are usually free on their Volunteering tab. You find people by skill and by day. A shift can be only for members who can do a skill: only they are told, see it and can put their name down. The page also lists the helpers who are not members; Forget takes away everything kept about one.
Hours outside a shift: on the Hours page press Write down hours for a member (Painted the fence, 4 hours). Members can write down their own hours on their Volunteering tab; these wait under Waiting for you until you press Count them or Do not count, and the member is told.
How much was given: the Hours page shows each volunteer's hours for the days you choose: from shifts, written down by hand, and from the work days of your projects (with the Projects module). Save the list as a file with Export. Under Reports there are two more: Volunteer hours and Shifts (helpers needed, names down, who came).
Try it with your own organisation
Free for up to 100 members, for as long as you like. No card, no sales call.