About this feature: The activities feature is used to post the available volunteer positions (roles, jobs, assignments, tasks, etc.). The creation of Activities is required to track volunteer engagement; including contributed hours. Any hours that are recorded for/by a volunteer must be associated with an activity.
Check out our training videos on Activities and Role Creation here: https://www.betterimpact.tv/vi-role-creation/
To create a new activity, navigate through Configuration, then click on “Manage Activities” found in the sidebar under Activities.
Mouse over the Options icon in the “Activities” header and click on “New Activity” (or click the [+ New Activity] button at the bottom of the page).
Tab 1: Basic Info
Activity - Enter name (maximum 200 characters)
Category - From dropdown menu
Select the category you want the activity to be listed under. To learn more about categories please see this article.
Activity Report Group - Enterprise Accounts only; from dropdown menu
Select the activity report group this activity should belong to. To learn more about activity report groups please see this article (link to other article).
Application Form - From dropdown menu
Select the application form to associate with this activity.
If this activity is made public, those who select the activity on your Public Volunteer Page will be directed to the application that is selected here.
Active Status - Check to make active
active activities are available for volunteers to sign up for or for administrators to assign people to
Hours Logging - Check to enable
If enabled, volunteers are able to log hours for this activity
Auto Log Hours - Check to enable
Choose wether the system should auto log hours for this activity. This is only available for
Group Sign Up - Check to enable
If enabled group profiles will be able to sign up for more than one spot
Enable Backup List - Check to enable
Select whether volunteers are able to add themselves to the backup list.
Descriptions
Optional: Enter descriptions
Pre-assigned: Seen by those not yet assigned/scheduled
Post-assigned: Seen by assigned/scheduled volunteers
Internal: Visible only to Administrators
Note: If activities represent support for individual clients within your organization, please keep in mind that using the names of these clients or other client information in the name of the activity, or the description, will make this information visible to all volunteers who can see the activity. Names of activities may also be sent by email, if upcoming schedule data is requested by the volunteer. For privacy reasons, you may want to consider using a different naming convention.
Once your selections have been made select [Next].
Tab 2: Schedule
Choose from five schedule option tabs at the top:
Recurring Pattern: Multiple shift times with a regular pattern
Disjointed: Multiple shift times with no set pattern
One Time: Single shift date and time
Seasonal: Unscheduled within a finite date range
No Schedule: Unscheduled (no set shift times)
For Scheduled Activities add shifts as needed by selecting a template or creating a pattern
Select an existing template
Select date range
Optional: Override Activity Defaults for Maximum and Minimum volunteer for this shift
Click the [Save] button
Enter the pattern of shifts you wish to add (along with the start/end dates)
Optional: Click [Save this as a template] to save for future use
Optional: Override Activity Defaults for Maximum and Minimum volunteer for this shift
Click the [Save] button.
Check out this article for more information on creating weekly or monthly shift templates.
Click [Next].
IMPORTANT: Shifts cannot be added to an unscheduled or seasonal Activity. All shifts cannot be removed from a scheduled Activity. If you have saved the Activity but need to change the schedule type, mouse over the Options icon next the activity and select “Update Activity Type”.
Tab 3: Visibility and Automation
The setting you select here will determine who is able to see and sign up for your activity. To learn more about the sign up process click here.
Visible To - Select which volunteers can see your Activity (Note: if they can see it, they can sign up for it):
Only volunteers who are signed up, assigned or on the backup list
Visible to all volunteers who are: check the status(es) and qualifications (optional) volunteers must have
When "if qualified" is selected here, a warning will pop up if no qualifications have been selected on the subsequent "Qualifications" tab of the activity settings
Public: All of your volunteers can see the Activity (it will also appear on your Activity List signup link to potential applicants)
Self-Scheduling - Automatically assign these volunteers when they sign up for the Activity/shift based on status(es) and qualifications (optional).
If not enabled or if the volunteer does not meet the requirements for self-scheduling, their sign up will require admin approval
When "if qualified" is selected here, a warning will pop up if no qualifications have been selected on the subsequent "Qualifications" tab of the activity settings
Auto Lock - Prevents volunteers from signing up when an Activity/shift is full.
Minimum Volunteers - Minimum number of people needed for the Activity/shift
Maximum Volunteers - Maximum number of people needed for the Activity/shift (triggers the auto-lock)
only required if auto-lock is enabled
Allow volunteers to remove themselves - If enabled, enter a number in the hours box (default will be set as 0)
Cut off signup - If enabled, you can prevent people from signing up for a shift within a specified number of hours before it begins (must be a whole number great than 0)
Click the [Next] button to move on to the Qualifications, or click the [Save] button if no additional settings are needed.
Tab 4: Qualifications
Using the dropdown menus, select the relevant Qualification(s) for the activity.
Volunteers must meet or exceed what you select here to be considered qualified for the Activity. Considered qualified for the Activity can define whether or not volunteers can see it (Visibility) and whether or not they can Self Schedule; as set in Step 3.
Click the [Next] button to move on to the Feedback Fields, or [Save] if you are not adding any Feedback Questions or Classifications (Classifications exist for Enterprise clients only).
Tab 5: Feedback Fields
Check the box next to any Feedback Field(s) to associate them with the activity.
Once associated, volunteers will be able to complete the fields when they are logging hours for the activity.
If the Feedback Field you need for this Activity has not yet been created, you can do so by clicking the [Add New] button
Click the [Next] button to move on to Schedule Classifications (or “Classifications” for Enterprise clients), or [Save] if you are not adding any classifications.
Tab 6: Classifications
Classifications can be used to provide more information for your General Interests, and Activities in your organizations to enable users to search for opportunities. Classifications can also appear on your organizations application form(s) enabling administrators to search for users with specific classification values.
Check the box beside the Classification options to associate them with this activity.
Click the [Save] button, or [Next] to move on to Notifications if your organization has a PLUS subscription.
Tab 7: Notifications (PLUS Subscriptions only)
Plus subscription administrators are able to select for which activities they will receive notifications.
Check the box “Select administrators to be notified for this activity”
Check the box beside each administrator that should receive Activity Notifications for this specific activity.
Note: Administrators will also need to have Activity Notifications selected in the Miscellaneous section of their profile.
Click the [Save] button.
IMPORTANT: If administrators are selected to get notifications for a specific activity, or activities, they will ONLY get notifications for those activities. If an administrator has not been selected for specific activities, they will receive notifications for ALL activities (including those that have administrators specified) based up on the selections made in the Miscellaneous section of their profile.