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Add a New Activity
Updated over a month ago

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

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  1. Check the box beside the Classification options to associate them with this activity.

  2. 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.

  1. Check the box “Select administrators to be notified for this activity”

  2. Check the box beside each administrator that should receive Activity Notifications for this specific activity.

    1. Note: Administrators will also need to have Activity Notifications selected in the Miscellaneous section of their profile.

  3. 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.

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