Getting Started – Charity Republic FAQs

Messaging

Charity Republic comes with a messaging system to help you stay in touch with other members of your organization.

Q. How do I access my messages?

A. You can access your messages by clicking on the icon in the top right corner. Your messages are listed on the left and can be read by clicking them.

Q. How do I send messages?

A. From your message page, click on the icon in the top right corner to create a new message. Select which volunteers you want to send the message to by clicking “Choose volunteers” next to Recipients and checking off the desired volunteer(s). You can add a subject, type out your message, and add attachments as desired. Click Send when you are done. A copy of your message will appear in your inbox.

Each person you sent a message to will receive the message in their Charity Republic account and through their email. When selecting recipients, it will tell you the email address of each recipient.

Q. How do I reply to messages?

A. You can either reply to messages by sending a message back to the original sender through Charity Republic or by replying to the message through your email. Volunteers who do not have a Charity Republic account will only be able to reply to the message they receive in their email.

Q. How do I include my logo in messages?

A. If your organization has a logo, you can include it in your messages by following the steps below:

Click on your organization’s name from the general menu
Select Logo if you are not automatically brought to the Logo page
Click the “Browse…” button to select the image file of your logo from your computer
Click Save and the logo will now appear in your messages

Note: The logo only appears in messages received through email

Volunteer Data Upload Template

Instead of adding volunteers manually one-by-one, we can upload a volunteer list for you.

Click here for the template (available in Google Docs)
Select File
Select Download as > Microsoft Excel

data uplaod form

Fill in the details and send it back to info@charityrepublic.com. We will upload the password protected volunteer information to your account.

NOTE: If you are unable to access this file via Google Docs, then we can email you a copy in Excel format.

Getting Started Guide

A. Set-up your Organization

organnnn

Visit the main Organization tab (i.e. select your organization’s name along the left-hand side) to set up your organization’s profile in Charity Republic.

• General:
– Select Type of organization (e.g. Charity, Non-profit)
– Select Volunteer Centre your organization is affiliated with
– Enter Charity or Non-profit registration number
– Include a general description of your organization. Note: This information will appear in volunteer opportunity posts.

• Upload your organization’s Logo
• Achievements: Add custom drop down achievements such as training programs (e.g. Orientation, AODA Training)
• Options: Select fields that can be edited or accessed by volunteers and/or supervisors. Assign access levels to Supervisors by Department of Site.
• Add Departments / Programs, Sites and Positions within your organization (along top)

B. Add Volunteers

Visit the Volunteers tab to view, add and invite volunteers to use Charity Republic. NOTE: See Tip at bottom for a quick way to upload your volunteers into Charity Republic.

add vol

• To add volunteers, select the symbol and select Create Volunteer
(Note: Add a Supervisor or Administrator here as well)
• If you want your volunteers to access Charity Republic, simply click the Save
and Invite button and they will receive an email invitation to register. Otherwise, simply Save the volunteer’s profile.
• Create detailed volunteer profiles for each of your volunteers, including Contact information, Position, Employer, Language and Skill information. Plus, Attachments, Notes, Hour tracking and Achievements (e.g. police check, awards, training).

C. Post Volunteer Opportunities

Visit the Opportunities tab to post volunteer opportunities for your volunteers or to recruit new volunteers.

• Select the button to create a new opportunity
• Add a Description, Goals & Benefits, Qualifications and Training, Scheduling Requirements, and Required Skills
• Keep an opportunity as an internal post or use social sharing links (e.g. Facebook) or a web link to share volunteer opportunities
sharing

D. Schedule Shifts

Visit the Scheduling tab to schedule volunteers or have volunteers sign up for shifts.

• Schedule volunteers and view the schedule by Day, Week and Month
• To add a new shift, select the symbol
• Enter the name of the shift (e.g. Front Desk Volunteers) and related details
• Volunteers will receive an email message with shift information and they can
Accept or Decline the shift
• View Scheduled Volunteers and whether they accepted or declined the shift
• Check Available Positions to see how many volunteers are needed and how many volunteers are scheduled for the shift

E. Run Reports

• Visit the Reports tab (left-side) and select one of our canned reports (we’re always up for report suggestions too!)
• When you’re done selecting the filters for a report, select the Generate Report button
• View the HTML version or a report (i.e. view the report on our website) or choose to export the report to Excel

F. Communicate

• Select the Mail icon (top toolbar) to communicate and send messages to your volunteers. If your volunteers have an email attatched their profile, they will recieve a copy of the message in their email account.

messaging example

G. Notifications

• Select the Bell icon (top toolbar) to view all notifications (e.g. birthdays, anniversaries, shift requests)

Tip: Upload your volunteers

Instead of adding volunteers manually one-by-one, we can upload a volunteer list for you (click here for the template > select File > Download as > Microsoft Excel).