Charity Republic FAQs

PREB-Ontario Volunteer Certificates

A Volunteer Experience Recognition Program, PREB-Ontario is a standardized volunteer recognition system facilitated by the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN). Once an organization becomes PREB-Ontario certified, they can integrate and populate volunteer information from Charity Republic into volunteer recognition certificates. Click here to view a sample certificate.

Connecting PREB-Ontario and Charity Republic

Connect Charity Republic and PREB-Ontario following these 5 simple steps:

1. Visit the main Organization section (i.e. select your organization’s name along the left-hand side) in Charity Republic

2. Select the PREB-Ontario tab and click the Connect with PREB-Ontario button to open the PREB-Ontario website

3. Log in on the PREB-Ontario site and click Admin

4. Under Synchronization Tools, choose Charity Republic Sync (this will take you back to the Charity Republic site)

5. In Charity Republic, choose which organization should be associated with PREB-Ontario and click Connect with PREB-Ontario

preb-connect (3)

Sending Information to PREB-Ontario

Once you have connected the two systems, you can start sending information from Charity Republic to PREB-Ontario to populate certificates. Charity Republic shares the following information with PREB-Ontario:

First Name, Last Name, Gender and Age Group
Email, Address
Organization Name, Position Name
Total Hours volunteered

To send volunteer information and hours to PREB-Ontario, follow these two simple steps:

1. Visit the main Organization section (i.e. select your organization’s name along the left-hand side) in Charity Republic

2. Select the PREB-Ontario tab and click the Send to PREB-Ontario button

After sending volunteer information and hours, you can issue certificates for volunteers from within PREB-Ontario.

To learn more about Charity Republic’s partnership with the OVCN, read more here.

To become PREB-Ontario certified or to learn more about the certificate program, please contact the OVCN here.

Role Description Templates

Template role descriptions are available to pre-populate Volunteer Opportunity and Position postings. There are over 500 roles based on the National Occupation Classification (NOC) codes and the work of the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN) who have created sector specific role descriptions informed by NOC.

When in the Opportunities or Positions section, simply click on the button (top-right) to access all of the role descriptions
Search for specific roles (e.g. Fundraiser) using the Search field along the top, then select and review the role description which includes information regarding the affiliated NOC code(s), tasks/activities, skills/competencies, and related occupations
Select the or button to populate the following fields: Name, Contact, Description in the Volunteer Opportunity or Position postings respectively

Tracking Financial Contributions

Q. How do I track a volunteer’s financial contributions in their Charity Republic profile?

A: Within the volunteer’s profile, navigate to the ‘Demographics’ tab along the left-hand side navigation – immediately following the ‘Referral’ field, you are given the ability to note whether a volunteer is a Donor, Fundraiser, Sponsor (or all three!).

donorfield

TIP: You can generate a report to track all of your volunteers’ financial contributions using the ‘Volunteer Demographics’ Report.

Formatting Your Logo

Q. My organization’s logo doesn’t look right when I upload it – how can I make sure that it doesn’t get cut-off?

A: Because you’re uploading your logo to fit within a circle icon on Charity Republic, you’ll need to make sure that you upload either a squared/icon version of your logo, or format your existing logo so that it doesn’t get cut off.

To format your logo, you can utilize a free online editor like Pixlr using these easy steps:

Ensure that you have a saved copy of your logo on your desktop
Navigate to the Pixlr editor here and select ‘Create new image’
Set the values in both the ‘Width’ and the ‘Height’ boxes to 1000 then select ‘OK’
Along the top navigation bar, select ‘Layer’ and then choose ‘Open image as layer’ from the drop down that appears
If your logo appears centered on the canvas with plenty of white space around it, you can select ‘File’ and then ‘Save’ from the top navigation bar and upload it to Charity Republic as normal
If your logo appears on the white space but is too big with little to no white space around it, select ‘Edit’ and then ‘Free Transform’ from the top navigation bar to manipulate the size of your logo
Once the logo is centered on the canvas with plenty of surrounding white space, follow the steps above to save your new logo to your desktop and upload it to Charity Republic

NOTE: If you have access to a photo editor such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP (a GNU Manipulation Program), you can follow these similar steps utilizing your personal desktop software if you prefer.

Sign In and Out of Shifts

Q. What is the Shift Sign In/Out Option and How Does it Work?

A: The sign in and sign out feature allows your volunteers to log hours similar to how they would with the traditional sign in binder

The volunteers log into their account, then click the sign in button on their dashboard, and when their shift is done they click the sign out button
When a volunteer signs out, a volunteer hour entry is automatically created – they can then add comments, description, skills and submit as they normally would to their supervisor for verification

To finish adding hours:
1. Select Position field
  - This is the position the hours are affiliated with (Note: volunteers can have multiple positions within an organization)
2. Select the Type of hours to be recorded, either a Shift or Block of hours
  - If a Shift, then record the dat and specific times volunteered (Duration will be automatically calculated)
  - If a Block, then record the date range and number of hours volunteered (in the Duration field)
3. Enter a Description of the volunteer experience
4. Record the skills learned while volunteering in the Skills section
5. Save or Save and Submit hours and activities for approval.

Note: When hours are submitted for approval, they are shared with the Supervisor of the position for approval via the Notifications section.

TIPS

The sign in and out feature can be used by volunteers and managers in several different ways, depending on the needs of your organization. Any computer or mobile device (e.g. phone, tablet) can be used to access this feature.

Volunteer Driven Sign In/Out:

Scheduled volunteers can use the sign in/out feature for shifts. They simply log in, click Sign In when they arrive and Sign Out when they leave (see detailed instructions above).
Unscheduled volunteers can also use the sign in/out feature following the above instructions.
A tablet, computer or phone can be set up for volunteers to sign in/out as they arrive or leave the premises.

Volunteer Driven Hour Tracking:

Volunteers can track their hours at any given time using our Hours feature
Hours tracked this way will be sent to the Supervisor of the volunteer’s position for approval
More details on the Hours feature can be found here

Manager or Supervisor Driven Sign In/Out:

Managers, Supervisors or designate(s) (e.g. Front Desk staff) can take the lead and responsibility to have volunteers sign in/out via the Manager or designate when they arrive and leave
Managers can sign in/out volunteers from a computer or mobile device (e.g. smart phone)

Volunteer Registration and Sign Up

Q: How do I register as a volunteer with Charity Republic?

The organization you volunteer for will send you an email inviting a volunteer to register an account with Charity Republic. Both the subject line and the message will include the name of the organization you are volunteering for.

click here

Select the Accept link in the email message (outlined in red here). This takes you to a Charity Republic registration page.
Ignore the fields where you can enter a username and password. These are for existing users. Below this is the option to create an account.
Select button (outlined in red) to create an account with your own username and password. You will then be taken to the volunteer registration page.
Select button after entering your details. You will automatically be signed in and you can start using Charity Republic right away.

NOTE: This is the username and password you will use to log in moving forward. The Log In page is accessible via Charity Republic’s home page.

NOTE: A volunteer can’t register directly on Charity Republic (i.e. via the Register button on our home page; that’s the registration page for organizations). Volunteers must receive an email invitation to register an account (as per instructions above).

NOTE: A volunteer can register with a different email then the email used for the invitation. You can check the General tab on the volunteer’s profile to view the email used when signing up.

Click here to download this information as a PDF document to share with your volunteers.

Icon Guide

Icon	Name	Description
	Create/New	“+” (plus) symbol is used add something new (e.g. new volunteers, new shift, new opportunity)
	Help Menu	A question mark will appear on all pages as a help menu for the page. Click to review.
	Messages/Inbox	Communicate with your volunteers in the messaging section. Select the Message icon > select the “+” symbol to compose a message > select the recipients > enter a subject and message > and hit Send.
	Notifications	Notifications appear here, including shift requests, hour submissions, birthdays and anniversaries.
	Positions	Add or assign positions within your organization here. Select the: Department, Site, Supervisor and Description associated with the position Or, select the opportunity that the position is associated with in order to create a position within the system.
	Sites	Add sites and include general information such as name of the site, a description, address information and contact information for the site.
	Attachments	Add attachments here, such as a volunteer’s resume.
	Comments/Notes	Add private or open notes here. Notes are by default private so only Administrators and Supervisors can see the note. These is the option to make the comment viewable by a volunteer.
	Hours	A volunteer or volunteer manager can add hours, either as a shift or block of hours. Add a description and skills learned then Save or “Save and Submit” hours for approval.
	Achievements	Add Achievements for a volunteer including police checks, certifications and awards. Create custom achievements via the Organization tab.
	Scheduled Volunteers	View scheduled volunteers and whether they accepted or declined a shift.
	Available Positions	Indicates how many volunteers are needed and how many volunteers are scheduled and confirmed their shift.

Emergency Contacts

Q: Can I add an emergency contact for a Volunteer?

A: Yes, you are able to add multiple contacts for a volunteer including an emergency contact(s).

To add a new contact, select a volunteer, then select the Contacts tab in the volunteer’s profile
Click , then select the contact type (Emergency) from the drop down menu. Add the contact name and relevant contact information (e.g. phone number, email address)

Attachments

Q: Can I attach a file to a volunteer’s profile?

A: Yes, you are able to add multiple attachments (e.g. photos, resumes) to a volunteer’s profile in the Attachment section as well as in the Achievements section.

To add a new attachment, select a volunteer, then select the Attachment icon or Achievement icon
Click the plus symbolto add a new attachment in the Attachment section OR select the Attachments tab in the Achievement section
Select the Choose File button to add the desired attachment and add a brief description about the attachment

NOTE: There is no storage limit for attachments, although an individual attachment (i.e. one file) must be under 25MB in size.

Adding Volunteer Opportunities

Q: How do I add a volunteer opportunity?

A: Visit the Opportunities section to post opportunities for your volunteers or to recruit new volunteers.

Select thebutton (top right) to create a new volunteer opportunity
NOTE: Most fields are optional and can be completed if applicable.
In the General tab, enter the following information:
- Enter Name of the opportunity (e.g. Front Desk Receptionist)
- Dates (date range the opportunity is active)
- Department / Program that the opportunity is affiliated with
- Select the Site for the opportunity
- Select the Contact for the opportunity
- Enter a Description of the opportunity
- Publication Dates (date range for an opportunity to be viewable by your volunteers or the public). Learn more about Published and Public opportunities here.
In the Position tab, select the position that an opportunity is associated with (if applicable)
In the Goals & Benefits tab, enter the Goals and Expected Benefits
In the Qualifications tab, enter the Required Qualifications and Training Provided
In the Scheduling section, enter the time Commitment description, Duration details, and Timeslots that are needed
In the Demographics section, enter the Required Gender and Required Age range for the opportunity (if applicable)
Enter the Required Skills for the opportunity. Which skills are required for this opportunity?
Enter the Developed Skills for the opportunity. Which skills are developed in this opportunity?
the opportunity. Select to save and view the volunteer opportunity posting (i.e. this is the view existing and potential volunteers will see).

NOTE: When Published, existing and potential volunteers can input their contact information to express interest in a volunteer opportunity. All entries will appear in the Applications tab of the Opportunities section. opportunity apply