Charity Republic FAQs

Searching Volunteers

Q: How do I search and filter for individual volunteers, groups of volunteers or for specific volunteer characteristics?

A: There are several ways to search for an individual volunteer or for characteristics of volunteers namely:

(i) Select the Volunteer tab (left-hand side) then use the search bar to filter volunteers.

Use the search box to enter a volunteer’s name, employer, education, or a keyword (e.g. marketing) and select the Search button to filter results. For example, if you used “marketing” as a keyword in several volunteer profiles, then all of those volunteers will be listed.

You can also filter by Access (e.g. Volunteer, Supervisor, Administrator) and Status (eg. Active, Inactive, Pending Approval).

Use the Advanced Search to to access additional filters such as Position, Department, Site, Age, etc.

(ii) The Reports section (left-side) can be used to run specific reports on skills, languages, hours, etc. with several filtering options as well. Visit the Reports FAQs here.

Q: How can I find my inactive volunteers?

A: You can locate your inactive volunteers via the Volunteers tab . Select “Inactive” from the Status drop-down menu along the top OR select the Advanced Search button to filter your volunteers.

NOTE: Status autodefaults to “Active” in the Volunteers tab.

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).

Reports

Q: How does an organization generate reports?

Select the Reports tab (on left-side panel)
Select report type (e.g. Detailed Hours)
Select report filters (e.g. Position)
Select the Generate Report button (top right)
View or print the HTML version of the report, or export data into Excel
Select Export Excel button to generate a report in CSV format

Q: Can reports be exported into Excel?

Yes, all reports can be exported into Excel. Select the Export Excel button to generate a report in CSV format.

Q: Is there a report to track volunteer hours?

Yes, we have several reports to track volunteer hours, a general report and a detailed reports. All reports show the total number of hours and can be exported to CSV format. Simply select the report and generate a new report based on the filters provided.

Hours
Detailed Hours
Volunteer Hours by Position
Position Hours by Volunteer

TIP: What is CSV format?

CSV is a simple file format used to store tabular data, such as a spreadsheet or database. Files in the CSV format can be imported to and exported from programs that store data in tables, such as Microsoft Excel. CSV stands for “comma-separated values”.

Group Volunteers

Q: How do we capture group volunteer information?

A: A group needs to be attached to a person (e.g. the lead contact for that organization) and you can choose to capture all of those contacts separately or maintain that information in one profile. If groups are to sign up, there are several ways to capture that information in our system via the Volunteers tab, namely:

(i) Via Demographics tab > Keywords field

Enter group name in the Keywords field (e.g. Corporate Group) and search for the keywords via the Volunteers tab search bar.

(ii) Via Employers tab > Company field

Enter company name for the group here and search for the company via the Volunteers tab search bar.

Organizations can subsequently use the search bar in the Volunteers tab to search on entries at any time (e.g. search for a Keyword or Employer, and all volunteers with that employer or keyword will be listed).

Q: How do I import volunteers and can I bulk upload information about group volunteers?

A: We can bulk upload volunteers for you. In case you need help uploading your existing volunteers into Charity Republic, we have an Excel template to help you organize the information. When you’re ready, email info@charityrepublic.com to request the template then send it back with all the relevant information. We will upload it for you right away.

Q: Can you link accounts based on family relations?

A: Organizations can use the keywords section (Demographics tab in a volunteer’s profile) to link family members. For example, type in “Smith Family” as a keyword then search for family members with that keyword via the Search bar in the Volunteers tab to view all related family members.

Organizations can use the Comments / Notes section in a volunteer’s profile (top) to indicate connections between volunteers as well.

Site vs. Department

Q: What is the difference between a Site and a Department?

A: A site is a geographic location (e.g. address for the Main Office). Examples of a department and/or program include a Reading Program or Human Resources Department.

Access Options

Q: Which access levels are available in Charity Republic?

A: There are 3 levels of access:

(i) Administrator
(ii) Supervisor
(iii) Volunteer

Q: Do volunteers have access to Charity Republic?

It’s an organization’s choice whether to invite a volunteer to use Charity Republic or not. Perhaps some volunteers are not tech savvy, or an organization prefers to have full control over a volunteer’s profile. Therefore, an organization is not required to invite a volunteer to use Charity Republic.

To learn more about inviting your volunteers to use Charity Republic, visit the Invitation instructions here.

Q: What information do Administrators, Supervisors and Volunteers have access to?

The Administrator has access to everything, including all volunteer profiles and has full control over the organization’s profile (i.e. Departments / Programs, Sites, Positions).

Administrators can choose to hide and disable fields and limit Supervisor access to volunteer information via the Options section in an organizations’s profile (further details below).

A Supervisor has access to most sections, except some of the overarching organization fields. Administrators can limit Supervisor access to volunteer information (further details below).

A Volunteer has the ability to add hours, achievements, update their volunteer profile, and run reports for themselves. That is, if you choose to “invite” and provide a volunteer with access to Charity Republic. Once invited, fields can be locked or hidden from a volunteer’s view as well.

Q: Can the Administrator control the information supervisors have access to?

A: Yes, fields can be locked or hidden from a Supervisor’s view. Administrators can also modify Supervisor access to volunteer information by: Department, Site and Supervisor via the Organization section (i.e. select your organization’s name along the left-hand side) and Options tab.

Department – supervisors can view and access volunteers:
– in any department
– in their department

Site – supervisors can view and access volunteers:
– at any site
– at their site

Supervisor – supervisors can view and access volunteers:
– under any supervisor
– under their supervision

Scenario A:
If you want Supervisors to have access to all volunteers in Charity Republic, then the following fields should be selected (note, this is the system default):

– in any department
– at any site
– under any supervisor

Scenario B:
If you want Supervisors to have access only to volunteers at their site and department that they supervise, then the following fields should be selected:

– in their department
– at their site
– under their supervisor

Organization

Q: Can we white label the site (e.g. with the name of our organization)?

A: Organizations can include their logo and that will be visible to Administrators, Supervisors and Volunteers within your organization.

Q: Can you customize colour schemes of the software?

A : Not at this time. If interested, we can quote you on the custom web development if this is an important feature for you.

Skills

Q: How and where do I capture volunteer skills?

A: Select a specific volunteer and select the Current Skills or Developing Skills sections in the volunteer’s profile (left-side of volunteer’s profile).

The Current Skills are the skills the volunteer currently possesses. Developing Skills are the skills the volunteer wishes to develop when volunteering with your organization.

Our skills listing was developed by the Ontario Volunteer Centre Network (OVCN) and includes the following categories of skills:
Communication, Creative, Finance / Fundraising, Interpersonal, Leadership, Numeracy, Organizational, Personal Qualities, Technical, Technology.

To add a skill, simply click on the skill (e.g. Creative Thinking) and it will appear in the skills box (at the top of the Skills page).

Q: What if a skills is not listed? How do I add a new skill?

To add a new skill (that is not listed), simply type in the skill you desire into the Other field and press <Enter>. The new skill will appear in the skills box (at the top of the Skills page).

Q: If you add skills in the Current Skills and Developing Skills sections, can I search for those skills?

A: Organizations can run a detailed report on skills (with advanced filters) via the Reports section .

NOTE: You can also use the Keywords field (General section) in a volunteer’s profile to track very specific skills (e.g. Piano Player) and search for the keyword via the Volunteers tab . View more details about Keywords here.

Comments / Notes

Q: Is there a comment section or notes section?

A: There is a Notes section in a volunteer’s profile. Organizations can add multiple notes (no limit) and make them private or public (i.e. viewable by the volunteer). By default, notes are private (i.e. the note cannot be viewed by volunteers).

To add a note, select the Notes section and click on thesymbol (top right). Enter a Subject line (e.g. HR Issues) and type in your comment.
the note when complete.

Q: Can volunteers see comments in their profile?

A: By default, notes are private so only Administrators and Supervisors can view notes. However, you can click the “public” check box to allow the comment to be viewed by a volunteer.

Q: Can I add more than one comment or note for a volunteer?

A: Absolutely, there is no limit on how many Comments or Notes you add, organizations can add as many notes as they wish.

Inviting Volunteers, Supervisors, and Administrators

Q: How do I add a new Volunteer, Supervisor or Administrator to use Charity Republic?

A: An organization can add volunteers by clicking on the Volunteers tab then selecting the “+” icon and selecting Create Volunteer or Create Administrator or Create Supervisor. Simply add the following information to create a new profile:

Name: First Name and Last Name of the volunteer.
Status: The status of the volunteer (e.g. Active, Pending Approval).
Started: The date the volunteer started to volunteer with your organization.

General Tab

Q: How do I invite a Volunteer or Supervisor to use Charity Republic?

An organization can invite volunteers, supervisors, or administrators to use Charity Republic by selecting the Save and Invite button on the volunteer’s profile (top right)

The following screen will appear. Enter the email address here (the email address will autopopulate if an email address has already been added to the volunteer’s General profile).

Email Invitation to Volunter, Charity Republic

When the Send button is selected, they will receive an email invitation to create a Charity Republic account.

Q: What does a Volunteer and Supervisor invitation look like?

When a volunteer has been invited to use Charity Republic, they will receive an email message as follows.

Volunteer email invitation text, Charity Republic

Both the subject line and the message will include the name of your organization (e.g. Happy Good Charity Centre).

The volunteer simply selects the Accept link to create a volunteer account with their own username and password.

TIPS:

A volunteer’s username appears in the General tab (first tab on left) of their volunteer profile.

Also, we can upload your volunteers for you. Simply fill out the excel template we provide and share it with us for uploading (it takes 5 minutes on our end)!

Q: How do I know if a Volunteer has accepted the invitation?

A: Select a volunteer. At the bottom of the General tab (first tab on left), it will indicate whether the volunteer has accepted the invitation.

Volunteer has not accepted invitation, General Tab

Q: Can we just add a Volunteer without inviting them to use Charity Republic?
– What if a Volunteer does not have an email address?
– If we don’t invite the Volunteer, are we responsible for adding all of the Volunteer’s information?

A: It’s your choice as a coordinator whether to invite a volunteer to use Charity Republic or not. Perhaps some of your volunteers are not tech savvy, or you prefer to have full control over a volunteer’s profile.

There are several options for updating a volunteer’s profile if you prefer not to invite them to use Charity Republic:

We can bulk upload volunteers and relevant profile information for you. In case you need help uploading your existing volunteers into Charity Republic, we can share the Excel template with you.
Volunteers can update their profile information when they arrive for orientation (e.g. on a work computer)
A Volunteer Manager can request a volunteer to share the necessary profile information and it can be manually added to a volunteer’s profile

You also have the ability to invite a segment of your volunteers (e.g. youth, volunteers that are comfortable with technology). Either way, the Administrator and Supervisor will have access to all Volunteer Profile information for editing if required.

Q: What if my Volunteer does not have an email but I still want them to manage their own profile?

A: The Administrator or Supervisor can send the volunteer invitation to themselves and create an account for volunteers in this situation.

– Select the Save and Invite button in the volunteer’s profile (top right)
– Enter your email address and select Send
– You will receive an email invitation
– Accept the invitation and register as a volunteer

NOTE: Ensure that the Administrator or Supervisor is logged out of their account before “Accepting” the email invitation. Otherwise, the volunteer will be linked to the Administrator or Supervisor account.

Q: What happens if my volunteer registers as an organization (Administrator) instead of as a volunteer?

A: When a volunteer registers as an organization, simply send your volunteer an invitation (see instructions above). The volunteer can then click on the link in the email invitation and instead of registering for another account, they can log in using the same username and password they originally created.

Q: What happens if my Volunteer or Supervisor did not receive the invitation?

A: It’s not common for email invitations to be marked as junk, but sometimes they can get caught through spam filters and go to Junk folders. Please have your volunteer double check their Junk folder. If there is a Search function in the volunteer’s email client, they can also search on “noreply@charityrepublic.com” to locate the email. Finally, a volunteer can add “noreply@charityrepublic.com” to a Safe Senders List so that it does not get blocked in the future.