How To: Set Up a Volunteer Event

If you are looking to host a Volunteer event for your team, look no further, Groundswell has got you covered! Admins can now create Volunteer events directly in their Groundswell Admin portal. 

Step 1: From the left side menu of your admin dashboard navigate to "Volunteer" 

Step 2: Select “Manage Events” 

Step 3: Select “Create an event” 

Step 4: Add your event details. We recommend adding as much detail to your volunteer events as possible! This will ensure your employees get all the information up front (including any event waivers they may need to sign) and help your event coordinator ensure the event goes smoothly!

Two things to keep in mind:

1. The event description allows for rich text, so feel free to hyperlink any relevant information that your employees may need for the event (i.e. waivers, additional information on the charity you are supporting, etc)
2. If you mark the event as private, only the people you invite will see the event
3. The event image is optional

Step 5: Add your event schedule, including your shifts and capacity.

Shifts - blocks of time within an longer volunteer event that people can sign up for that specific time period

Capacity - the amount of people that can attend a volunteer event

Recurring event - check this box if this event will be a recurring volunteer event option for your employees (i.e. financial literacy program at a school, this may happen multiple times a year/quarter)

Step 6: Add registration questions (optional) 

Step 7: Select metadata (optional)

You will want to use this feature if you are targeting employees who have specific skills that are important for the event or are located in the area the event will be hosted.  

Step 8: Configure event settings

Volunteer hours - determine how you want this specific event's volunteer hours to be logged and approved 

Event notifications - select which notifications you would like to send to your event participants 

Add event subscribers - find and subscribe admins to stay up to date with the event via email notifications

Step 9: Click "Finish & Preview" 

Step 10: Publish the event. Once published, your event will be available to your employees to RSVP.  

Step 11: Click "Invite employees" to be able to select which employees you want to invite to this specific event. 

Step 11a: Select the employees you want to invite. To invite everyone click the box on the header bar. 

Step 11b: Once you've selected the employees you want to invite, click "Invite # employees" on the top right to send an email to everyone that they've been invited to the event. 

Manage Participants

Event emails: 

If you want to send an email to your event participants (reminder or event updates) you can do so by select the employees you want to send the email to and send a message to those participants! 

Download participants: 

This gives you the opportunity to download a CSV report of your participant details (i.e. who checked in, who RSVP'd, who logged hours, etc).