We are happy to announce a new update to VolunteerMatters!

VolunteerMatters is excited to announce a new release of VolunteerMatters. This release represents a significant investment in the redesign of the Project Catalog and Project Pages for an improved volunteer experience.  This update also includes a new system for uploading and managing project images. 

These updates while extremely helpful will not substantially change the system's interface so there's no "training" required. We just want to make sure you know these features are now available to you. There is nothing you need to do to receive these improvements and they are all included.

The update includes the following highlights:

• New Project Catalog Design
• New Project Page Design with Background Images
• Volunteer Shift Monthly Calendar Display
• New Project Image Upload Functionality
• Project Image Library Access 

Details:

New Project Catalog Design

The update includes a new Project Catalog design with default project images!  If a project image is not specified on a project, a default system image will be used in its place.  If a project image is configured, that image will be displayed in the catalog. If you have a default image you would like to use for your system please do not hesitate to contact support! It also moves the list of project needs to the project page itself to allow faster load times and more unified look and feel. 

Here is a view of the new catalog:

Here is the old Project Catalog page for comparison:

New Project Page Design with Background Images

The update also includes a new streamlined Project Page design with background image, Google maps (if applicable), and a new volunteer shift monthly calendar display. The default project images are also used on the Project Page.  As well as default background images if one is not specified.  

Here is a view of the new Project Page:

Here is the old Project Catalog page for comparison:

Volunteer Shift Monthly Calendar Display

With the new Project Page design, a new volunteer shift project need display is used.  It now includes a monthly calendar view that displays the current month's volunteer opportunities and allows the volunteer to scroll through the upcoming months and click on specific dates or days of the week to display shifts that match their selections!

For example if you click on the Day of the Week column heading in the calendar it will display all the shifts available for that day in the list of opportunities on the right where the volunteer can then click the "Volunteer" button for more information on that particular need. 

New Project Image Upload Functionality

We are also extremely pleased to announce a project image uploader on the project setup page.  Previously to utilize a project image you needed to enter a full image URL into the Project Image URL field on the project setup page. This required the administrator or organizer to have access to am online location to upload images and then take that full image URL and paste it into the project setup configuration.  Many times a an organizer or administrator did not have access to a file library location so they would not use a project image.  Now with the project image uploader, the administrator/organizer only needs the image itself and can upload it right on the project setup page!

NOTE: The new project background image requires a full image URL to be configured.  If one is not explicitly configured, the project page will use the project image as the background.  If a project image is not defined, the project page will use a default background image.  Both the default project and background images can be customized to any image desired. Just contact support with the images you would like to use!

Click here for more information on managing project images (coming soon).