A project is any event, program or initiative around which you would like to organize volunteers. You must be have an 'administrator' or 'organizer' in order to edit project setup. Once a project is created it can be assigned to an 'organizer' who then can manage the project completely (without copy/delete privileges and the ability to add additional organizers).

To edit an existing project, once logged into the volunteer portal with the appropriate role:

1. Click "Projects" (Briefcase Icon) from the main menu.
   
   
    
2. Click Dashboard to the right of the project you wish to edit. 
   
   
    
3. On the project dashboard, click the "Manage" drop-down button () and select "Project Setup".
   
   
    
4. Click the "Edit" button () under the project summary panel.
   
   

Once there you can edit any of the following:


Identification
There are several fields that help to organize the important aspects of a project you may want to label for the benefit of your potential volunteers.
 

Branch/Site/Location – Identify the primary branch/site/location this project should be associated with. If the project is not affiliated with a specific site, it is recommended to select the corporate/main or association site.

Unique Name – Provide a unique name for this project.

Description - The project description is intended to provide a summary of the initiative to existing and potential volunteers. There are several other fields designed to help provide a well-round description of the project. These include an image, address, community partners, goals, contacts, safety information, and the cancellation policy. We suggest a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 500.

Project Image URL – Designate an image that reinforces the branding or goals, or intended beneficiaries of the project.  An image can be uploaded to your project image library within your VolunteerMatters site.

Background Image URL – Designate a background image that reinforces the branding or goals or intended beneficiaries of the project.  An image URL is an internet address that points directly to a specific image, rather than an entire index, webpage or website. Image URLs typically include the image filename and almost always ends with JPG, GIF, PNG or BMP.   You can choose an existing image from your project library to use in this setting.  You will need to upload the file from the Project Image URL "Choose" image button to add images for use with this setting. 

Publish Mode – the mode defines which types of users should be able to see this project in the catalog. If set to public, for example, any type of person may view the project. The different mode settings are as follows:

• Public – Any user, whether they are logged in may see the project.
• Volunteers – Only users who are logged in may see the project.
• Administrators – Only users who are logged in and have administrative rights may see the project.
• Hidden – The project does not appear in the project catalog for any user and is accessible only via its Project Page URL.  It has similar accessibility to the "Public" mode where if you have the URL you can access with or without being logged in.
• Kiosk - The project only appears via the kiosk for sign-up.  It does not appear in the project catalog.  These are typically projects that only have on-site, same day sign-up.  At the moment it has similar accessibility to a combination of the "Volunteer" and "Hidden" modes where if you have the URL you can access it but it requires logging in.

Publish Start Date – The date the project should start appearing in the project catalog.

Publish End Date – The date the project should stop appearing in the project catalog.  This is also the date used for the default display filter in the projects list in the backend as well. 

Extended Information
There are several fields that help to build on the Identification section to organize the important aspects of a project.

Project Address – Enter the full address/location for the event.

Community Partners – Enter any community partners with which your organization is working for this project.

Project Goals - Describe the goals that this volunteer project hopes to achieve. If there are actual metrics (e.g., number of meals served, event participants, books read, or trees planted) then by all means describe them here. This should serve to inspire the volunteer to help in achieving that goal. We suggest a minimum of 50 words and a maximum of 500.

Contact Details - Please list the names and contact information for any volunteer liaisons. These may be from your organization or a partner.

Safety Information - List anything the volunteer must know to be safe when working this project. Examples might include the proper attire, policies, or other instructions.

Cancellation Policy - Describe the policy for event cancellation including methods of notification.

Project Classification
When you are creating or editing a volunteer project, you may identify any number of "tags" to classify your projects.  Tagging helps with several aspects of the VolunteerMatters systems and tools. Create and select one or more tags that best represent the project in each of your defined groups.

For more information on creating groups and tags click here. 

Project Application Settings
This section controls whether volunteers must apply before participating. This functionality is only available with Enterprise subscriptions.  If you are an Enterprise subscriber and do not see this feature, or are interested in upgrading, please live chat with us now from your VolunteerMatters portal or submit a support ticket via email.

Require Project Application - Enable this to require volunteers to complete an application before signing up for needs on this project. When enabled, volunteers must be approved and complete any project level credentials before they can sign up.

Project Application Form - Select the application form volunteers will complete. (Solution coming soon on project application creation).

Required Credentials - Define any credentials (e.g., background checks, training, waivers) required for this project. These are separate from Global Credentials or any need specific credentials you may configure on this project.  For example, you may want to conduct an interview before approving someone for needs on this project. Once approved, they are then presented with any additional credentials specified on the needs themselves.  For example, a background check.  This presents the opportunity for multi-stage credentialing. 

Click here for more information on project applications.

👉 This feature supports structured onboarding and ensures volunteers meet requirements before participating, aligning with VolunteerMatters’ onboarding and vetting capabilities.

Project Shift Settings
Controls how shifts function within the project.

Enable Shifts - Select if Shifts will be used for this project and displayed on the "Manage Needs" page of the project. These types of settings are intended for administrative (backend) use only. Any needs created before a need type is disabled will remain visible to volunteers unless they are removed. 

Shift Attendance Mode - Allows volunteers to self-sign-in from their personal mobile device. Click here for more information on the different modes available.

Enable Personal Kiosk Geolocation – System will check volunteer’s physical location to make sure they are  within a specific range of the project address before allowing them to sign-in from their personal device

Kiosk Geolocation Range – Distance (in meters) the volunteer can be within the project address to consider them to be on-site.

Check-In Window (minutes) – The amount of time (in minutes) before a shift starts that a volunteer may check in (default is 60 minutes).

Check-Out Window (minutes) – The amount of time (in minutes) before a shift ends that a volunteer may check out (default is 60 minutes).

Enable Group Sign-Up for Shifts – If you have a project that allows group participation, you just need to configure the project settings to allow group signup. Click here for more information.

Group Sign-Up Mode – If you have a project where you have enabled group sign-up (above), this setting determines the method of attributing credited hours for this project. The options are "Individual Credited" and "Leader Credited". The leader is the volunteer who signed up the group.  With "Individual Credited", the leader only gets credited for the hours they themselves worked. So if the leader signed up 5 people (including themselves) for a 5 hour shift they would just get 5 hours. With "Leader Credited", the leader gets credited for the total hours the group worked.  So if the leader signed up 5 people (including themselves) for a 5 hour shift they would get 25 hours (5 hour shift times 5 volunteers). Click here for more information.

Project Position Settings
Controls how positions function within the project.

Enable Positions - Select if Positions will be used for this project and displayed on the "Manage Needs" page of the project. These types of settings are intended for administrative (backend) use only. Any needs created before a need type is disabled will remain visible to volunteers unless they are removed. 

Enable Volunteer Self-Report Hours – Each project position has a default number of credited hours. Many times the volunteer will go over this default number of hours. An administrator can manually update those credited hours but a volunteer can also submit their own additional hours if this setting is enabled.  If disabled, the ability to submit hours will not appear as an option to the volunteer. Click here for more information.  Note: Self-reported hours will always appear to the administrator/organizer on the back end when managing the assignment.

Require Approval of Reported Hours - Adds approval workflow for submitted hours. By default, this functionality is only available with Enterprise subscriptions.  It is also available as a paid add-on for the Professional subscription level. If you are an Enterprise subscriber and do not see this feature, or you are a Professional subscriber interested in upgrading or adding the add-on only, please live chat with us now from your VolunteerMatters portal or submit a support ticket via email.

Enable Automated Reminders for Volunteer Self-Reported Hours – This allows an administrator or organizer on the project to enable automated messages to volunteers encouraging entry of their self-reported volunteering hours on a position assignment.  For more information on automated reminders for self-reported hours within VolunteerMatters click here. 

Reminder Frequency – If you have a project where you have enabled automated reminders for self-reported hours (above), this setting determines the frequency of those notifications.  The options are "Daily", "Weekly", or "Monthly".   For more information on automated reminders for self-reported hours within VolunteerMatters click here. 

 

General Need Settings
Controls overall project behavior and volunteer interaction.

Enable Items - Select if Items will be used for this project and displayed on the "Manage Needs" page of the project. These types of settings are intended for administrative (backend) use only. Any needs created before a need type is disabled will remain visible to volunteers unless they are removed. 

Enable Tasks - Select if Tasks will be used for this project and displayed on the "Manage Needs" page of the project. These types of settings are intended for administrative (backend) use only. Any needs created before a need type is disabled will remain visible to volunteers unless they are removed. 

Allow Volunteers Comments – This feature allows the volunteer to add a comment to their assignment. This can be done during sign-up or returning to their assignment. Comments are visible to all logged in volunteers.  An administrator can manually update or remove any comments deemed inappropriate. These are only shown if the "Show Current Assignees" are enabled. If that configuration is disabled volunteers will still be able to submit comments but will only be visible to the volunteer and administrators/organizers on the project.  If this setting is disabled, the ability to submit comments will not appear as an option. Click here for more information.

Show Current Assignees – This feature displays the list of current volunteers signed up for the assignment when a volunteer goes to the need detail from the project page as well as their assignment page.  It will display the volunteers first name and last initial as well as their profile photo if one exists.  If this setting is disabled, the current volunteers on the assignment will not be displayed.  Click here for more information.

Show Current Assignee Contact Detail – This feature is used in conjunction with the "Show Current Assignees" setting above where the volunteer will see a list of volunteers already assigned to the project need.  When this setting is enabled they will not only see the volunteer's first name and last initial but their email and mobile number.  If this setting is disabled, the current volunteers on the assignment will not have their contact information displayed.  Click here for more information.

Enable Volunteer Feedback – With this setting enabled, which it is by default, Volunteer Feedback will be requested for the completed assignments on this project. The volunteer will receive prompts on their Volunteer Dashboard and My Profile page to provide ratings and feedback via a short 3 question survey.  In addition, this feature can be used in conjunction with the "Send automated Thank You messages" setting above where the volunteer will receive a Thank You email after their assignment concludes.  That Thank You email, if enabled, will include information on the Volunteer Feedback and link the volunteer back to their Volunteer Dashboard to fill it out if both settings are enabled. Feedback is not required for Thank You emails and vice versa.  However, if Feedback is enabled, it will be included in enabled Thank You emails unless the email template is updated by support to specifically not request it. Click here for more information on Volunteer Feedback.

Enable Organization Attribution - When enabled, volunteers will be offered the option to attribute their assignment to an organization (employer, club, school group, etc.) when signing up for any need on this project. The Organization Attribution functionality is a paid Add-on module for the Professional subscription level and is included in the Enterprise subscription levels.  If you have any questions about your subscription level and associated add-ons, please live chat with us now from your VolunteerMatters portal or submit a support ticket via email. For more information on Organization Attribution click here (solution coming soon). 

Allow Organization Write-Ins - When enabled, volunteers may type in an organization name that does not appear in the organization list. Has no effect unless Organization Attribution is also enabled.
 

Project Communications
Manages automated and project-specific communication settings.

Send automated Thank You messages –  Thanking your volunteers is a critical ingredient to an extraordinary volunteer program.  With this setting, which is enabled by default, the system will automatically send thank you messages 2 days after a completed assignment.  However, sometimes we may prefer to thank them in ways other than an automated email and this setting allows the administrator or organizer to not send those emails on assignments for this project.  For more information on automated emails within VolunteerMatters click here. 

Send automated Assignment Reminders – Send reminders to volunteers prior to their assignment based on global reminder settings and personal volunteer preferences.  With this setting, which is enabled by default, the system will automatically send reminder messages X number days before the assignment start, based on your system default settings per need type.

The default reminder settings are set with the following frequency and can be updated by an administrator with the configuration administrator role, by clicking on Configuration > Projects and then click the "Edit Reminder Settings" button. 

• Shift Reminders: 10 days before, repeat every 7 days

• Task Reminders: 10 days before, repeat every 7 days

• Item Reminders: 10 days before, repeat every 7 days

• Position Reminders:  None

Email From Name –  This allows an administrator to override the default system email from name on any emails sent from this project.  For example, they can set the email from name to be the project's contact person's name. 

Email Reply-To Address – This allows an administrator to override the default system email reply-to email address on any emails sent from this project. So, when someone clicks reply on that email it will automatically be address to this address. For example, they can set the email reply-to address to be the project's contact person's email.