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Volunteer Connect

Volunteer Connect Events and Schedules

Attention: *EA feature in testing*: This section is under construction while our wonderful Early Adopters try things out!

On the Events/Schedules tab for a team, volunteer coordinators create the schedules for events. Per schedule, they can either assign volunteers who are qualified for each role publish a blank schedule so volunteers can sign up for open assignments, or use a hybrid approach where some are assigned and others can sign up.

As the coordinator creates a schedule, they decide the following:
  • Schedule settings - The name of the schedule, who is the coordinator, whether automatic reminders should be sent, and whether to allow volunteers to sign up.
  • Events to schedule - The available event dates to include on the schedule. Additional dates can be added later.
  • Who is needed - The number of volunteers needed for each role and when their responsibilities will start and end.
The events that are available in Volunteer Connect are visible in the Platform on the Events tab of the Group record. If there are no dates set up in MinistryPlatform, you'll see a message in Volunteer Connect that the event series has no future events available to schedule.
Note: Event times and role times display in Volunteer Connect based on the time zone defined for the congregation/parish.

When the coordinator creates a schedule, it is in a Draft status until they publish it. Once published, assigned volunteers are notified and the associated records are created in the Platform.

Create a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.
  • Your events must be set up in the Platform before you can create a schedule. Make sure each event has a room associated with it under Rooms & Groups.

You can create a schedule associated with one or more event dates for your volunteer team. You'll determine how you want the schedule set up, which event(s) to include, and which volunteers are needed on the schedule.

All of the options you select here are set as the default for all events in your schedule. Note that you can update each option for an individual event later. For example, only one event should allow volunteers to sign up.

  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team you're scheduling.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the event to schedule for, and click Create Schedule.
    Image showing a sample event of Wednesday 7pm Service for the Wednesday Services team along with a Create Schedule button
Select Schedule Settings
  1. Enter the Schedule Name that describes the schedule of events you're creating, such as Early Morning Worship.
  2. Select the Coordinator, which is the person who is in charge of these volunteers. This list includes leaders of this volunteer team.
  3. If volunteers should be able to sign up for open slots on a schedule, toggle on the Allow Volunteers to Sign Up option.
    Tip: This is a great option if you want to publish a blank schedule and let volunteers assign themselves, or if you want to fill in some slots and leave others open for volunteers who are able to serve.
  4. Click Next.
Select Events to Schedule
  1. Select which event(s) you want to schedule. You can add more dates to the schedule later if needed.
  2. Click Next.
Select Who is Needed
  1. Select each role that's needed for this event.
    Note: The roles available to select are based on the Role Titles of active participants, which are visible on the Participants tab of the Group record.
  2. For each role, enter the number of volunteers needed and when their responsibilities will start and end. This can account for any setup or cleanup time needed before or after the actual event time.
    Note: Start and end times help the system know when a person is available to serve in another role on the same day (for the same event or different ones).
  3. Click Create.

The schedule is created with a Status of "Draft". At this point, no records are added to the Platform and nothing is sent to scheduled volunteers, and volunteers can't view this schedule.

You can continue editing the schedule and adding volunteers as needed. When you're ready to finalize the schedule and send volunteer notifications, you can publish it.

Edit a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.
You can edit a schedule before or after you publish it. You might need to:
  • Edit who's needed
  • Remove a date
  • Change the coordinator
  • Add or remove files
  • Add or remove volunteers
  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to edit.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the schedule.
  3. To edit one specific date, click it. Otherwise, to edit all dates at once, stay on the schedule.
  4. Click the ellipsis icon three horizontal dots to open the menu, and select an option.
    • Edit Settings — If you're editing the entire schedule, you can change the Schedule Name, change the Coordinator, or turn on/off the option to allow volunteers to sign up for this schedule. Make your changes, then click Update.
    • Edit Who's Needed — You can change which volunteer roles are needed for the entire schedule or for one date. Select the role(s) you need, and set the number and start/end times, then click Update.
      Note: If you remove a role that's already been assigned, the scheduled volunteers will not be removed. Since they have already accepted the request, they will be moved to an Extra Volunteers section in case you need them at a later time. If you don't need them, you can remove them from the schedule.
    • Remove Date — If you're editing one date, you can remove it. Select whether to notify assigned volunteers that their assignments have been removed for this date, then click Yes, remove.
  5. If you have a file to share with your team, click Add a file and upload the file from your computer. If you're editing one date, you can choose whether to add this file to all future dates on this schedule as well. When you're ready, click Add.

If you edited a published schedule, the associated records are updated in the Platform. If you removed a date and selected to notify volunteers, they'll see that their assignments were removed from the Volunteer Connect dashboard. If you edit a published schedule, you do not need to publish it again; it will automatically update and display to volunteers.

Add Volunteers to a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.

Before you publish a schedule, you'll want to add the volunteers you need for the event.

  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to edit.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the schedule.
  3. Click the date for the event you want to add volunteers for.
  4. For each role, click Add Volunteer and select from the available volunteers. This list includes volunteers who have this role on the team, are in compliance, and are not scheduled for another event at the same time.
    Note: If necessary, you can select from unavailable volunteers, but note the conflict.
  5. Click Add to Schedule.
  6. Repeat this for each role you need to assign on the schedule.
  7. If you realize that you need to change any roles for this particular event, you can click the ellipsis icon three horizontal dots to open the menu, and select Edit Who's Needed.
  8. To add volunteers to other events on this schedule, use the arrows at the top of the schedule and move to the next date.

Publish a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.

You can publish certain dates on a schedule. Publishing a schedule makes it available to volunteers.

  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to publish.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the drafted schedule.
  3. Review the scheduled date(s) you want to publish.
  4. Click the ellipsis icon three horizontal dots to open the menu, and select Publish Schedule.
  5. Select which date(s) to publish.
  6. The Schedule Settings section displays what you selected when the schedule was created. If needed, you can change the settings for the selected date(s).
    You may have set the schedule to allow volunteers to sign up. But now, you don't want to allow sign-up for the particular date you're publishing.
  7. Click Publish.

The Status of the selected date(s) changes to Published, and the associated records are created in the Platform. Assigned volunteers are notified and can see their assignment requests on the Volunteer Connect dashboard.

Unpublish a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.

You can unpublish a schedule to remove it from volunteer view and continue drafting it.

  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to unpublish.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the published schedule.
  3. Click the ellipsis icon three horizontal dots to open the menu, and select Unpublish Schedule.
  4. Select whether to notify assigned volunteers that their assignments have been removed from the schedule.
  5. Click Unpublish.

The Status of all dates on the schedule changes to Draft, any existing volunteer responses are removed, and the associated records are updated in the Platform. If you selected to notify volunteers, they'll see that their assignments were removed from the Volunteer Connect dashboard. If you publish the same schedule at a later date, they must accept or decline the assignments again.

Delete a Schedule

  • You must be an administrator or leader to do this.
You can delete all dates for a schedule if you no longer need it.
Note: If you published a schedule too soon and just want to hide it from view while you continue working on it, you can unpublish the schedule instead.
  1. In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to delete.
  2. On the Events/Schedules tab, locate the schedule.
  3. Click the ellipsis icon three horizontal dots to open the menu, and select Delete Schedule.
  4. Select whether to notify assigned volunteers that their assignments have been removed from the schedule.
  5. Click Delete Schedule.

The schedule and all its dates are deleted, any existing volunteer responses are removed, and the associated records are updated in the Platform. If you selected to notify volunteers, they'll see that their assignments were removed from the Volunteer Connect dashboard.

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Last updated: October 29, 2024