Volunteer Connect Schedules and Events

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

On the 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:

Event to create a schedule for - Select an existing event from MinistryPlatform or create a new event.
Schedule settings - The name of the schedule, who is the coordinator, and whether to allow volunteers to sign up.
Events to schedule (if part of an event series) - 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. Coordinators can add one-time events from Volunteer Connect, if allowed.

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.

What if an event date changes?

If the date of the event changes, then the date of the schedule will be updated automatically and all Scheduled Participants records will have Accepted reset to N/A. Email notifications will be sent to volunteers so they can accept or decline the assignment for the new date.

Create a Schedule

You must be a volunteer coordinator or leader to do this.

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.

In Volunteer Connect, open the team you're scheduling.
On the Schedules tab, click Create Schedule.
You can choose an existing event that was created in the Platform, or create a new event within Volunteer Connect.
Note: Events created in Volunteer Connect are stored in local memory until you create the schedule. Records are not created in the database until you complete the schedule creation steps.
When you're finished selecting an existing event or adding details for a new event, click Continue.

Select Schedule Settings

Enter the Schedule Name that describes the schedule of events you're creating, such as Early Morning Worship.
Select the Coordinator, which is the person who is in charge of these volunteers. This list includes leaders of this volunteer team.
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.
Click Next.

Select Events to Schedule

If you selecting an existing event that recurs as part of a series, select which event(s) you want to schedule. You can add more dates to the schedule later if needed.
Click Next.

Select Who is Needed

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.
Optional: If you want to differentiate between similar roles, enter a unique Role Label to show to volunteers.
You might have a role defined as "Teacher". But when volunteers are signing up, you'll want them to see which grades they'll need to teach for this schedule. So, you can enter Role Labels of "1st Grade Teacher", "2nd Grade Teacher", and so on.
Or, you might have a potluck dinner coming up. Your Role Labels could be different items that volunteers can bring, such as "Side dish", "Dessert", and "Utensils". Don't be afraid to get creative with Role Labels!
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).
Click Create.

The schedule is created with a Status of "Draft". At this point, no records are added to the Platform, 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 a volunteer coordinator 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

In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to edit.
On the Schedules tab, locate either the date or schedule you want to change.
If you want to edit one specific date, click the schedule name for that date. To edit all dates at once, find the schedule name in the Schedules box on the right.
Click the ellipsis icon 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. The information on the most recent date's schedule displays. Select the role(s) you need, and set the number and start/end times, then click Update. The changes you make here apply to all future dates.
  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.
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 changed a published date that volunteers already accepted, they'll receive a notification that they have been removed from the old date and a notification that they can sign up for the new date. 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 a volunteer coordinator or leader to do this.

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

In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to edit.
On the Schedules tab, locate the schedule.
Click the date for the event you want to add volunteers for.
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 may be able to select from unavailable volunteers, but be sure to note the conflict. If a requirement is strictly enforced (that is, the Requirement record has Strictly Enforced set to Yes), you cannot schedule the volunteer.
Click Add to Schedule.
Repeat this for each role you need to assign on the schedule.
If you realize that you need to change any roles for this particular event, you can click the ellipsis icon to open the menu, and select Edit Who's Needed.
Tip: Changes made to a certain event date will not affect the entire schedule.
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 a volunteer coordinator or leader to do this.

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

In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to publish.
On the Schedules tab, locate either the drafted date or drafted schedule you want to publish.
If you want to publish one specific date, click the schedule name for that date. To publish all dates at once, find the schedule name in the Schedules box on the right.
Click the ellipsis icon to open the menu, and select Publish Schedule.
Select which date(s) to publish.
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.
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 once (as soon as the schedule is published) and can see their assignment requests on the Volunteer Connect dashboard.

Unpublish a Schedule

You must be a volunteer coordinator or leader to do this.

You can unpublish a schedule to remove it from volunteer view and continue drafting it. This can be helpful if you published a schedule unintentionally or too soon and need to edit it before resharing with volunteers.

In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to unpublish.
On the Schedules tab, locate the published schedule.
Click the ellipsis icon to open the menu, and select Unpublish Schedule.
Select whether to notify assigned volunteers that their assignments have been removed from the schedule.
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 a volunteer coordinator 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.

In Volunteer Connect, open the team whose schedule you want to delete.
On the Schedules tab, locate the schedule.
Click the ellipsis icon to open the menu, and select Delete Schedule.
Select whether to notify assigned volunteers that their assignments have been removed from the schedule.
Click Delete Schedule.

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

What would you like to know more about?