Advanced Features guide - Using Volunteer Bucks

Getting the most out of the Volunteer Bucks platform can help organisations save time and costs when recruiting and managing volunteers. Once you know the basics, familiarise yourselves with the advanced features so that you can raise your organisation's profile, promote your opportunities effectively, and reach more potential volunteers.

Here are some of Volunteer Bucks' advanced features:

1) Invite registered users to follow your organisation

You can directly notify Volunteer Bucks registered users about your new volunteer opportunities or general updates if they are members of your organisation on Volunteer Bucks. To use this feature, simply invite them to become a member - read the How do I invite people to become a member? guide.

Unlike moderators or administrators, members are not able to make any changes to your organisation profile or create opportunities (unless you specifically allow them to).

2) Display your Volunteer Bucks opportunities on other websites

Increase the reach of your volunteer opportunities by embedding them on your own website, on social media, or on other websites that can share opportunities. This will also save you administration time as you will not have to rebuild custom posts for each website. Read this step-by-step guide to find out how.

3) Use data and analytics to manage users, opportunities, activity, and visualise your impact

Data and analytics can help your organisation's administrators and team leaders identify trends in volunteer applications, member engagement, and other metrics. It can also help with reporting and checking how your organisation's profile is performing on the platform.

Using the data tables, you can use your organisation page as your own customer relationship management (CRM) tool. It can help you to manage your organisation's interactions with past/ current/ new volunteers, or as a portal to export information to be used separately.

Using analytics, you can generate reports on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis on a range of criteria. Read Best practices: using data and analytics to see how your organisation could access insights into your account.

The Activity Reports and Impact Hours feature gives organisations the ability to not only find volunteers through the platform but also to measure the impact they are making with the help of those volunteers.

4) Streamline your onboarding process using forms

To gather more information about the volunteer when they apply, add custom forms to your activities or opportunities. You can also use one form for multiple activities or opportunities. Read this guide about adding forms.

5) Request files from volunteers

You can ask a volunteer to upload a file when they apply for your opportunity/ role in cases where you need specific information. For example, a CV, drivers' licence, or application form. Find out more by following this guide.

Our Advances Features webinars go through all these tips for organisations in more detail and give the opportunity to ask any questions. To book your place at the next available date, visit our Webinars for Groups page.