Volunteer Module

I am looking for the same! Did you ever work out a good system for your institution? We are getting ready to start using this, too, and are a little stumped by what would be best practice for populating the Job field vs. the Volunteer Type field. These seem like they'd be similar concepts, and it only adds to my confusion that Volunteer Type is the field that shows up on the General tab. Since it seems like the primary level of categorization on that tab, it's throwing me off that it's one of several secondary fields on the Job Assignment form. I'm not sure how to populate each of these fields in a way that will make sense. Would really appreciate any ideas from others who have made this work for them!

Usually volunteers are categorized for the type of work they are doing: event, ambassador, mentor, office. Think of jobs as needs, roles, and positions. We need a photographer to take pictures at the bowling fundraiser. Category: event, Job: photographer. It might be helpful to consider reporting needs when building the categories and to work backwards. I recommend using code tables to ensure consistent data entry and to simplify reporting.


The qualifications tab is the place to track skills and experience that can be leveraged for a project. Maybe your volunteer has graphic design or coding skills, maybe they are fluent in seven languages. The availability and interest tab is where you can plug in expressed interest, an email from an alum who lives thousands of miles from your organization who tells you she would be happy to meet with prospective students in her area. The awards tab is helpful because you will know who received which award for volunteer service and when. Volunteer assignments can be tracked on the job assignments tab, and the hours contributed on time sheets. Be mindful of how volunteer hours are captured and again, think of reporting. Are you going to be asked to show y/y comparison for number of volunteer hours?