Ready to start using Volunteer by EverTrue? Follow the steps below to get started on everything from creating pools and adding volunteers and prospects, to getting your volunteers on the platform and using the product!

Configuring Your Volunteer Program

With the team managing the Volunteer program at your institution, first, you will need to decide how you would like to run your program. Then, have a phone call with your Implementation Partner to determine how your will set up the program in EverTrue.

Questions to answer:

• Do you plan on manually creating your assignments or importing them in bulk via our Volunteer Assignment File? If you are unsure, be sure to discuss this with your Implementation Partner who can walk you through the pros and cons of each option, including which data points are best added in bulk via our importer tool.
• What types of pools will you need? Class-based or Affinity-based?
• Should volunteers be able to choose their own assignments?
• Do prospects have ask amounts?
• What stages do you need for tracking volunteer progress
• Who owns the initial pool setup in EverTrue and who owns the process of making updates mid-program?

Here are a few resources to help you get your Volunteer program set up:

• Creating a Pool - Whether you end up with 2 pools or 50 pools, start your set up by creating your first pool. If you are unsure of what a pool is, check out our article "All About: Pools" Your Pool Settings and Goals can be set when you first create your pool - but don't worry, you can always come back and change the settings of a pool at any time.
• Adding Volunteers to a Pool
• Adding Prospects to a Pool

Establishing Secure Logins

We use a secure login system where you can choose to login via basic authentication or Magic Link (learn the Volunteer login process). After accepting your invitation to join Volunteer, you'll be authenticated for 30 days. When your session expires, you can generate a new access link to re-enter the application by clicking 'Send My Link' in the session timeout screen. This is a very secure system, and there should be no cause for concern about leaked information. If you have additional security questions, please email our EverTrue Support Team: genius@evertrue.com.

Up Next

1. Viewing the Volunteer Experience - Before inviting your Volunteers, you may want to test Volunteer by EverTrue yourself. Setting up an admin pool and allowing your Volunteer Program staff to test the product will help set them up to successfully support your Volunteers once you go live.
2. Inviting Volunteers - Once you're ready, you can begin inviting your Volunteers to the platform.

Defining Volunteer Components

The following are terms you will come across regularly as you work in Volunteer:

Pool: Pools are the highest level object in Volunteer. They are how you categorize and group sets of volunteer and prospect relationships. More on what a pool is can be found here! 

Volunteer: Volunteers are constituents you're asking to advocate for your institution. Volunteer records are imported from your database.

Prospect: Prospects are constituents that your volunteers will engage on behalf of your institution. Prospect records are imported from your database.

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Additionally, these are the sites that you will be using in your work with Volunteers: 

Volunteer by EverTrue: The platform your volunteers will use to access and manage their prospects. There is also a mobile platform available to your volunteers for both iOS and Android devices. 

EverTrue: Within EverTrue's Advancement Platform, you'll have an additional module called "Volunteers" where internal staff can manage your institution's volunteer program and platform. 

Volunteer Help: A volunteer friendly help site, containing articles and step-by-step guides to help them get started and/or answer any additional questions they may have. This site is managed and maintained by EverTrue.