Volunteer Forms Training Webinar

Create volunteer registration and volunteer sign-in forms using the Responsive Forms tool.

Meeting Summary for Volunteer Forms

The trainer led a session on building online volunteer forms and registration forms for a website, using DonorSnap. She detailed the process of creating and customizing forms, managing form submissions, and linking forms to the correct records in the database. The trainer also discussed how to create new fields to the database to use in the form, and the process of building a registration form.

Building Online Volunteer Forms With DonorSnap

Responsive Forms link to the DonorSnap database, allowing volunteers to both sign up and log their hours. The trainer emphasized the importance of understanding the DonorSnap database’s functionalities before delving into the form-building process. 

DonorSnap Database Functionality and Forms

The trainer explained the functionality of DonorSnap, focusing on the differences between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ information so that you can choose the correct form type. She clarified that the former includes basic contact details that rarely change, and these would need a Contact form. The latter, which corresponds to the ‘volunteer’ tab, is date-related, detailing a person’s activities and interests over time, and would need a Volunteer Hours form. The trainer also confirmed that no new fields can be added directly to forms; instead, new fields should be added to the database in order to be used in a form.

Form Builder Tutorial and Customization

The trainer detailed the process of creating a form using a form builder. She demonstrated how to add and customize various fields, including mandatory fields like ’email’ and ‘date’, and optional fields like ‘comment’. She also showed how to modify the form, emphasizing the importance of certain fields and changing the text for specific fields. Finally, she explained how to review the form and locate the form link.

Volunteer Hours Form Demonstration and Usage

The trainer demonstrated how to use their volunteer hours form, explaining its functionality such as adding hours, the option to embed the form on a website, and the inability to build calendar-type forms for future sign-ups. She also clarified that the form downloads to her DonorSnap dashboard but does not automatically go into community > contacts. The trainer showed how to monitor form submissions.

Processing Form Submissions

The trainer explained the process of handling newly filled forms. She demonstrated how to link the form to the correct record in DonorSnap using the email, and how to manually link forms to people using their names and last known details. The trainer also discussed the option to create a user account for volunteers to save time when logging their hours daily. Finally, she clarified that the registration feature, which is usually turned off, can be activated for volunteer hours to allow users to save time.

DonorSnap Registration Form Setup and Best Practices

The trainer explained the process of building a registration form using DonorSnap, emphasizing the importance of adding necessary fields to the database and ensuring users agree to the policies. She clarified that the privacy policy and volunteer agreement are separate things and should be edited as needed. The trainer also clarified that while users can’t submit pictures or documents through the form, they can be asked to send these separately after filling out the form. She pointed out that once information is entered into the database, it can be accessed later for reports and communications. The trainer also mentioned a webinar that covers best practices for volunteer tracking.