Engaging Resources for Volunteer Engagement Professionals
OUR VISION
A world where the professional management and leadership of volunteers is respected, valued and recognized as essential to a civic society.
In this May 2021 Issue:
2021 Series - Member Reviews of Volunteer Management Software Packages
Humorous Attitude of Gratitude
PAVRO LiVE Conference
2021 Series - Social Media Wisdom
Career Opportunities
Member Discussion Forum
An Opportunity to be Published!
Help Find Content for e-Powerline
PAVRO Membership Incentives
Thank you!
This Month's Volunteer Management Software Package Review on Charity Republic + UltiPro + Non-Profit Success Pack by: Jennifer Morawetz
Manager, Volunteers and Students @ CMHA York and South Simcoe
For how long have you used this software?
While at CMHA I have used Charity Republic for about a year as we transitioned to a new organization wide HCM called UltiPro which volunteers now use as well. We have used UltiPro for staff for 1.5 and for volunteers for approximately ¾ of a year. While at Ve’ahavta I used the Non-Profit module within Salesforce to manage volunteers for approximately three years.
Between $300-900 CAD per year based on # of volunteers
Varies significantly based on number of services used
$36 USD per user per month (approximately $550 CAD annually)
How many users can the software capacitate?
Unlimited
Unknown
Comes with 10 free licenses for registered non-profits with the 1 paid account. Each additional account is $36.
How many volunteer records can the software house/accommodate?
Over a $1000 (at the $900 level)
Unlimited
Unlimited
Do you use the software to recruit volunteers?
My organizations did not use it in this capacity; however, UltiPro and Salesforce allow potential volunteers to apply for specific volunteer roles from a weblink, and they create profiles for them to assist in the application and screening phase.
Can the software be used to schedule volunteers/volunteer shifts?
Yes, but we did not use this function.
In a fashion, it is more used for time management then signing up for shifts.
Yes, volunteers were able to log in (with a secure username and password) to sign up, modify and cancel/rebook shifts for any volunteer roles they were assigned.
Do you use this software for one-time volunteers? Regularly scheduled volunteers? Other?
I would recommend this type of system only for regular volunteers and instead use Sign-up zone or a Google Form for one-off volunteers, such as major events.
Is it a Canadian product? If not, where does it come from?
Yes, they are a Canadian organization launched in 2010.
It is US based company
It is US based company
Is it a web-based/cloud-based software? If not, in what format does it come/how do you access it?
All three are web based software packages.
Do you use this software to capture volunteer stats? In your opinion/experience how accurate is it?
We did before switching to UltiPro. Like any system it is as accurate as the users who enter the data.
As we move to a system of prepopulated shifts/hours our stats are becoming more accurate, but we are still in the early stages.
As shifts were preschedule/ prepopulated with volunteer names, staff were required to confirm attendance at each shift and therefore we found the stats to be very accurate. This did require consistent monitoring by staff but as many of the shifts were highly dependent on volunteers’ presence, they were likewise invested in ensure accurate data so we could recruit additional volunteers as needed.
Is it easy to learn how to use this software? (on a scale of 1-10, 1 being super easy)
3
7
6—lots to learn but they have a free online training system to walk through the whole platform.
Approximately, how much time does it take to set-up the software so it “speaks your organization's language”?
Very limited ability to modify
It has very limited ability to modify/adapt to your specific needs and you typically need to work with a service consultant.
It’s very straightforward to adapt the base module to your organization’s needs. Online training and paper manuals are available for free and they have a cloud-based community to connect with others with similar questions.
What is the support you receive from the software company like? Is it timely? Helpful? How’s their customer service?
I really like the fact that they offer a weekly online support session that new users can join to help them set up their system. So I would say pretty good.
They have an online community that you can turn to for support and the ability to submit specific requests for support and they are timely in their responses.
Their customer service was timely and typically were able to solve your issue or provide materials to assist in a timely fashion.
What do you/your team like most about this software? Why?
It was very easy to use and didn’t require significant training or set up time.
That the volunteer hours can be tracked and measured the same way our staff hours are which is critical for reporting purposes.
The fact that our donors and volunteers existed in the same CRM giving us a more holistic understanding of their engagement with our organization.
What do your volunteers like most about this software? Why?
They did not really interact with this system as the data entry hours and profiles were managed by staff.
It allows volunteers to access their own records and how many hours they have accumulated which is beneficial if they need this information for school or other purposes.
It simplified the volunteer shift booking system enormously which volunteers enjoyed, especially for the most popular volunteer roles.
Please name some/any challenges you/your team and volunteers have encountered with this software.
It had very limited reporting options.
It has a significant learning curve for staff and volunteers as well as being difficult to modify.
It does require a fair amount of set up to begin with.
Were you able to overcome any of these challenges? If so, how?
We did manual cross reports from Excel sheets which functioned as a work around.
We have offered numerous trainings to volunteers and staff and are still in the 1st year of use for volunteers, but we are moving in the right direction.
The step-by-step manual was amazing in this area as it allowed an almost fully customized system. Well worth it in the long run.
Do you think the cost of the software is worth it?
It’s a very good price for a stand along volunteer management system.
Only if you are a large organization that utilizes it as a HCM system.
Yes, especially if you already use Salesforce for fundraising.
Can the software information be accessed by or joined with other departments in your organization? (i.e.: the fundraising department)
No
No
Yes
Would you recommend this software to others in the field of volunteer engagement? Why? Why not?
Yes, particularly if you are smaller (less than 250 volunteers) and do not need to connect the data to other systems… but be aware of your reporting needs.
Not as a system to solely manage volunteers but it is an excellent HCM system, and if you use it in that capacity it may be worthwhile to also use it for your volunteers.
Yes, even if you don’t use it as your main organization CRM its cost combined with its adaptive functionality and free training platform were so beneficial to my team.
Thank you Jennifer!
This concludes our 2021 mini series on
Volunteer Management Software Package Reviews...
UNLESS you use a package that has not yet been covered and are willing and able to provide a review for next month!
Here is a list of all of the software packages reviewed in 2021 by our peers to date.
They can all be found in past copies of e-Powerline:
January – Timecounts February – VolunteerHub March – Better Impact April – VSys One May – Charity Republic + UltiPro + Non-Profit Success Pack
Again, are you using any other software we haven't covered?
If so, please email pavro@pavro.on.ca and let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer the review for June – deadline for submissions is May 30th.
Thank you again to all of our software package reviewers!
Adopting a Humorous Attitude of Gratitude Through to Our Bones
by: Ruth Pentinga
As volunteer engagement professionals we are grateful and we are supposed to be grateful for the volunteers we engage and their contributions.
What happens when we’re just not feeling it? What if we’ve woken up and we feel down today or we have a headache or a lot on our mind? What if we struggle to find the words or expressions or feelings for how we’re supposed to be and feel towards our volunteers? We’re human after all.
But we are particular humans in the gratefulness business! Yay and yikes!
Well, I think it starts with us and how we’re feeling grateful in our own lives. When we feel grateful for even the seemingly simple things in our lives, this gratitude can then get into our bones and cascade down and out to those around us.
Sometimes, something as simple as being grateful for indoor plumbing helps to lift our spirits… yes, just envision waking up on a chilly wet morning and having to go outdoors to a cold stinky outhouse to do our “business” while we’re still wiping the sleep out of our eyes! Imagine the creepy crawly things that have taken up residence in said outhouse (spiders for me!). Imagine if someone just got there, right before us (!%$!splack*!)… Yes, adding humour to our gratefulness envisioning can help too. Indoor plumbing rocks!
What about thinking about a pen, with a ready supply of ink, that we use to make our grocery list? Imagine if we had to sharpen a feather (now where is that knife?!), open an ink bottle, dip the feather in the ink every few letters, maybe accidentally knock the ink bottle and get ink splotches on our list (darn it!), and then we have to wait for the ink to dry (blowing patiently on said paper!) before we can stuff the list in our pocket as we then walk miles (ouch, is that a stone in my shoe?!) to the nearest store… you get the idea.
And we can expand this gratitude list to being grateful for: the paper we have to write on, the store where we can go buy the groceries we need, the ability to write out a list, the school where we learned to read and write, the car we may drive or the bus we may take to get to the store, the well-stocked shelves, the fresh products, the grocery carts that help us more easily gather the groceries, the quick electronic checkout process, the money we have to pay for the groceries, the frontline workers who enable us to shop for what we need…
So, all this being said, the next time we have to thank a volunteer, it becomes easier if we can be grateful for the seemingly small (but actually huge!) amazing things in our lives that enable us to get to work where we can feel grateful, deep in our bones, for the wonderful volunteers who give of their time and talents to make the world a better place.
And don’t forget to add humour to that gratitude list—it makes it fun and amusing and solidifies the gratitude in our bones so we can honestly pass it on to others.
our social media corner is on a break for April and May
so be sure to Check back next month for more
important and helpful social media wisdom with Andy!
In the meantime... Do you have a social media question or comment that you’d like answered?
Reach out to pavro@pavro.on.ca and we’ll get it answered next month!
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