❖ Heads up! This article is intended for Volunteers. Are you a volunteer seeking support with your volunteer account, or do you have questions about a specific site? See the How to Get Help with Your Volunteer Account section of the How to Find Your Organization's Site article for more information!
By the end of this article, you will be able to:
Understand what a User Group is and how it works
Join and access your User Groups
View assigned Needs or Opportunities
Track hours and manage your User Group participation
Overview
A User Group allows site managers to organize volunteers who share something in common, such as:
Workplace or school affiliation
Shared skills
Scheduling availability
You may also gain access to private Needs or Opportunities assigned only to your User Group.
In some cases, you can respond to a private Need or Opportunity through a direct link, even if you are not part of the assigned User Group.
ℹ️ So you know: Some sites use different terms. For example:
Needs instead of Opportunities
Agencies instead of Programs
Joining a User Group
You may be added to a User Group in several ways:
A manager adds you manually
You receive an invitation link
You register with an email domain linked to a User Group
Important notes:
New accounts are not automatically added unless an allowed email domain is configured
Allowed domains only apply to new accounts created with that domain
Existing users are not automatically added
Once you are part of a User Group, the My User Groups option appears in your profile.
Assigned Needs or Opportunities
To see what is assigned to your User Group:
Select your profile image or initials.
Click My User Groups.
Select View Needs or Opportunities.
Available options may vary by site setup.
User Group Leaders
If you're assigned as a User Group leader, then you can review and export a list of User Group members and add or remove User Group members.
User Group Resume
The User Group resume includes:
A Snapshot of the group's impact, like total hours, impact value, number of members, and Need or Opportunity responses
Important Data is displayed in graphs, capturing the group's most impactful months
Which Needs or Opportunities, or Agencies or Programs, are associated with the group
Who has submitted hours, and how many
You can view your User Group resume from the My User Groups area.
Click your profile image or initials from the top menu bar.
Select My User Groups.
Click View Resume under the Reporting column of the My User Groups table.
If you don't see the View Resume button under the Reporting column of the My User Groups table, the site's manager may have disabled the resume view for User Group members.
Additionally, the 'Hours by User Group' report relies on accurate hour logging under User Groups. If hours are missing, it may be due to not selecting a User Group when logging time. Volunteers should check their logging practices to ensure data is attributed correctly.
Adding Hours to a User Group
If you need to add hours for a User Group:
Click your profile image or initials from the top menu bar.
Select Track Hours.
Complete the Hour Type and Hour Details fields. Under Hour Details, select your User Group from the User Groups dropdown.
Complete the hour submission form.
Click Submit Hour Entry when done.
Leaving a User Group
If you wish to leave a User Group:
Click your profile image or initials from the top menu bar.
Select My User Groups.
Click the (X) under the Options column. A pop-up appears asking you to confirm your selection.
ℹ️ So you know: If the User Group has any private Needs or Opportunities assigned to it, you'll lose access to them after leaving the group.
If you don't see an (X) under the Options column of the My User Groups table, the site's manager has disabled the ability for User Group members to remove themselves.