❖ Heads up! This article is only intended for Site Managers.

User Groups help you categorize volunteers based on shared affiliations or skills, like churches, schools, workplaces, or specialized training (e.g., doctors, tradespeople, veterinarians). You can assign User Groups to specific Needs or Opportunities, or use them to manage volunteers with unique qualifications.

For organizations managing court-mandated community service, User Groups offers a secure way to handle sensitive volunteer information and related opportunities.

ℹ️So you know, some sites have language overrides. This means you might see Needs instead of Opportunities or Agencies instead of Programs.

Create a User Group

You can create and add User Groups in bulk! Here are the steps to create and add User Groups on your site:

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Click Add New User Group.
Fill out the Create User Group form.
Click Create User Group to finish.

Key Fields

Field	Description
Status	Active: The User Group is live and visible to users. Pending: The group remains hidden until its status is changed to Active. Inactive: Use this when you're ready to archive or remove the group from public view.
Title	Give your User Group a clear, relevant name—e.g., Changemakers, University of Tennessee Undergrads.
Public Description	Displayed in the User Group banner. If left blank, the banner will not appear.
Private Description	Used for internal notes or sensitive information. This description is not visible to the public—ideal for court-mandated service groups or other discreet records.
Allowed Domains	Automatically assign users to the group based on their email domain. Example: If you enter @example.com, any user who registers with an @example.com email will be added to the group automatically.
Icon, Color, Text Color	Customize the User Group banner’s appearance. These settings only apply if a Public Description is provided.
Show Resume to Members	Enable this option to allow User Group members to view their resume, which includes logged hours and activity associated with the group.
Allow Members to Leave User Group	Yes: Members can remove themselves from the group. No: Only Site Managers, Advanced Program Managers, or User Group Leaders can remove members.

Adding User Group Members

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Select the User Group.
Scroll to the User Group Members section.
Type the name of the user you want to add in the field by Add New Member.
Select the user from the dropdown and click Add New Member. The user's name only appears in the dropdown if they're registered on your site.

Volunteers need a registered account to be added to a User Group. If they don’t have one yet, simply share a join link so they can create an account and join easily.

Removing User Group Members

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Select the User Group.
Scroll to the User Group Members section.
Click the (X) icon under the Options column for the user or users you want to remove.

Add or Remove User Group Members in Bulk

You can quickly add or remove users from a User Group with the User Filter!

Go to Volunteerism > Users.
Click User Filter.
Filter for the users you want to add to or remove from a user group.
Beside Actions, use the Select An Action dropdown to select Add/Remove User Group.
Select either Add to or Remove from the following user group.
Select the User Group.
Click Update User Groups.

User Group Leaders

You can assign User Group leaders to help manage User Groups. The User Group leader can add or remove members, manage the roster, export a list of group members, copy and share a join link to the group, and view the User Group resume.

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Select the User Group.
Scroll to the User Group Members section.
Check the box under the Leader column for the member.

Add Needs or Opportunities to User Groups

You can add Needs to User Groups in bulk!

Go to Volunteerism > Needs or Opportunities.
Select a Need/Opportunity from the table.
Either select the View User Groups link under the Need/Opportunity Link or scroll until you see the User Groups section.
Select a User Group from the dropdown menu beside the blue Add User Group button.
Click Add User Group.

Add Join Questions

Join Questions are especially useful for organizations, Agencies, or Programs that offer volunteer opportunities for court-mandated community service. Once the User Group is created, you can return to add custom join questions.

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Select the User Group Title from the table.
Scroll until you see Join Questions and click Add Join Question.
Select the Status.
Select the Type.
- Small and Large Text Fields: These fields allow users to enter custom responses.
  - Small Text Field: Best for brief answers.
  - Large Text Field: Ideal for longer, more detailed responses.
- Dropdown: Presents users with a list of options. Only one selection is allowed. An Options field will appear—enter each answer on a separate line.
- Checkbox: Lets users select multiple answers from a list. As with Dropdown, type each option on a new line in the Options field.
- Radio Button: Similar to Dropdown, but displays all options at once. Users can select only one answer. Each option should be entered on a separate line in the Options field.
- File Upload: Allows users to upload documents—ideal for collecting paperwork or supporting files during onboarding or registration.
Type the question.
Decide whether this question must be answered.
- Toggle On to make it required.
- Toggle Off to leave it optional.
Click Save Custom Question to finish.

View Join Question Answers

You can view the answers User Group members have submitted to your join questions from the User Group page.

Go to Volunteerism > User Groups.
Select the User Group Title.
On the Update User Group page, scroll to the User Group Members section and click Export Members. This downloads the User Group member list to a .CSV that includes each user's answer(s) to the join question(s).

Creating User Groups: Site Managers