❖ 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.

These tools do not require any activation and are especially useful for managing student and staff volunteer groups or sharing specific opportunities with these organized teams.

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

Relationship Between Teams and User Groups

Teams and User Groups are integrated functionalities designed to streamline volunteer organization. While User Groups are used for skill-based or affiliation categorizations, Teams allow more dynamic, event- or project-specific groupings, with overlap allowing for flexible management.

Additionally, these tools, with features like 'Plus-One Hours,' enable seamless tracking of family member participation even if they do not have separate accounts.

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.

Additionally, User Group leaders can log hours on behalf of group members, which is especially useful for tracking participation efficiently.

Manual vs. Automated Team Management Options

Site Managers can opt for manual team configuration or use automated tools like join links for better scalability. The choice depends on the size and specific requirements of your group.

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.

Using Plus-One Hours for Family Members

The 'Plus-One Hours' feature on the Get Connected platform allows for accurate tracking of volunteer hours for family members who do not have registered accounts. This feature provides flexibility for organizations, enabling them to:

Log 'Plus-One Hours' directly for family members if necessary.
Empower employees to act as team leads to reserve slots for family members and log hours on their behalf.

This functionality ensures all family participation is recorded effectively without requiring every member to create an individual account.

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: Let 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 Da ropdown, 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).

Best Practices for Teams and User Groups

Centralize Communication: Develop standard templates and guidelines for interaction.
Use Built-in Features: Optimize volunteer management with pre-built group tools.
Continuously Update: Adapt team/group roles to match ongoing project needs.
Empower Team Leaders: Provide specialized resources to maintain consistency.
Streamline Family Volunteer Tracking: Use the 'Plus-One Hours' feature for managing volunteer hours for family members without requiring individual accounts.

These practices ensure more efficient and organized volunteer coordination.

Creating User Groups: Site Managers