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Using the Type and the Flags Fields   The Type and Flag fields are located on the Core tab in the volunteer record. These fields provide an easy way for you to categorize volunteers according to any general volunteer classifications you use in your organization, such as:
You can use the Type and Flags fields to find all of the volunteers in a specific category (or categories) to view on the screen; include in a report; send an email to; apply a Checklist item or award to; and more.  In the example pictured above, ‘Harry Bailey’s’ Type is ‘Adult’ and his Flags are ‘Green Team,’ ‘Regular,’ and ‘Telephone pioneer.’ How the Type and Flag fields differ A volunteer can only have one Type in the Type field. Use the Type field to classify volunteers into categories that never overlap in your organization. For example, 'adult' and 'junior' volunteers (other examples: corporate volunteers; student volunteers; employee volunteers). In this example a volunteer would never be an ‘adult’ and a ‘junior’ at the same time, therefore you would use the Type field to track these categories rather than the Flag field. A volunteer can have many Flags in the Flag field. Use the Flag field to classify volunteers into categories where there might be some overlap in your organization. For example 'RSVP' and 'Auxiliary member.' In this example, a volunteer might be both an ‘RSVP’ volunteer and an ‘Auxiliary member’ at the same time. You can use the Flags field to track these kinds of (potentially) overlapping groups because a single volunteer can have multiple flags. If you have no need to classify volunteers like this, you do not need use either the Type or the Flag fields. You can leave the Type and Flag fields empty until you find a need for them, and then go back and classify volunteers using either field. What not to track in the Type and Flag fields The Type and Flag fields allow you to classify volunteers according into a wide a variety of categories to suit your needs. However there are several kinds of classifications that it’s best to track in other places. Assignments Volgistics includes an entire group of features for tracking volunteer assignments (assignments are what each volunteer does in your organization: some volunteer leaders call these ‘jobs,’ ‘placements,’ or ‘service’). These assignment tracking features are connected to other parts of Volgistics, such as tracking volunteer service. Therefore you should not use the Type or Flag fields to show which assignments a volunteer has, and instead use the assignment tracking features to track their assignments. Sites If your organization has multiple ‘sites,’ and you want to use the site-level-access features to allow Volgistics system operators at individual sites to access just ‘their site’s’ volunteers, you should not track a volunteer’s site(s) in the Type or Flag fields. Instead you should use the Site field on the Core tab. Creating Types and Flags The Type and Flag fields both use ‘drop-down list’ fields. To add new items to these drop-down lists: 1. Choose Setup from the menu. 2. Select ‘Field Options.’ 3. Select ‘Core tab.’ 4. Click on the field you want to add items to (i.e. ‘Type’ or ‘Flag’). 5. Enter the new item name in the “Add a new item:" field and then click the Save button. (Note: you use the same steps to add, remove, or merge drop-down list items for all of the fields in the volunteer record that use drop-down lists). Related Help Help Topic 2023 - Find a volunteer record Help Topic 1050 - Selecting volunteers on reports Help Topic 2140 - How to permanently mark tagged records Help Topic 8015 - Type service details (stock) |
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Printable view Help topic 2263 Added or revised 06-14-2006 |