What Notifications Do Volunteers Receive?

Created by Brittany Crow, Modified on Mon, 05 Feb 2024 at 10:29 AM by Brittany Crow

Heads up! This article is intended for Site Managers. Only Site Managers have access to the Notifications area of the site. 


There are automated notifications triggered by certain actions and events on your site. When these notifications are triggered, they're automatically sent to the designated users. Some notifications are meant specifically for your volunteers. Here we look at what those notifications are and what they do!


 So you know: Some sites use the word "need" in place of "opportunity", "agency" in place of "program", and "prerequisite" in place of "qualification". You can request a language override for your site by contacting us, but the language in templates won't reflect those changes. 


Which notifications are for volunteers? 

The automated notifications that are triggered are sent to different recipient types on your site when they take certain actions, for example, when they reach a benchmark! 


✏️ Quick tip: You can filter automated notifications by the user recipient type! 

1. Go to Communication > Notifications and type the user type in the field under Recipient

2. Click Enter on your keyboard to filter the table! 

For example, if you want to see all of the automated notifications that are sent to volunteers, type Volunteer in the recipient field and hit Enter on your keyboard: 


Here are the different volunteer notification templates and what they do:

Template NameWhat It Does
New User Welcome MessageSends a message to new users when they complete their registration.
Need Response Thank YouSends a thank you message to a volunteer when they respond to an opportunity.
Upcoming Need ReminderSends a reminder to volunteers one week before and again one day before an opportunity they've responded to begins.
Note: This isn't sent for opportunities with a duration type of Flexible—since they aren't date-specific.  
Benchmark AwardedSends a message to volunteers when they reach specific benchmarks.
Notice of Unregistered TeamSends a message to team leaders when a site manager deletes their team. 
Thank You For Your DonationSends a thank you message to a volunteer when they donate. 
Volunteer Weekly DigestSends volunteers a weekly digest of new opportunities and events that might interest them based on their skills and fanned programs.
Volunteer Hours DeclinedSends a message to volunteers when a site manager denies their hours. 
Invitation to Complete Your ProfileThis notification is triggered when you add a new user via Volunteerism > Users > Add New User and check the boxes Don't set a password and Send the Invitation to Complete Your Profile notification
  • A link to the Reset Password Form is included in this notification so they can create their password and log into their accounts right away. 
Invitation to Join the Site and a TeamSends a message to volunteers when a team leader attempts to add them to a team but they don't have an account or the necessary qualifications. 
Invitation to Join a TeamSends a message to a volunteer when a team leader attempts to add them to a team but they don't have the necessary qualifications. 
Unregistered Need Volunteer ConfirmationSends a confirmation message to volunteers when they unregister from an opportunity. 
Notice of Expired QualificationSends a message to volunteers when their qualifications have expired. 
Notice of Qualified StatusSends a message to volunteers when a site manager marks them "Qualified" based on their answers to the qualification questions.
Notice of Unqualified StatusSends a message to volunteers when a site manager marks them "Not Qualified" based on their answers to the qualification questions.
Notice of Resubmit StatusSends a message to volunteers when a site manager marks their qualification answer as "Resubmit".
Note: This is usually when a volunteer answers a qualification question incorrectly and needs to update their answer. 
Qualified for NeedSends a message to volunteers who tried responding to an opportunity and weren't qualified but have now met all qualification requirements and are qualified. 
Schedule AssignmentSends a message to volunteers when a site manager schedules them for one or more shifts.
 
Note: The message field contains all relevant shift information.
 
Schedule RecruitmentSends a message to volunteers when a site manager wants to let them know about an opportunity they can sign up for. Click here to see how this notification is triggered. 
 
Note: The message is triggered from the site manager's Schedule area. 
Track InviteSends a message inviting volunteers to begin or continue a Registration Track. 
User Deactivate MessageSends a message to volunteers after they deactivate their accounts. 
User Imported MessageSends a message to imported volunteers when they're activated. 
User Password Reset MessageSends a message to volunteers when they request to reset their password. 
Need Notification for Agency UsersSends a message to volunteers in a program when a new opportunity has been posted to that program. 
Users: Welcome to the TeamSends a message to volunteers when they've been added to a team. 
Volunteer Self Check-inSends a message to volunteers at 6 am Eastern Time the day of their scheduled shifts.
Note: This is only sent for shift-based opportunities and isn't sent for opportunities with duration types of Happens On or Flexible.
Volunteer Team CreatedSends a message to volunteers when a team leader adds them to a team and enters their email addresses in the system for the first time. 
Waitlist: Volunteer AddedSends a confirmation message to volunteers when they add themselves to a waitlist. 
Waitlist: Space No Longer AvailableSends a message to waitlisted volunteers who were previously notified about an opening. This is sent when a space that was made available is taken by another volunteer.
Waitlist: Space is OpenSends a message to volunteers when a spot opens up for an opportunity or shift they're waitlisted for. 
Waitlist: Volunteer RemovedSends a message when a volunteer removes themselves from a waitlist. 
Need Participation Thank You - One Day AfterSends a thank you email to all volunteers for an opportunity that occurred on a specific date. This notification is sent one day after the date of the opportunity or shift. 
Note: This isn't sent for opportunities with a duration type of Flexible—since they aren't date-specific.