Manage all aspects of your volunteer program in Bloomerang Volunteer, a robust volunteer management system (VMS) that integrates with Bloomerang CRM.
This flexible system manages all stages of the volunteer lifecycle and supports all types of volunteer opportunities. Bloomerang Volunteer includes both web and mobile apps.
In Bloomerang CRM, take advantage of volunteer information synced from Bloomerang Volunteer:
Cultivate volunteers as prospective donors
Convert donors to volunteers
Increase engagement, giving, and retention with communication personalized for volunteers
Run reports and view analytics for the Bloomerang-created Volunteer group
See an accurate engagement level for each constituent, which is based on the number of volunteer activity interactions
In this article:
Tip: If you manage volunteers in a system outside of Bloomerang CRM, and require only volunteer tracking in Bloomerang CRM, see Track Volunteer Activity.
Connect to Bloomerang Volunteer
Bloomerang Volunteer is a paid add-on for Bloomerang CRM users. To add Bloomerang Volunteer to your subscription, email [email protected].
Tip: After you add Bloomerang Volunteer to your subscription and have an account, you can go to Bloomerang Volunteer directly from Bloomerang CRM.
After you purchase the Bloomerang Volunteer add-on, generate an API key:
In Bloomerang CRM, click Settings.
Click Users.
Click your username.
In the API Keys v2.0 section, find the API key for Bloomerang Volunteer.
Select Generate.
Enter a name for the API key, such as “Bloomerang Volunteer.”
In constituent records, Created and Last Modified timestamps include the API key name and your username. Example: Created 5/1/2023 by APIkeyname-username.Select Generate.
In the API Key column, click the API to copy it.
Next, apply the API key to Bloomerang Volunteer. For instructions, read Bloomerang CRM Integration.
Note: The API key you generate is tied to an individual Bloomerang CRM user account. If the Bloomerang user account that generated the API key is deleted, the API key is also deactivated and any integrations that use the deactivated API key, including Bloomerang Volunteer, are no longer able to connect to Bloomerang CRM. Bloomerang Volunteer notifies Bloomerang Volunteer Organization Managers if a problem with the API key is detected. For more information, read Bloomerang CRM Integration.
Use Bloomerang Volunteer
Bloomerang Volunteer helps you manage your volunteers and volunteer opportunities.
Before the opportunity: Set up role-based permissions, registration forms, scheduling, rostering, and confirmations. To recruit volunteers, design the signup workflow and promote activities. To screen volunteers, collect work experience, interests, qualifications, and availability. Volunteers browse your opportunities and sign up.
During the opportunity: While onsite, manage attendance tracking, hours tracking, schedules, and reminders. Use the mobile app to adapt to onsite changes, track volunteers, and communicate in real time. With patented three-tier broadcast messaging, volunteers receive your messages through the mobile app, SMS, or email.
After the opportunity: Download reports for event and shift check-in/check-out, and hours worked.
For information about how to use Bloomerang Volunteer, go to the Bloomerang Volunteer Help center, Learning Academy, and User Guide (PDF).
Understand the Data Connection
Bloomerang Volunteer connects to Bloomerang. These connected systems exchange volunteer-related information with each other.
For example, when you add and modify volunteers in Bloomerang Volunteer, those changes sync to Bloomerang CRM. In Bloomerang CRM, when you add or modify constituents in the Volunteer group, those changes sync to Bloomerang Volunteer.
Volunteers synced from Bloomerang Volunteer are added to Bloomerang CRM as constituents. For example, if you sync 50 new volunteers from Bloomerang Volunteer, Bloomerang CRM creates 50 new constituent accounts. In Bloomerang Volunteer, you can control which volunteers sync to Bloomerang CRM.
Sync from Bloomerang Volunteer to Bloomerang CRM
This list explains how volunteer information syncs from Bloomerang Volunteer to Bloomerang CRM.
In Bloomerang Volunteer, You… | As a Result, Bloomerang CRM… |
Create a volunteer record | Creates a new constituent and adds the constituent to the Volunteer group. |
Update a volunteer record (first name, last name, address, email address, mobile phone number, or date of birth) | Updates the constituent record (first name, last name, address, email address, mobile phone number, or date of birth). |
Delete a volunteer record | Removes the constituent from the Volunteer group. |
Add hours worked | Adds a read-only interaction to the constituent’s timeline that includes the date, subject, note, volunteer activity and hours, description, purpose (“Volunteer Activity”), and channel (“In Person”).* |
Update hours worked | |
Remove hours worked | Removes the interaction. |
* If you add aggregate team hours to a volunteer record in Bloomerang Volunteer, the aggregate hours appear in the interaction.
Sync from Bloomerang CRM to Bloomerang Volunteer
Only constituents who are members of the Bloomerang-created Volunteer group sync to Bloomerang Volunteer. To sync, members of the Volunteer group must be active constituents with a first name, last name, and email address.
Bloomerang CRM does not sync volunteer activity or hours to Bloomerang Volunteer.
This list explains how constituent information syncs from Bloomerang CRM to Bloomerang Volunteer.
In Bloomerang CRM, You… | As a Result, Bloomerang Volunteer… |
Add a constituent to the Volunteer group | Creates a volunteer record unless it exists already. |
Update a constituent who belongs to the Volunteer group | Creates a volunteer record unless it exists already. |
Delete a constituent who belongs to the Volunteer group | Keeps the volunteer record, if it exists. Bloomerang CRM no longer syncs information about this constituent to Bloomerang Volunteer. |
Remove a constituent from the Volunteer group | Keeps the volunteer record, if it exists. Bloomerang CRM no longer syncs information about this constituent to Bloomerang Volunteer. |
Merge constituents (kept account belongs to the Volunteer group) | Updates the volunteer record if the constituent record has updated fields, and those fields are configured to sync to Bloomerang Volunteer. |
Merge constituents (kept account does not belong to the Volunteer group) | Bloomerang CRM no longer syncs information about either constituent to Bloomerang Volunteer. |
Start Syncing Volunteer Data
You must use Bloomerang Volunteer to turn on automatic syncing or to start a manual sync. For more information, read Sync Data with Bloomerang CRM.
View Synced Data
In Bloomerang CRM, you can view data synced from Bloomerang Volunteer. Read View Data Synced from Bloomerang Volunteer.
In Bloomerang Volunteer, you can view data synced from Bloomerang CRM. You can also download a log file, which tells you:
Whether a sync was successful
Whether a sync created or updated records
The number of changes
The user who initiated a sync
Other information
Make sure to check the log file periodically to make sure data is syncing successfully. Read Sync Volunteer Data with Bloomerang CRM.