Volunteer Impact Pages (VIPs) are an exciting tool available to nonprofits, educational institutions, and corporations who wish to share the impact their volunteers are having on their communities. You can use these pages to share the following types of information:
- Volunteer information (top volunteers, volunteer hours, volunteer need responses)
- Progress toward your volunteer-impact goals
- Videos
- Images
- Spotlights
- Links to internal and external pages
This article provides step-by-step instructions for building your platform's VIPs. Specifically, it covers the following topics:
Click here to view our series of videos on VIPs.
VIPs: The Volunteer View
As you will learn in the following section, you can have two different VIPs on your site: an internal VIP for your site's registered users, and an external VIP that you can share with anyone.
Registered users, once logged in, can access your VIP by clicking the VIP icon in the top right-hand area of their Connect screen.
To share your external VIP, you can send its unique link directly via email, post it on social media, or share it in a newsletter or on your website. There is no ready-made icon or button on your Connect site to access the external VIP.
Accessing the VIP Builder
The VIP builder is part of your site manager panel. Access it by clicking Content > Impact Pages in the left-hand menu.
The VIP Builder features three tabs, shown below:
- About Volunteer Impact Pages - Offers general information on VIPs
- Volunteer Impact Page (Public) - Select to build your public VIP.
- Volunteer Impact Page (Internal) - Select to build your internal VIP.
Note: The public VIP is available to anyone on the Internet. The internal VIP can be seen only by registered users of your platform. To limit registrations for your platform, see User Registration Permissions.
Tools for Building a VIP
When you click one of the Volunteer Impact Page tabs shown above, you'll find a content box. The content box is a tool for adding content to your VIP. To add content:
- Click Add Content to Row, located on the right side of the page.
A new Content Type box opens, as shown here.
- Select a Content Type from the dropdown. Click here to learn more about the different types of content you can add.
- Complete all applicable fields.
Note: Fields differ depending on content type. The Content Types section below goes into detail on what is needed for the different content types.
- Click Submit Page to save your changes.
To add additional content:
- Click Add Content to Row if you want the content to be added to the same row. Content that would typically stretch across the page will now take up only half the page.
- To have the new content appear above or below the previous content, click the Add Row to Top or Add Row to Bottom link as applicable.
Viewing a VIP
There are several ways to view a VIP in Get Connected:
- Copy the Page Link URL (provided at the top of the VIP tool; shown below) to your clipboard, and then paste it into a new browser window.
- Click Preview Page, located on the right-hand side of your screen (show above).
Note: If you've opened a preview screen and have since made changes to your VIP, you'll need to click Preview Page again in order to view your changes. Simply refreshing the current preview screen will not display the new changes.
Content Types
You can add up to twelve different content types:
- Header
- Section Heading
- Annual Impact Chart
- Other Charts
- Spotlight
- Video
- Top Volunteers
- Recent Items (agencies, blog posts, photos)
Click one of the content types above for more information.
Content Type: Header
Begin building your VIP by creating an eye-catching header. You have the option of selecting the featured image, deciding on a color, providing a title and text, specifying a link, and even setting that link up to open in a new tab if you wish. Header fields are described below.
| Header Logo | Upload the logo as an image file to your file manager. To upload, click the logo icon. Note: Ideal size is 300 x 225 pixels. |
| Header Alt Text | Type the text that should be displayed when a user hovers their cursor over the header logo. |
| Color | Select the color of the header banner. You can do this by choosing a color or by entering a hex code. |
| Title | Type the header title. |
| Subtitle | Type the header subtitle. |
| Icon | If you are including a link as part of the header, select an icon to accompany the link. |
| Link | Type the link. You can include the http:// indicator, but this is not necessary. |
| Link Text | Type the text that people will click to access the link. (Examples of typical link text: "Click here," Learn more," "Go!", etc. |
| Font Color | Select the font color of the link text. |
| Open Link in New Tab | Indicate whether you want the link to open in a new tab when clicked. |
Content Type: Section Heading
A section heading typically stretches across the length of the screen. Below is an example of a section heading.
You can indicate the banner color, font color, text, and icon to be used in a section heading. You can also add the "Powered By" icon to show where the data provided is being pulled from. Section heading fields are listed below.
| Icon | Select the icon to be displayed in the section heading. |
| Title | Type the title of the section heading. |
| Font Color | Select the color (black or white) of the title and icon. |
| Color | Select the color of the section heading banner. |
| Show Powered By | Show the "Powered By" icon. Select this option if the data below the heading is being pulled from the organization indicated in your Site Settings. |
Content Type: Annual Impact Chart
The annual impact chart shows progress toward goals for volunteer matches and volunteer impact for a specified date range. Here is an example:
Indicate goals in date range in Site Settings under the Community Impact tab. Click here to learn more.
Use the VIP builder to enter the "Learn More" links shown beneath each chart.
Content Types: Donut Graphs
Donut graphs are a great tool for showing percentages of a whole. You can use this tool to show the following statistics by agency, impact area, department, or primary interest:
- agency views
- volunteer hours
- value of volunteer hours
- needs
- need views
- responses
Here is an example of a donut graph used in a Get Connected VIP:
This graph shows the top five agencies that are receiving volunteer responses. Hover your cursor over a section of the graph, and you'll see the actual percentage:
To add a donut graph:
- After clicking Add Content, select Donut Graph from the Content Type dropdown.
- Complete the fields provided. Fields are listed below.
Title Enter the title of the graph. While you can use the name of the data set (see below), try to come up with a title that will make the most sense to the people who will be viewing this page. Color Palette Select Cool, Earth, or Hot. The example above displays the "cool" colors. For examples of the other color palette, click here. Data Set Select the data set to display. Range Select the default date range to display. Note that viewers can change the data range as desired when viewing the graph. - Click Submit Page.
Color Palettes
Some elements of a VIP offer a Color Palette option. You can select from Cool, Earth, or Hot. Here are examples of graphs using each of those colors:
| Option | Examples | |
| Cool |  |  |
| Hot |  |  |
| Earth |  |  |
Content Type: Horizontal Bar Chart
Horizontal bar charts are great for showing how things compare to one another--such as how your company's departments compare for donations, the hours of volunteer work done for different interests, etc. You can use horizontal bar charts on your Get Connected VIP to show the following types of information:
- Agency Fans
- Agency Views
- Donations by Department
- Hours by Community Impact Area, Department, or Primary Interest
- Need Views by Community Impact Area or Primary Interest
- Responses by Community Impact Area, Department, or Primary Interest
- Total Value of Hours by Community Impact Area, Department, or Primary Interest
- User Registrations by Department
Here is an example of a horizontal bar chart used in a Get Connected VIP:
To add a horizontal bar chart:
- After clicking Add Content, select Horizontal Bar Chart from the Content Type dropdown.
- Complete the fields provided. Fields are listed below.
Title Enter the title of the graph. While you can use the name of the data set (see below), try to come up with a title that will make the most sense to the people who will be viewing this page. Color Palette Select Cool, Earth, or Hot. The example above displays the "cool" colors. For examples of the other color palette, click here. Data Set Select the data set to display. Range Select the default date range to display. Note that viewers can change the data range as desired when viewing the graph. - Click Submit Page.
Content Type: Vertical Bar Chart
Vertical bar charts are another good tool for showing comparisons. You can use vertical bar charts on your Get Connected VIP to show the following types of information:
- Agency Fans
- Agency Views
- Donations Made
- Need Views
- Need Responses
- Total Value of Volunteer Hours
- User Registrations
- Volunteer Hours
Here is an example of a vertical bar chart used in a Get Connected VIP:
To add a horizontal bar chart:
- After clicking Add Content, select Horizontal Bar Chart from the Content Type dropdown.
- Complete the fields provided. Fields are listed below.
Title Enter the title of the graph. While you can use the name of the data set (see below), try to come up with a title that will make the most sense to the people who will be viewing this page. Color Palette Select Cool, Earth, or Hot. The example above displays the "cool" colors. For examples of the other color palette, click here. Data Set Select the data set to display. Range Select the default date range to display. Note that viewers can change the data range as desired when viewing the graph. - Click Submit Page.
Content Type: Spotlight
You can display spotlights on your VIPs, just as you can display them on your public Get Connected platform. Here's an example of a VIP spotlight:
To add a spotlight, select the Spotlight from the Content Type dropdown and complete the following fields:
| Icon | Select the icon to be displayed. In the above example, the site manager has selected the bicycle icon. |
| Color | Enter or select the hex code to indicate the color of the spotlight banner. |
| Font Color | Select the font color for the banner. |
| Title | Type the spotlight title. |
| Subtitle | Type the spotlight subtitle (400 characters max). |
| Link Text | Type the link text. In the example above, the link text is "Sign me up!" |
| Link | Enter the link that will open when someone clicks the link text. |
| Open Need in New Tab | Indicate whether you want the link to open in a new tab. |
Click Submit Page.
Content Type: Video
Select the Video content type to include a video on your volunteer impact pages. To add a video, you must first upload it to an online video-hosting site such as YouTube or Vimeo. Once it's uploaded, simply copy and paste the video's URL into the space provided.
Content Type: Top Volunteers
Select this content type to show who is logging the most hours on your Get Connected site. You can select the number of volunteers to display (4 or 6), and the date range (month, year, or all time).
Content Types: Recent Items
Select to show your site's most recent agencies, blog posts, or photos.