You can use your Connect site to log all of your volunteer hours. Hours show up on your volunteer résumé, and they can be used by the nonprofit later on to strengthen requests for funding and other support. So remember to log your hours!

Hours fall into two categories on a Connect site:

  • Those that are associated with need responses you've made on the site
  • Those that are not associated with need responses you've made on the site ("individual hours")

This article covers the following topics:

Note: It is not necessary to log your hours if you checked into the need at the time, such as through a kiosk. Those hours are logged automatically.

Logging Hours for a Posted Need

To log hours for a posted need:

  1. Log into your Connect site.
  2. Click the Add Hours button at the top of your screen to open the Track Hours page.

    Note: Alternatively, you can click on your profile dropdown (located where the blue circle is in the image above) and select Track Hours, and then click Add Hours, located under the Volunteer Hours heading.

  3. Click Yes under the Hour Type heading. (By clicking Yes, you indicate that the hours you're posting are related to a need you responded to previously on your site.)
  4. Select a need from the Need dropdown.
  5. Enter the hour details, including the date and number of hours.
  6. Complete all other Hour Details fields that apply. If a User Group field is listed, select a user group as applicable. A user group field may or may not be required, depending on your site's settings.
  7. (optional) If other people who are not registered volunteers joined you for the volunteer opportunity, you can add plus-one hours to account for their time. If you select the Yes radio button, you will see additional questions.
  8. Click Submit Hour Entry.

Note: Depending on the site's settings, you may need to review your entries before verifying the submission. Also depending on the site's settings, your hours may or may not need to be approved before showing up on your volunteer résumé.

Logging Individual Volunteer Hours

"Individual hours" are hours that are not associated with a need response in Get Connected. Some Get Connected sites require that volunteer hours be related to a need response, but some sites allow posting of "individual hours." If your site allows this, follow the instructions below to log your hours.

  1. Log into your Connect site.
  2. Click the Add Hours button at the top of your screen to open the Track Hours page.

    Note: Alternatively, you can click on your profile dropdown (located where the blue circle is in the image above) and select Track Hours, and then click Add Hours, located under the Volunteer Hours heading.

  3. Click No under the Hour Type heading to indicate that the hours are not related to a previous need response on your Connect site. Depending on your site's settings, you may be required to provide the email address of someone who can verify your individual hours.
  4. Complete all applicable fields under the Individual Details, Hour Details, and Description headings.
  5. Click Submit Hour Entry.

A record of these hours is displayed on both your volunteer hours record and your volunteer résumé. In addition, your volunteer résumé will display the location/organization you entered, the date, the number of hours, and other data (if provided). 

Viewing Hour Details

To view all of the details of your hours (including any custom questions) select the needs and click the Export Hours button. This will generate a spreadsheet with all of your hours information.

Editing Your Hours

You can edit your volunteer hours as long as they have not yet been approved. Both traditional and individual hours can be edited by the volunteer who submitted them.

To edit your hours:

  1. Log into and click on your profile dropdown in the top right-hand corner of your site.
  2. Select Track Hours to open the Track Hours page.

    Note: Alternatively, you can click the Volunteer Hours area of your dashboard, located just below the Welcome message.

  3. The Track Hours page displays your previously submitted hours.
  4. Click the pencil icon to edit hours. Note that the approved hours do not have a pencil icon and cannot be edited.
  5. Make your changes.
  6. Click Update Hour Entry.

To edit hours after they have been approved, you should contact the agency manager or your Connect site manager.