To add a new volunteer, open Volunteers. In v6.0 you will first see the Profile screen. In older versions the Name tab will be the first screen. The procedure is similar even though the screens look different.
At the bottom, click the Add Volunteer button (v6.0) or the Add button (v.5.9 and earlier).
Check for Duplicates
When adding a volunteer, unless you are starting a brand new database you ought to perform a duplicate check to prevent duplicates from being entered. Sometimes a volunteer has been terminated and ought to be restared rather than added.
Turn on duplicate checking in Preferences:
File menu | Preferences | General tab | Duplicate Check: Check for duplicates when adding volunteers.
Enter the new volunteer’s data into the Duplicate Check screen.
Duplicate volunteer check
When you click OK a list of matches will appear, if any exist, for you to evaluate.
Duplicate volunteer check
If you choose Yes, this is a duplicate match, the entry will be cancelled.
Duplicate volunteer check
To bypass the duplicate check, click OK on the initial Duplicate Check screen and you then have a blank volunteer record to complete.
If you choose No, none of these is the same person, the data you entered transfers to a new volunteer record.
The volunteer’s name and starting date are the most crucial entries to create a volunteer record. The Reporter automatically assigns a number. The Reporter automatically assigns today’s date as the volunteer’s starting date but you might choose to back date the volunteer’s Starting Date if the volunteer has already served hours.
Starting Date v6.0 on the Profile tab:
New volunteer starting date v6.0
Starting Date v5.9 and earlier on the Dates tab.
New volunteer starting date v5.9
Before you can add hours for a new volunteer the person needs a placement at a Job or Client position.