Volunteer add and edit pages use the account's volunteer form templates.
Open Volunteer Forms
- Go to Settings > Forms.
- Select the volunteer form type.
- Open a template or create one.
When several templates are available, staff can choose a template while adding a volunteer.
Build a Template
Templates contain sections and fields. You can:
- Name and describe the template.
- Add, edit, reorder, or remove sections.
- Add supported input fields.
- Mark fields required.
- Preview the resulting form.
- Set a template as the default.
Typical sections cover contact details, availability, roles, skills, experience, languages, certifications, references, and agreements.
Synced and Custom Data
Fields that sync to volunteer columns update the corresponding core record values. Other answers are stored as custom details and appear in the profile's Custom Details panel.
In volunteer forms created from the default template, the Skills, Interests, Preferred Roles, and Languages questions sync to the volunteer's skills, interests, preferred roles, and languages. Older forms keep these answers as custom details; the volunteer list, profile highlights, skills report, export, API, and Quick Search (for skills) still read them when the record's own value is empty, as long as the question keeps its default name and stays visible. Certifications stays a free-text question.
Fields configured for list display can be enabled as columns in the volunteer workbench. Keep list columns focused on information staff need while scanning the roster.
Public Application
The default volunteer template controls the direct public application and Volunteer Form widget. The public form omits hidden sections and fields, internal-only fields, tags, record metadata, and protected synced columns. Copy the component from Settings > Widgets.
Volunteer Agreements
Volunteer forms can require a checkbox acknowledgement or drawn signature for the volunteer agreement. Edit its wording in Settings > Forms & Documents > Contracts and select Volunteer.
There is one shared volunteer agreement per organization. Creating multiple volunteer templates does not give each template its own agreement, and separate program agreements such as Doggie Day Out cannot be selected on the public form. You can store an additional agreement signed outside PawPlacer by uploading it to the volunteer's Documents view as a Waiver.
Related Settings
- Settings > Contracts manages volunteer agreement text.
- Inbox > Email Templates manages application and confirmation messages.
- Settings > Data Uploader can include configured volunteer fields during an import.