Volunteer FAQs

What's the difference between volunteers and staff members?

Volunteers are people who help your organization but do not log into your PawPlacer workspace by default. Staff members are account users with permissions and login access.

Can volunteers log into PawPlacer?

No. Volunteers interact through public forms unless your organization separately creates staff user accounts for them.

What statuses are available?

Volunteer statuses include Pending, Active, Training, Inactive, Denied, Suspended, and Blocked.

How do I share the volunteer application?

Use https://pawplacer.com/volunteer/[your-organization-id] or copy the Volunteer Form embed from Settings > Embeds.

Where do pending applications appear?

Pending applications appear on the Volunteers list with Pending status. Open the profile and use Approve or Decline in the pending application alert.

Can I customize the volunteer application?

Yes. Go to Settings > Forms and select Volunteer Form. See Custom Volunteer Forms.

How do I schedule a volunteer?

Open the volunteer profile, scroll to Availability, edit recurring schedule days or one-time shifts, then click Update Schedule.

Where do I see all scheduled volunteers?

Open Volunteers > Schedule. Use day, 5-day, week, or month view, then filter by volunteer or search by name/email.

Can I mark shifts complete?

Yes, for scheduled one-time shifts. Use the checkmark action on the schedule calendar. Recurring schedule blocks do not have completion status.

Can I convert a volunteer to an adopter or foster?

Yes. Use the volunteer profile action menu and choose Convert to Adopter or Convert to Foster. You can keep the volunteer role active or convert them fully to the new role.

Can I tag volunteers?

Yes. Tags appear on volunteer profiles and in the Volunteers list, and the list can be filtered by tag.

Where are volunteer notes and documents?

Documents and Team Notes appear in the left rail of the volunteer profile. Form-driven answers appear in Custom Details.

Can I import or export volunteers?

Yes. Import volunteers through Settings > Data Uploader and export volunteer data from Settings > Export.