Wednesday, May 8, 2013

2013 Links Luncheon Photos

Volunteer Hour Tracking Apps





Tracking volunteer hours is one problem that members of several organizations that I am in have. In order to make the task easier, I suggest the two iPhone apps below. The first one allows individuals and the chapter to track hours and to earn prizes by participating in a national contest. The second one allows users to track hours and email them to a program administrator. I recommend using both apps. I have provided descriptions below:

App 1: Reward Volunteers (http://www.rewardvolunteers.coop/faq.php)

Reward Volunteers is a free, easy way to track the time individuals and organizations spend volunteering in the community — and to earn rewards for contributions.

Individuals and organizations may use the Reward Volunteers iPhone app or Web widget to log volunteer activity and to get friends involved by sharing on Facebook or via email. Users can also take pictures using the iPhone app and share them on Facebook.

Users earn points by sharing their activity on Facebook or via email. The more "likes" and comments posts receive, and the more emails from friends, the more points individuals and organizations earn. The more hours a person logs at the organization of their choice, the more opportunities for them and the organizations they serve to win cash and prizes.

The iPhone and web app, created by Chalo Inc. in partnership with the Cabot Creamery Cooperative, uses Facebook Connect to help volunteers track their hours, share photos and post activity to Facebook (http://mashable.com/2012/03/30/reward-volunteers/). 

An example of how the app may be embedded on a website is show here: http://hewitttx.wix.com/wacolinks2#!photo-gallery.

With Volunteerica, volunteers record their hours worked, what they did, and any donations collected. When they're done, they may email the report to their coordinator as a spreadsheet.

This simple app makes it easier for volunteers to track and submit their data, which increases participation and accuracy. The data is delivered to the coordinator in a standard, .csv format, which is easily read by any spreadsheet program.

(Note: users can only record service time in hour increments, so they will need to round up or down).