Coordinators

Creating a Community

How Do I Set Up A New Community?

Please click here to Create a new Community.

What Do I Do After I Create a Community?

Here are our top three tips for getting started:

1. Add a Coordinator to help setup the Community
2. Add Members who want to help
3. Add an Announcement to keep people in the loop and tell them how you would like to use the Community

Adding Members & Coordinators

How Do I Add Members?

There are two main ways to invite members to your Community.

1. You can invite members through the site. When inviting members through the Administration Tab, members receive an invitation to Join the Community without being approved by a Coordinator.
2. You can share your Community Link with friends and family who can request to Join the Community. When a member requests to Join the Community, Coordinators will have to approve their request before they can access the Community site.

To add members through the site, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Administration Tab
2. Click the purple “Add Members” button at the top right of the page.
3. You can add individual email addresses, separated by commas OR import addresses from your email account in bulk. If you want to import email address from your email account, click the account provider associated with your account – Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Outlook are compatible – you can find your options on the right side of the page.
4. Feel free to add a personal message then click “Send Email.”
5. Be sure to check “Pending Invites” to view members that have not accessed the Community with the invite originally sent. You can re-send an invite at any time from this page.

To share your Community Link, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Administration Tab
2. Click the “Add Members,” purple button at the top right of the page.
3. Click “Share Link” to copy and paste your unique Community Link.
4. Send a mass email to any and all potential members with this link.
5. Make sure to check “Pending Requests” in order to approve pending members.

How Do I Avoid Approving Members?

The only way to avoid approving members is to invite members through the website, rather than sharing your Community Link.

There are two main ways to invite members to your Community:

1. You can invite members through the site. When inviting members through the Administration Tab, members receive an invitation to Join the Community without being approved by a Coordinator.
2. You can share your Community Link with friends and family who can request to Join the Community. When a member requests to Join the Community, Coordinators will have to approve before they can access the Community site.

The reason we require Coordinators to approve members who request to join is to ensure your Community’s privacy. If someone you do not know requests to Join the Community, please reject them until you know they are trustworthy.

How Do I Add a Coordinator?

In order to add a Coordinator, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Administration Tab
2. Click “View Profile” of the person you want to make a Coordinator (which means the person has to have been invited and logged into the Community)
3. Under “Roles and Groups,” click Edit
4. Under “Roles and Groups,” select Coordinator
5. This person will be notified by email of their role change.

Manage Community Information

How Do I Edit the Name and/or Description of My Community?

To edit your Community Name and/or Description, follow these steps:

1. On your Community Homepage, go to “Edit Community Information” located directly below your Community picture.
2. Edit your Community Name in the first text box.
3. ​Edit your Community Description in the text box labeled “Public Description.”
4. All Members will have access to this information, visible at all times on the Homepage.

Is My Community Searchable?

To review whether or not your Community is searchable through the Lotsa Helping Hands “Join Community” page, please login to your Community and look below the Community picture on your Community Homepage. You will see the following items:

1. Community Name
2. Community Start Date
3. Public Search – The status will read either “Yes” or “No.”

If the status reads “Yes,” your Community can be searched on the “Join Community” page as well as Google. However, it is important to note that although your Community is searchable, members cannot access Community information unless they are approved by a Coordinator. The only information that is displayed when searching for a community is the Community Public Description (which you enter when you create a Community), Community Name, Coordinator Names, and Community main photo.

How Do I Change My Community from Searchable to Not Searchable?

To change the status of the Community search feature, follow these steps:

1. On your Community Homepage, go to “Edit Community Information” located directly below your Community picture.
2. Below the text boxes for Community Information, there is a check box: “Allow friends and family to find this community by name and/or postal code.”

Uncheck this box to ensure your Community will not be searchable. However, it is important to note that when your Community is searchable, members cannot access Community information unless they are approved by a Coordinator.

How Do I Delete a Community?

We can delete Communities on your behalf. Please click here to Contact Us and send the Community Name and URL of the Community you would like deleted. We will send a confirmation email once the change has been made.

Coordinating Help on the Calendar

How Do I Sign Up for a Task?

To sign up for tasks, follow these steps:

1. Log into the Community
2. Visit the Calendar Tab
3. Click on the red tasks – these are tasks posted by the Coordinator that need volunteers.
4. Click “Volunteer” and you are good to go!

How Do I Edit or Delete an Activity?

To edit an activity, please follow these steps:

1. Click on the activity you wish you edit.
2. Click “Edit Activity” which is a white button at the top right of the activity page.
3. Go to the section you would like to edit and click the text of this section. You can edit Date, edit Time, edit Description and/or Delete the activity.
4. You should be able to directly edit after clicking this section.
5. Make sure you click “Save” and you should be good to go!