Creating Tasks for Volunteers in the VMS – GiveCampus University

Note: This functionality is only available for VMS administrators who have Handler permissions for a given volunteer role. See the FAQ below on how to make an administrator a Handler.

Creating a Task for a single Volunteer

Navigate to the "Tasks" page
Select the Volunteer
Create a title for the Task and quick description

Creating a Task for Multiple Volunteers

From the "Tasks" page, scroll down to "Create Tasks for Multiple Volunteers"
If you would like to assign a task to all of your volunteers, simply check the box at the top of the tab that reads “Assign this task to all volunteers that you manage”
If you’d like to assign a task to a specific subsection of your volunteers, you can use the query builder to configure and fine-tune your list

Click on the dropdown menu and select which option you'd like to use to filter your volunteer list (e.g. class year, role, affiliation)
If necessary, you can select even more configurability options that open up (e.g. alumni from specific class years, as shown in the screenshot below)
Once you’ve created your list, be sure to hit “Save Conditions” at the bottom of the tab
To learn more about working with multiple conditions in the query builder, check out this GCU article!

Once you’ve filled out the text fields and set up your conditions, you’re ready to send the task out to your volunteers. Before doing so, you’ll have the option of checking a box that reads “Create a new task for each individual assignment,” which will create a distinct task for each of your volunteer’s assignments.

Once you’ve completed your customization, hit the “Preview Tasks” button at the very bottom of the page. This will take you to a list of all the volunteers your task will be sent to. Once you’ve ensured that the list is to your liking, hit the “Assign Task to Volunteers” button at the top right of the page, and confirm that you’d like to create your task. And you’re done!

The task creation wizard and assigning by role

When you create or edit a task, GiveCampus uses a four-step wizard with a progress bar showing your current step (for example, “Step 1 of 4 — Task details”, “Step 2 of 4 — Volunteers”, etc.). Use the Next and Back buttons to navigate between steps.

On Step 2 — Volunteers — choose the assignment method using a toggle with two modes: By role and Specific volunteers.

Search when assigning specific volunteers

When you select Specific volunteers on Step 2 – Volunteers, a live search field appears above the volunteer picker. This feature helps you quickly narrow down long rosters so you can select only the individuals who should receive the task.

How it works:

The search field displays the placeholder Search volunteers... and is labeled for accessibility as Search volunteers.
The field appears only when the assignment toggle is set to Specific volunteers and remains hidden in the By role mode.
The search filters by any partial name fragment in a case-insensitive manner. Results update immediately as you type, so you can refine your list on the fly.
Selections are preserved even if a volunteer temporarily disappears from view due to filtering. They remain checked and will be included once the query is cleared or changed.
If no matches are found, the picker displays No volunteers match your search. This message indicates that the list has been filtered rather than actually being empty.
If there are no volunteers in your school, the picker shows No volunteers yet to indicate an empty state.
The search query resets each time you open the task-creation modal, ensuring a fresh start for every new task session.
This search functionality is available in every location where the task-creation modal is accessible: the Tasks dashboard, the Volunteers view, and the Segments view.

Tip: Enter short fragments of a volunteer’s first or last name to quickly locate individuals on large rosters.

Selecting By role displays a checkbox list for multiple roles. The helper text explains: "The task goes to every volunteer in the selected roles, across your chosen segment."

Important details when assigning by role:

You must check at least one role before you can proceed with a new task.
When the task is published, assignments go to every volunteer in the selected roles.
For existing tasks, you can update a single role only; multi-role selection is available only during the initial creation and publishing of a task.
Once a task has been distributed, role changes are blocked and cannot be saved.

When editing an existing task, the role section is labeled Assign to role and displays: "Pick the roles this task should be assigned to. To assign specific volunteers instead, create a new task." The modal title reflects Create a new task for new tasks and Edit task for updates. The final button is labeled Publish task now when creating a task and Save changes when editing one.

FAQs

Q: Who can create tasks?

A: Only Administrators who have Handler permissions can create tasks for volunteers. Handlers can only create tasks for volunteers who they manage via their Handler permissions.

Note: The term “ Handler” may be customized for your school

Q: How do I give an administrator Handler permissions?

A: Select "Handlers" from the navigation menu, then the “Add Handler” button. Select an administrator from the dropdown menu and the either check the box that reads “This handler should manage all volunteers” or define the volunteers they manage. Click “Add Handler.”

Q: Can my volunteers be notified when I create tasks for them?

A: Yes! You have the option of sending email notifications to your volunteers when you create tasks for them. If you’d like to use this feature, email us vms@givecampus.com, and we can enable it for you.

Q: Can tasks be deleted once they’ve been sent?

A: Tasks cannot be deleted once they have been sent out, but they can be edited — open the task and choose "Edit task," then "Save changes." Note that a task's role assignments cannot be changed after it has been distributed, so double check before hitting send!

What volunteers see on their dashboard when you assign task groups

When you assign a task group, it appears as a card on the volunteer's personal dashboard. If no groups are assigned, the tasks section shows a prompt informing the volunteer that tasks will appear once an admin assigns them. Volunteers do not need special permissions to view these groups.

Each task group card displays:

The group name
The number of constituents in the group
A status badge that indicates the deadline (for example, "Due Jun 10"), progress (for example, "2/5 done"), "Overdue" if the deadline has passed with incomplete tasks, or "Completed" when all tasks are finished
An action button labeled for the outreach type (for example, Email, Text, or Call)

Task groups are sorted by deadline, except that pinned groups appear at the top and completed groups are moved to the bottom. This arrangement lets volunteers focus on urgent and pinned assignments while pushing finished groups aside.

Only task groups assigned directly to a volunteer are visible on their dashboard. Inactive groups—such as drafts, archived groups, or those with future start dates—are excluded. Additionally, standalone tasks that aren’t part of a group are not shown.

Tasks completed tile

The Tasks completed tile shows a volunteer’s progress across visible task groups. It displays a completed and total task count and, when tasks are assigned, a badge showing the overall completion percentage. Clicking the tile scrolls down to the tasks list.

Quick action for email task groups

For task groups with an email outreach type, the card includes an Email button that opens the compose window directly, allowing the volunteer to start their outreach immediately.

Understanding volunteer task statuses

The task detail panel displays five distinct volunteer status badges: Completed, In progress, Incomplete, Blocked, and Declined.

Completed — All assignments for the task have been finished.
In progress — At least one assignment is complete, but the volunteer still has pending work.
Incomplete — No assignments have been completed.
Blocked — The volunteer cannot continue due to an issue.
Declined — The volunteer has explicitly declined the assignment.

How these statuses appear in the admin UI

Volunteer list tabs: The task detail panel organizes volunteers into three tabs:
- Needs attention: Includes volunteers with Blocked, Declined, Incomplete, or In progress statuses. Even volunteers with In progress status remain here until they've completed all assignments.
- Done: Shows only volunteers with the Completed status.
- All: Lists every volunteer regardless of status.
Remind volunteers button: The Remind [N] volunteers button targets everyone in the Needs attention group. This means both In progress volunteers and those who haven’t started will receive reminders.
Volunteer performance breakdown: The performance section features a segmented progress bar with counts for each status, including a dedicated In progress segment alongside Completed, Declined, Blocked, and Incomplete.
Main Tasks dashboard and detail sheet: Each volunteer row displays its corresponding status badge. Volunteers with partially completed assignments show the blue In progress badge.
Volunteer experience: The In progress status on the admin side matches the volunteer dashboard card, which shows a "N/M done" summary when some tasks remain incomplete.

Using these statuses effectively

Prioritize nudges: Use the Needs attention tab to target both inactive (Incomplete) and partially complete (In progress) volunteers with reminders.
Identify blockers and declines: Blocked and Declined statuses help you quickly spot volunteers who may need additional support or who have opted out.
Measure overall progress: The segmented performance bar offers an at-a-glance view to help determine if a large number of In progress assignments might indicate a workload or timing issue.

Notes:

A volunteer is marked In progress only after completing at least one assignment while others remain.
Volunteers with no completed assignments remain in the Incomplete category, and those who finish all tasks move to Completed (and appear in the Done tab).