Adding Assignments for your Volunteers

Adding Assignments Individually

Note: You must be a Handler for the role and/or year to be able to assign a constituent to a Volunteer via the "Search Constituents" page

1. Navigate to the Manage Volunteers section > "Constituents" tab

2. Search for the Constituent you hope to pair to a Volunteer 

• You can search either by name or constituent ID, or you can select "Advanced Search" and search by criteria such as class year, activities, and location.

3. Once you have found the Constituent, select the Volunteer from the dropdown box. 

4. Click the "Assign to Volunteer" button.

Caption: Search Constituents Page

Caption: Assign to Volunteer

Adding Assignments in Bulk

1. Navigate to the "Manage Volunteers" section > "Assignments" tab

2. Click "Upload  New Assignments"

3. Upload a CSV file with the following columns: 

• If you have "Shared Assignments" enabled
  • volunteer_id, volunteer_email, volunteer_name, constituent_id, roles, unassign
• If you do not have "Shared Assignments" enabled
  • volunteer_id, volunteer_email, volunteer_name, constituent_id, roles, unassign, overwrite
• Click here for the Assignment File Guide, which includes a glossary and sample Assignments File

Note: To use the unassign (or overwrite) field, set its value to TRUE. Otherwise, leave the field blank.

• Regarding the roles column
  • List only the volunteer's role(s) that should be tied to this row's volunteer-assignment pairing. 
  • The names of roles are case-sensitive and must precisely match the role names in GiveCampus Volunteer Management.
  • If the pairing should be tied to multiple roles, they must be separated by a semicolon with no spaces between the listed roles and the semicolon(s) e.g. "Class Ambassador;Reunion Chair".
  • If this field is left blank, it will default to tying all of the volunteer's role(s) to the volunteer-assignment pairing and make the role filters unusable, and so you should always list the exact role(s) linked to this volunteer-assignment pairing.

4. Once your CSV upload is complete, the Constituents submitted will be paired with the corresponding Volunteer:

FAQ — Partial-Failure Notification Emails for Assignment Uploads

Q: What does the partial-failure email mean?

A: It means that one or more rows in your CSV upload were skipped. The email provides details on which rows were affected and why.

Q: The email mentions that a constituent could not be found — what should I do?

A: Check that the constituent identifier in your CSV exactly matches an existing record in your Volunteer Management System. Look for typos, extra spaces, or formatting discrepancies (such as missing leading zeros). Also, verify that the relevant constituent records have been imported into the system.

Q: How can I fix the failed rows and reapply them?

A: Follow these steps:

1. Review the email to identify the skipped rows and the reasons for failure.
2. Correct any errors in the constituent identifier values in your CSV file.
3. If records are missing from the VMS, add them, then re-upload a corrected CSV that includes only the rows that previously failed.

Q: How do I view previous upload runs and their results?

A: In the Volunteer Management System, go to the Assignments tab and click View Previous Uploads. This section lists past uploads and provides details for each run.

Q: Does a partial failure affect future assignment uploads?

A: No, the partial-failure notification applies only to the affected rows of that specific upload. After correcting the issues and re-uploading, future uploads will work normally.

Caption: VMS Upload Assignments Tab

Caption: CSV Upload of Assignment (Note: the image above reflects the uploader for institutions that are NOT utilizing the "Shared Assignments" feature. The uploader for institutions with "Shared Assignments" will not include an 'overwrite' column)

Removing assignments in bulk (bulk unpair)

Use these workflows to remove multiple volunteer–constituent pairings at once. Choose the appropriate method depending on whether your school has Shared Assignments enabled.

When Shared Assignments is enabled — constituency-based bulk unpair

1. Open Manage Volunteers and select the Assignments tab.
2. In the page header, click Upload Assignment Unpairings (located next to Upload New Assignments).
3. In the Bulk Unpair Assignments modal, upload a CSV with a single column labeled exactly constituent_id.
4. Every active volunteer pairing for each listed constituent will be removed. This unpairing is applied at the constituent level and is not volunteer-specific.
5. Once the file is processed in the background, refresh the page to view updated assignment counts.

Notes for Shared Assignments:

• The Upload Assignment Unpairings button and modal appear only if Shared Assignments is enabled for your school.
• The View Previous Uploads button on the Assignments page header opens a modal with links to both previous assignment and unpairing uploads.

When Shared Assignments is not enabled — pair-specific unassign via CSV

1. Open Manage Volunteers and select the Assignments tab.
2. Click Upload New Assignments and upload a CSV using the standard assignment columns (volunteer_id, volunteer_email, volunteer_name, constituent_id, roles, unassign, overwrite).
3. To remove a specific pairing, set the unassign column value to TRUE for that row. This will unpair that specific volunteer from the corresponding constituent.

Key differences

• The CSV unassign column method removes one volunteer–constituent pairing per row. Use this when you need to selectively unpair volunteers while keeping other pairings intact.
• The Bulk Unpair Assignments upload removes all active pairings for each constituent, suitable for a broad reset.

Tips

• Double-check your CSV before uploading, as a bulk unpair cannot target a single volunteer.
• Use View Previous Assignment Unpairing Uploads to review your past unpair imports.