Understanding Files You'll Receive from GiveCampus

Summary of Data Exports from the VMS to the School

On a daily basis GiveCampus delivers files to your school via SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol). These files include various pieces of information about activities occurring in the VMS throughout the day. Below is a summary of those files.

If there is additional information you'd like added to your standard nightly reports, please ask support@givecampus.com!

🌙 Standard Nightly SFTP Reports

1. "givecampus_volunteers" files

Each file lists all volunteers that were added to the VMS or deactivated from the VMS since the previous file was generated and sent. The file contains 4 columns: id (the volunteer's ID), class_year (the volunteer's class year), email (the volunteer's email), and deactivated. The "deactivated" column will show "true" if the volunteer was deactivated, or will be blank if the volunteer was added.

2. "givecampus_assignments" files

Each file lists all assignments that were added or removed since the previous file was generated and sent. The file contains 4 columns: volunteer_id (the volunteer's ID), constituent_id (the constituent's ID), created_at (when the assignment was created), and deleted_at (when the assignment was deleted, if applicable).

3. "givecampus_notes" files

Each file lists all emails sent and notes made through the VMS since the previous file was generated and sent. The file includes details about sender, recipient, subject, and delivery status.

📊 How to Access Additional Reports

You can generate additional reports on-demand through the VMS administrator dashboard:

Available Report Types

• All volunteers 
• All volunteers (including inactive)
• All Assignments
• All Assignments (including unpaired)
• Volunteer Notes
• Volunteer Actions

🔧 SFTP Server Information

Current Server: securetransfer.givecampus.com File Location: Reports are delivered to your designated SFTP folder Frequency: Daily (typically overnight) Format: CSV files

Common Questions About File Exports

How do I export a list of our active volunteers?

Navigate to Data Management in your VMS dashboard and use the dropdown to generate reports. Select "Active Volunteers" and the file will be sent to your SFTP folder.

Why don't I see recent volunteer activity in the reports?

Nightly reports typically process the previous day's activity. If you need real-time data, check the live dashboard or contact support for a custom report.

Getting Help

If you need additional reporting capabilities or have questions about the files you're receiving, please contact support@givecampus.com with details about what information would be most helpful for your team.

Troubleshooting File Encoding Issues

Character Encoding Problems in CSV Files

If you notice unusual or strange characters in your GiveCampus files (such as in volunteer_notes files), this is typically not an issue with the file itself, but rather how the file is being opened.

The Problem: GiveCampus exports files in UTF-8 encoding, but some applications (especially Excel on Windows) may default to Windows-1252 encoding, causing character display issues.

How to Fix Character Encoding Issues in Excel

Instead of opening CSV files directly in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Open Excel first (don't double-click the CSV file)

2. Go to Data → From Text/CSV

3. Select your GiveCampus file

4. In the preview window, set the encoding to UTF-8

5. Click Load

This ensures proper character display for all international characters, special symbols, and formatting.

Common Files Affected by Encoding Issues

• volunteer_notes files (givecampus_volunteer_notes[DATE].csv)
• Any files containing user-generated content
• Files with international names or special characters

Alternative Solutions

• Use a text editor that supports UTF-8 (like Notepad++, VS Code, or similar)
• Use Google Sheets, which automatically handles UTF-8 encoding
• Configure your default CSV application to use UTF-8 encoding

Common Variations of This Question

• Why do I see strange characters in my VM export files?
• How to fix encoding issues in GiveCampus CSV files
• Special characters not displaying correctly in volunteer data exports
• UTF-8 vs Windows-1252 encoding problems
• Character corruption in exported volunteer notes