NeedsConnector Frequently Asked Questions



This list of help questions is a work in progress. If you don't find the answer to your question, please feel free to Contact Us. We will try to respond the same day.

General
Getting Started
What features does NeedsConnector.com offer
What are your prices?
 

Click here to see our prices. Most features are free for non-profits to use.

Do you support automatically recurring payments?
 

Yes.

  • You can configure sponsorship sales to renew monthy, quarterly or yearly
  • Your donors can choose to donate one time, monthy, quarterly or yearly
Is NeedsConnector only for non-profits
 

We created the site with non-profits in mind, but all are welcome to use it.

Creating an account
 

From any page, select Register from the main menu.

  • You'll be asked to enter your name, email address and select a password.
  • Once completed, you'll receive an email confirmation with a verification link
  • Click the link to confirm you received the email.
  • If you do not get the email within 15 minutes (longer for some email providers like yahoo.com and aol.com), check your email spam/junk folder.

 

Contacting Us
 

On most pages, there is a Contact Us link in the page footer. Click it, enter your email, message and, optionally, your phone number. We will get back to you as soon as possible, usually the same day.

My Projects
What is a "Project"
 

In many places throughout these FAQs, and the site itself, we refer to "Projects".
This is a generic term for: Event, Sponsorship, Charitable Program, Sign-up Sheet, Wish list.

It's simpler to use the generic term "Project" than to repeat the full list each time.

How do I edit my project
 

To edit your project (Event, Sponsorship, Program, Sign-up, etc):

  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu item
  • Move your mouse over the project (or click it on mobile devices)
  • Click the Edit link
My project is completed, now what
 

If you are finished with your project (your event is completed, your volunteer activity has passed, etc), you may mark it "inactive". It will still be available for future reference or for copying to a new project, but will no longer be visible, by default, in the My Projects display.

To mark it inactive:

  • Move your mouse over the project (or click it on mobile devices)
  • Click Make Inactive
Some projects are missing
 

By default, inactive projects are not shown.
If you think your projects are missing, click the Show inactive organizations and projects option. This will refresh the page with all projects displayed.

View Project Financials
 

You can get financial information for any project that receives payments (Events, Sponsorships, Donations):

  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu.
  • Move your mouse over the project (or click on a mobile device)
  • Click View Project Financials
  • In the resulting window, all transactions are show, by default. To limit the list:
    • Select Limit by Date, pick dates and click Go
  • To export to a Excel readable format, click Export...

 

 

Miscellaneous
A user didn't receive an email
 

You can access the emails sent on your behalf, but doing the following:

  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu.
  • Move your mouse over the project (or click on a mobile device)
  • Click View Project Emails
  • In the resulting window, the emails sent in the past 3 months will be listed. To show more/less, change the date and click Go
  • For each row in the list of emails, you can:
    • Click the down arrow to see more details/options. This will display the email, minus some heading and unsubscribe links
    • Resend the email to the same email address
    • Send the email to someone else

 

View Financials for the Organization
 

You can get financial information for your organization:

  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu.
  • Move your mouse over the organization name (or click on a mobile device)
  • Click View Organization Financials
  • In the resulting window, the transactions for the past month are shown. To change the dates displayed:
    • Select Limit by Date, pick dates and click Go
  • To see all transactions, deselect Limit by Date
  • To export to a Excel readable format, click Export...

 

 

How do I share my page with others
 

Link: 

NeedsConnector generates several short links for your project. Some of the common links are to:

  • The end-user registration page
  • Your project's data-entry page (list of registrants, edit, delete, export, etc);
  • Your project and organization setup pages

The links can be accessed in a few different places:

  • They appear at the bottom of each project's setup page
  • From the My Projects page
  • From the My Project Show Useful Links menu, if editing a project or performing data-entry functions

You can copy each link for use in emails, social media, website posts, etc.

To have all of the links emailed to yourself, click Email Links to Me at the bottom of the list.   

Events
Setup
Specify your Organization
 

If this is your first project in NeedsConnector, select New Organization, then type in the name of your organization.
If not, select your organization from the list.

Where does the description display?
 

The description you enter will appear at the top of your event registration page.
You can perform basic text formatting operations, as indicated in the toolbar above the text box.
You can also create links back to your organization's website.

Can we have a custom URL for our registration page?
 

Link: 

By default, NeedsConnector creates short randomized links for your sponsorship page. Something like: www.needsconnector.com/abc123.
If you would like a more memorable name, you can specify what appears after the slash (/) in the URL. For example, if you want the link to be www.needsconnector.com/flaglerflag, specify "flaglerflag" in the Custom URL End text field.

Choosing ticket numbers/Printing Tickets
 

The default starting ticket number is 1.
For a lot of events, this is fine, but there are circumstances in which you may want to change it.
For example, you are printing tickets and you want all of your tickets to have the same number of digits. In this case, you may want to start at 1000, so your tickets can be 1000-9999.

Another consideration is if you will also be selling tickets offline via printed tickets.
If you do, you may want to have one batch of numbers for printed tickets and one for online.
For example: 1,000-1,999 are printed, 2,000 - 9,999 are available online.

If you do plan to print tickets, we can generate them for your. Here are the steps:

  • Edit your event
  • Scroll down to the "Registration Configuration"
  • Click Generate Tickets
  • You will be prompted for starting and ending numbers
  • Your tickets will appear as  PDF, suitable for printing.

Note: The ticket generation process may take a while. We recommend generating less than 200 at a time.

How do I add a tax ID or 501c3 notice to my receipts
 

You may enter the required text in the Event Receipt  text box.
It will display at the bottom of the receipt.

Setting up payment processing
 

Link: 

To receive payments, your organization needs to have an account with WePay.com.
This setup needs to be done only once per organization.

  • Click the Click Here to create your WePay account button
  • A new pop-up window will appear.
  • If you have an existing WePay account, you can simplly log in.
  • If you do not have an existing account, enter your name, email address and password.
  • Click the Grant Access button. This gives NeedsConnector permission to perform transactions on your behalf.

Note: We cannot withdraw funds from your account. We also do not have access to your WePay account information or credit card details.

When you set up a new WePay account, you will need to complete your WePay registration to include your tax ID information, deposit method, etc. Look for a separate email from WePay about this.

Once you grant us access, you are ready to accept payments, but you should complete your WePay setup as soon as possible to make sure your deposits are not delayed.

Payment Processing Fees Options
 

Link: 

There are a couple of options for payment of processing fees:

  • Who pays the fees: Your choices are:
    • End User Will: The person paying by credit card will pay the fee
    • We Will: Your organization will absorb the fee
    • Give End User Option to Pay: Your organization will pay the fee, but present the user with an option to pay in order to increase their donation.
  • We will pay all processing fees for sales at/over ($):
    • This will let you have smaller sponsors pay the fees when they order, but show your appreciation to larger sponsors by absorbing the fee. Enter the amount at which you will pay the fee.
Setting event pricing
 

Follow these steps to set a price for your event. Repeat for multiple prices:

  • Click the Add New price button
  • Click the new price to open the price editor
  • Set the label for the price. This will be displayed for the user to choose and be printed on the receipts
    • If your price is for more than 1 event ticket, you can label as such. For example: "Table for 8"
  • Specify the amount
  • You should leave Price Enabled . This should only be turned off if you no longer what this pricing option to be available to the user. Once a price has been used to place an order, you cannot delete that price, therefore you need to disable it.
  • If there is a limited quantity of tickets available at this price, enter that number.
  • If you wish to provide details about the price (benefits, seating area, etc), you enter it in the Price Description text box. This text will appear at the top of your registration page.
  • If this price is for more than 1 ticket, specify the number of tickets. For example: the price is for a table of 8 at a fundraising dinner.
  • If you plan to offer "Early bird" specials or increase prices after a certain date, click Add Price Dates. You will be prompted to enter the lower (or higher) price and the dates that price will be in effect.
How do we use a mobile scanning device at event check in
 

Link: 

A QR code is a square barcode which can be scanned by most smart phones. When scanned, it launches the phone's browser and accesses the webpage indicated by the QR Code.

NeedsConnector uses QR codes for the following:

  • For easy access to your project's end-user registration page. This QR Code is found at the bottom of the project editing page and via the "Show Links" option in My Project  page. This code can be used in print and digital media as a convenience to your customers.
  • If configured in your event setup, QR codes will be generated on your event tickets and displayed in mobile tickets. These can be scanned at event check-in. To do so:
    • On your phone, open your browser to www.NeedsConnector.com
    • Log in using an account with "Data Entry" or Administrator privileges. Select the "Remember Me" option so you will remain logged in.
    • Scan the QR Code using your phone. This is often done by just viewing the code in your camera.
    • A prompt should appear to access our website. Click the prompt.
    • You can now check their payment status and check in one or more of their party.
    • When finished, you can close the browser and you are ready to scan again.
How do I add customized questions to my form?
 

Link: 

You can add customized questions to the following registration forms: Events, Sponsorships, Donations and Charitable Programs. On each of these pages, you start by selecting the Do you need customized questions on your Sponsorship form option.

To create a new question, click Add New Question then click the new question to edit. You are presented with the following options:

Label This is the short prompt that appears before the question
Type

The type of question can (one line, multiple lines, yes/no, choose 1 of, etc

Description This will appear below the question to provide any needed explanation
Enabled Once a registration exists with an answer to this question, the question can no longer be deleted. Disabling it will remove it from the registration from
Required Indicates if the user needs to answer the question before submitting the form,
Searchable If selected, this question will appear in the data-entry/administration page as a searchable item
Internal Only If selected, this question is only visible when a administrator or data-entry person is creating or editing the registration
Public Data from some charitable program registrations may be visible to the public, such as applicant wish lists. This option determines if the answer to this question is visible.
How do I get to Useful Links
 

Link: 

NeedsConnector generates several short links for your project. Some of the common links are to:

  • The end-user registration page
  • Your project's data-entry page (list of registrants, edit, delete, export, etc);
  • Your project and organization setup pages

The links can be accessed in a few different places:

  • They appear at the bottom of each project's setup page
  • From the My Projects page
  • From the My Project Show Useful Links menu, if editing a project or performing data-entry functions

You can copy each link for use in emails, social media, website posts, etc.

To have all of the links emailed to yourself, click Email Links to Me at the bottom of the list.   

What is a QR code
 

Link: 

A QR code is a square barcode which can be scanned by most smart phones. When scanned, it launches the phone's browser and accesses the webpage indicated by the QR Code.

NeedsConnector uses QR codes for the following:

  • For easy access to your project's end-user registration page. This QR Code is found at the bottom of the project editing page and via the "Show Links" option in My Project  page. This code can be used in print and digital media as a convenience to your customers.
  • If configured in your event setup, QR codes will be generated on your event tickets and displayed in mobile tickets. These can be scanned at event check-in. To do so:
    • On your phone, open your browser to www.NeedsConnector.com
    • Log in using an account with "Data Entry" or Administrator privileges. Select the "Remember Me" option so you will remain logged in.
    • Scan the QR Code using your phone. This is often done by just viewing the code in your camera.
    • A prompt should appear to access our website. Click the prompt.
    • You can now check their payment status and check in one or more of their party.
    • When finished, you can close the browser and you are ready to scan again.
View/Edit Registrations
How to view list of registrants
 
  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu
  • Move the mouse over your event to see a list of options (or click it on a mobile device)
  • Choose "Event Registrations"
See list of registrants
 

From any page,

  • Browse to the My Projects page
  • Find your event in the list, move your mouse over the event (or click on a mobile device)
  • Click the Event Registrations Link
Search for registrants
 

Link: 

When a NeedsConnector data entry page is accessed, all records are loaded by default.

At the top of the data entry pages, are generic search criteria fields (last name, first name, email, status, payment status, etc). You can either enter text into one of these fields, or select a value in the dropdown list, if available.

Clicking "Search" after entering one or more criteria will reload the list.

If you have defined customized questions on your registration form and marked them as "searchable", you can search by those answers.
To access those search fields, select Click to show/hide in the panel under the generic search fields.

Click "Search".

 

Email registrants
 

Link: 

On NeedsConnector data entry pages, you have the option to send emails to registrants by following these steps:

  • Search for specific registrants (or leave the default list of all registrants)
  • Click Send bulk email to list 
  •  In the resulting dialog box, enter the message you wish to send.
  • For some projects (events, programs, etc), you'll also be given the option to include their registration information in the email
  • Click "Send" - The email will be queued for delivery.
How to issue a refund
 

Link: 

In the project data entry page:

  • Search for the person's name or scroll to find them
  • Click the dollar sign ($) icon to the right of their name
  • In the dialog box that opens, click Refund.
  • You will be prompted to provide a reason for the refund.

Note: Credit card refunds cannot be issued after 60 days.

How do I print check-in lists
 

If you wish to print a list of your event registrations, you have the following choices in the data entry page:

  • Click Export to Excel. This will export your data in a Excel readable format. You can then customized and print as needed
  • Click Export to PDF. This will generate a PDF with the following information:
    • Registrants by ticket number (including answers to any customized questions and extras ordered)
    • Registrants sorted by name (including answers to any customized questions and extras ordered)
    • Registrants sorted by the fee type (including answers to any customized questions and extras ordered)
    • A list of all fees with the quantity of each fee ordered.
    • If any of your questions are "Choose one of" (the registrant chooses their answer from a list), for example t-shirt size, meal options, etc), then a count of each answer will be generated.
How to check someone in at the event
 

There are 2 ways to start the check-in procedure:

  • From the event data entry page, click the dollar sign ($) icon to the right of the person's name
  • Scan the QR code on their ticket (either printed or on their phone)

Either option will provide options to:

  • Check-in the person (or people if there are multiple tickets in one order)
  • Record offline (cash or check) payments if "Pay at Door" was one of your options
  • Enter their credit card information to accept payment at the door. Note: the regular application processing fees apply.

The check-in page will also show the customer's receipt which displays any extra items that may have been ordered.

It also shows the answers to any customized questions you added.

Sponsorships
Setup
What is a Custom URL End
 

Link: 

By default, NeedsConnector creates short randomized links for your sponsorship page. Something like: www.needsconnector.com/abc123.
If you would like a more memorable name, you can specify what appears after the slash (/) in the URL. For example, if you want the link to be www.needsconnector.com/flaglerflag, specify "flaglerflag" in the Custom URL End text field.

What is artwork and do I need it?
 

If you are selling sponsorships for a newsletter, website, magazine or anything that needs logos or any type of digital artwork, you will want to select the option Do you want sponsors to upload artwork . When you do, people registering will be prompted to upload their artwork. You can then download all of the artwork in 1 zip file from the View Registrations page. 

What is "alternate term"?
 

By default, we refer to Sponsors and Sponsorships, but you may wish to sell Advertisement, Memberships, Subscriptions, etc. If you do, type in your term in the Alternate Term text field. Your users will see that term instead of Sponsorships.

Note 1: Please use a term that can be pluralized with just an "s", otherwise you page may have spelling errors.

Note 2: You will still see the term Sponsorship in many administrative functions.

Do I need to upload 2 logos?
 

No, you can choose just 1 logo, or even none.

Setting up payment processing
 

Link: 

To receive payments, your organization needs to have an account with WePay.com.
This setup needs to be done only once per organization.

  • Click the Click Here to create your WePay account button
  • A new pop-up window will appear.
  • If you have an existing WePay account, you can simplly log in.
  • If you do not have an existing account, enter your name, email address and password.
  • Click the Grant Access button. This gives NeedsConnector permission to perform transactions on your behalf.

Note: We cannot withdraw funds from your account. We also do not have access to your WePay account information or credit card details.

When you set up a new WePay account, you will need to complete your WePay registration to include your tax ID information, deposit method, etc. Look for a separate email from WePay about this.

Once you grant us access, you are ready to accept payments, but you should complete your WePay setup as soon as possible to make sure your deposits are not delayed.

Additional Donations
 

Choosing the Add a line for Additional Donation to the registration form option will allow your users to enter an extra donation to their sponsorship.

Payment Process Options
 

There area a couple of payment process options you can configure:

  • People can pay by cash or check
    • Typically sponsorships are paid online with credit cards. If you wish to let your users register online, but mail you a check or pay through some other means, select this option.
  • People can pay by cash/check if their order is at/over this amount:
    • This will let your smaller sponsors pay via credit card online, but give larger sponsors the option of giving you are check. This may be a good option for large corporate sponsors who need to send a company check.
Payment Processing Fees Options
 

Link: 

There are a couple of options for payment of processing fees:

  • Who pays the fees: Your choices are:
    • End User Will: The person paying by credit card will pay the fee
    • We Will: Your organization will absorb the fee
    • Give End User Option to Pay: Your organization will pay the fee, but present the user with an option to pay in order to increase their donation.
  • We will pay all processing fees for sales at/over ($):
    • This will let you have smaller sponsors pay the fees when they order, but show your appreciation to larger sponsors by absorbing the fee. Enter the amount at which you will pay the fee.
Setting Sponsorship Prices
 

Follow these steps to set a price for your sponsorship. Repeat for multiple prices:

  • Click the Add New price button
  • Click the new price to open the price editor
  • Set the label for the price. This will be displayed for the user to choose and be printed on the receipts
  • Specify the amount
  • You should leave Price Enabled . This should only be turned off if you no longer want this pricing option to be available to the user. Once a price has been used to place an order, you cannot delete that price, therefore you need to disable it.
  • If this sponsorship is renewable, select one of: Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly to specify how frequently it will renew.
  • If you wish to provide details about the price (sponsorship benefits, etc), you enter it in the Price Description text box. This text will appear at the top of your registration page.
  • If you plan to offer "Early bird" specials or increase prices after a certain date, click Add Price Dates. You will be prompted to enter the lower (or higher) price and the dates that price will be in effect.
Set up renewing sponsorships
 

Sponsorship renewals are set when you configure the price for your sponsorships.

  • In the Sponsorship Pricing section, Click Add New Price (adds a new price the list)
  • Click the new price - popup opens
  • For the Sponsorship Renew, select Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly
Setting up Coupons
 

Link: 

You can make coupons available to your users:

  • Click Add New Coupon 
  • Click on the new coupon added to the list
  • Give the coupon a name. This is the name the users will enter. It cannot contain spaces or special characters.
  • Give the coupon a description. This text will be displayed after the user enters the coupon name.
  • You can choose to make the coupon a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the sale
  • If you want to limit the number of times a coupon can be used, set it's Max Usage to that number.
  • If you want to limit a coupon's use to larger orders, you can specify a Minimum Sale.
  • The coupon can be disabled at any time by switching Coupon Enabled off
Adding questions
 

Link: 

You can add customized questions to the following registration forms: Events, Sponsorships, Donations and Charitable Programs. On each of these pages, you start by selecting the Do you need customized questions on your Sponsorship form option.

To create a new question, click Add New Question then click the new question to edit. You are presented with the following options:

Label This is the short prompt that appears before the question
Type

The type of question can (one line, multiple lines, yes/no, choose 1 of, etc

Description This will appear below the question to provide any needed explanation
Enabled Once a registration exists with an answer to this question, the question can no longer be deleted. Disabling it will remove it from the registration from
Required Indicates if the user needs to answer the question before submitting the form,
Searchable If selected, this question will appear in the data-entry/administration page as a searchable item
Internal Only If selected, this question is only visible when a administrator or data-entry person is creating or editing the registration
Public Data from some charitable program registrations may be visible to the public, such as applicant wish lists. This option determines if the answer to this question is visible.
View/Edit Sponsorships
Search for sponsors
 

Link: 

When a NeedsConnector data entry page is accessed, all records are loaded by default.

At the top of the data entry pages, are generic search criteria fields (last name, first name, email, status, payment status, etc). You can either enter text into one of these fields, or select a value in the dropdown list, if available.

Clicking "Search" after entering one or more criteria will reload the list.

If you have defined customized questions on your registration form and marked them as "searchable", you can search by those answers.
To access those search fields, select Click to show/hide in the panel under the generic search fields.

Click "Search".

 

Email customers
 

Link: 

On NeedsConnector data entry pages, you have the option to send emails to registrants by following these steps:

  • Search for specific registrants (or leave the default list of all registrants)
  • Click Send bulk email to list 
  •  In the resulting dialog box, enter the message you wish to send.
  • For some projects (events, programs, etc), you'll also be given the option to include their registration information in the email
  • Click "Send" - The email will be queued for delivery.
How to issue a refund
 

Link: 

In the project data entry page:

  • Search for the person's name or scroll to find them
  • Click the dollar sign ($) icon to the right of their name
  • In the dialog box that opens, click Refund.
  • You will be prompted to provide a reason for the refund.

Note: Credit card refunds cannot be issued after 60 days.

Change sponsorship dates
 

By default, a sponsorship's start date is the day it is created in NeedsConnector. Based on how you set up the sponsorship registration, the end date is 1 month, 3 months or 1 year from the start date.

You can change the dates in the sponsorship date entry page:

  • Search or scroll to find the sponsor
  • Click the link containing the current Expiration date
  • In the resulting popup, enter the new start and end date in the format mm/dd/yyyy.
How do I renew a sponsorship for a customer
 

You can change the dates in the sponsorship date entry page:

  • Search or scroll to find the customer
  • Click on the renew button (with the recycle icon) to the right of the customer's name
  • You will be prompted to confirm the renewal and indicate if the customer made an extra donation
How do I cancel a sponsorship
 

In the sponsorship data entry page:

  • Search or scroll to find the customer
  • Click the X to the right of their name.

This will make the sponsorship "inactive". If you wish to re-activate it at a later date,

  • Select "Active: No" in the search criteria at the top of the data entry page
  • Click Search
  • Search or scroll to find the customer
  • Click the green checkbox to the right of the customer's name
Donations
Setup
What is a Custom URL End
 

Link: 

By default, NeedsConnector creates short randomized links for your sponsorship page. Something like: www.needsconnector.com/abc123.
If you would like a more memorable name, you can specify what appears after the slash (/) in the URL. For example, if you want the link to be www.needsconnector.com/flaglerflag, specify "flaglerflag" in the Custom URL End text field.

Do I need to upload 2 logos?
 

No, you can choose just 1 logo, or even none.

Setting up payment processing
 

Link: 

To receive payments, your organization needs to have an account with WePay.com.
This setup needs to be done only once per organization.

  • Click the Click Here to create your WePay account button
  • A new pop-up window will appear.
  • If you have an existing WePay account, you can simplly log in.
  • If you do not have an existing account, enter your name, email address and password.
  • Click the Grant Access button. This gives NeedsConnector permission to perform transactions on your behalf.

Note: We cannot withdraw funds from your account. We also do not have access to your WePay account information or credit card details.

When you set up a new WePay account, you will need to complete your WePay registration to include your tax ID information, deposit method, etc. Look for a separate email from WePay about this.

Once you grant us access, you are ready to accept payments, but you should complete your WePay setup as soon as possible to make sure your deposits are not delayed.

Setting Donation Levels
 

Your donation page can contain just a place for donors to enter a number, or you can suggest they make certain donations.
Follow these steps to set price levels for your donation. Repeat for multiple prices:

  • Click the Add New price button
  • Click the new price to open the price editor
  • Set the label for the price. This will be displayed for the user to choose and be printed on the receipts
  • Specify the amount
  • You should leave Price Enabled . This should only be turned off if you no longer what this pricing option to be available to the user. Once a price has been used to place an order, you cannot delete that price, therefore you need to disable it.
  • If you only wish to receive a certain number of donations at this price, set the Max Quantity to that number
  • If you wish to provide details about the price (benefits of donating, etc), you enter it in the Price Description text box. This text will appear at the top of your registration page.
Additional Donations
 

By default, the donor will be asked to enter the amount of their donation.
If you have defined custom donation levels, you have the option of letting the user enter their own number, or in addition to the fixed price lever.

Choosing the If you define customized, amounts below, would you like the donor to be able to ALSO enter an additional donation amount option will allow your users to enter that donation amount.

Payment Processing Fees Options
 

Link: 

There are a couple of options for payment of processing fees:

  • Who pays the fees: Your choices are:
    • End User Will: The person paying by credit card will pay the fee
    • We Will: Your organization will absorb the fee
    • Give End User Option to Pay: Your organization will pay the fee, but present the user with an option to pay in order to increase their donation.
  • We will pay all processing fees for sales at/over ($):
    • This will let you have smaller sponsors pay the fees when they order, but show your appreciation to larger sponsors by absorbing the fee. Enter the amount at which you will pay the fee.
Set up Recurring Donations
 

Select the Allow automatically recurring payments when setting up your donation page. That is all you have to do to set up recurring donations.
When you donors visit your donation page, they will be asked if they want to donate one time, monthly, quarterly or yearly

Adding questions
 

Link: 

You can add customized questions to the following registration forms: Events, Sponsorships, Donations and Charitable Programs. On each of these pages, you start by selecting the Do you need customized questions on your Sponsorship form option.

To create a new question, click Add New Question then click the new question to edit. You are presented with the following options:

Label This is the short prompt that appears before the question
Type

The type of question can (one line, multiple lines, yes/no, choose 1 of, etc

Description This will appear below the question to provide any needed explanation
Enabled Once a registration exists with an answer to this question, the question can no longer be deleted. Disabling it will remove it from the registration from
Required Indicates if the user needs to answer the question before submitting the form,
Searchable If selected, this question will appear in the data-entry/administration page as a searchable item
Internal Only If selected, this question is only visible when a administrator or data-entry person is creating or editing the registration
Public Data from some charitable program registrations may be visible to the public, such as applicant wish lists. This option determines if the answer to this question is visible.
Charitable Programs
Setup
Getting Started
 

A NeedsConnector Program is an online registration page with the following features or setup options:

  • Register 1 person (head of household), just family members, or both
  • Customized questions
  • Personalized wish list
  • Document upload for verifying program requirements
  • Scheduled Time slots (for scheduled pickup of good or receiving services)
  • Publish online list of applicants so supporters can assist (no personal information is revealed)
  • Link to a NeedsConnector donation page

We also support a Network of programs working together. This entails a common online registration form, with applicants being assigned to one or more programs. Each program can operate independently. See the separate Network FAQs for more information.

To set up your program, complete the following information:

  • Organization/Program names and contact information
  • Program Description, Requirements, Application Instructions, etc... These appear at appropriate places throughout the application process.
  • Program Logos: You may upload 1 or 2 logos to represent your program.
  • Registration Type:
    • We support 3 types of registration:
    • Only the person logged in (head of household) The application will contain space for only 1 person's information
      Only other household members (i.e. not head of household) The user will be prompted to enter information for each person applying. If required, they can also input information about other household members as well.
      Potentially both head of household and household members  
  • You can choose to allow people to register themselves. If you do not, you will need to enter each applicant's information.
  • Decide if you need date of birth, gender and address included in the application
  • By default, NeedsConnector allows applicants to return to the site and edit their applications. You can determine when the application is "locked" (i.e. no longer editable). To set this when the application is first submitted, set the When to Lock application setting to Submitted.
  • You can also set the status at which supporters can "claim" applicants. Claiming an applicant means the supporter will be fulfilling the wishes listed in their application.

 

What are Time Slots
 

If your program has specific dates/time at which the applicant will be picking up donated items or receiving services, you can allow them to select the date/time when they register. Data-entry people can also set this for the applicant.

To set up available time slots, in the program editor:

  • Click the Add New Time Slot button
  • In the resulting popup, enter the following:
    • Date
    • Start/End Time
    • Capacity. This is the number of applicants who can select this timeslot
    • An optional label for this specific time slot.

If you are setting up a large event with many applicants, you can easily copy the time slot by clicking Copy - Shift. This will duplicate the time slot information, but shift the start/end time. For example: copying an 8:00-9:00am time slot, will result in a new time slot from 9:00 - 10:00am.

If you need to create several adjacent time slots without labels, you can click Generate Multiple Time Slots. You will also be prompted for (example in parenthesis below):

  • The date that all the time slots occur (10/01/2021)
  • The start of the first time slot (9:00am)
  • The end time of the last time slot (5:00pm)
  • The capacity of each time slot (20)
  • The duration of each time slot. (15)

In this example, 32   15 minute time slots are created.

 

Adding wishes or needs to the application
 

Your NeedsConnector application can prompt the user for 1 or more wishes.
The following options are available:

  • Set the Can the wish/need to be a service? option if you allow applicants to enter non-product based wishes.
  • Maximum number of needs/wishes per applicant: If there are multiple applications being submitted at one time (for example, a parent registering 3 of their children for a Christmas program), each child can have this many wishes.
  • Maximum quantity, of each wish, allowed: For some programs, such as Christmas programs, it doesn't make sense to have the applicant ask for more than 1 of each wish. There are other programs, such as disaster supplies where someone would need more than 1 item. For example, tarps to cover a roof after a hurricane.
  • Maximum suggest cost per wish: If a value is entered here, it will be displayed on the application as the suggested maximum. If supporters are viewing the application later, their Amazon suggestions will be limited to items under this amount.

Predefined Needs

If your program will have multiple people potentially requesting the same item, you can create a list of predefined needs. Predefined needs can be grouped together for ease of selection. For example: disaster supplies could be grouped by food, roof supplies, construction equipment, etc
To do this, click Predefined Needs, then click Add New Predefined Need and enter the details (name, group name, description).

If you have a large amount of predefined needs to create, you can create a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file and upload to your program.

Configuring document uploads
 

If you require documented proof for your program (e.g. identification, proof of address, proof of need), you can indicate that in the Documents to Upload section of Program setup.

Click Add New Document, then specify:

  • The name of the document (e.g. driver's license, birth certificate, etc)
  • If the document is required
  • If the document is enabled. If you no longer want the document upload, you can mark this as "not enabled". It will no longer appear on the application.
  • The scope of the document: each applicant or just the primary registrant (head of household).
  • The document description
Adding customized questions
 

Link: 

You can add customized questions to the following registration forms: Events, Sponsorships, Donations and Charitable Programs. On each of these pages, you start by selecting the Do you need customized questions on your Sponsorship form option.

To create a new question, click Add New Question then click the new question to edit. You are presented with the following options:

Label This is the short prompt that appears before the question
Type

The type of question can (one line, multiple lines, yes/no, choose 1 of, etc

Description This will appear below the question to provide any needed explanation
Enabled Once a registration exists with an answer to this question, the question can no longer be deleted. Disabling it will remove it from the registration from
Required Indicates if the user needs to answer the question before submitting the form,
Searchable If selected, this question will appear in the data-entry/administration page as a searchable item
Internal Only If selected, this question is only visible when a administrator or data-entry person is creating or editing the registration
Public Data from some charitable program registrations may be visible to the public, such as applicant wish lists. This option determines if the answer to this question is visible.
Add donations to your program
 

Link: 

If you would like a Donations Accepted link added to your project's online pages:

  • Create a separate NeedsConnector donations project  (from the MyProjects page)
  • Refresh the project editor page via the browser page refresh button
  • Select the newly created donations project in the Donations section.
View/Edit Applications
Searching for applicants
 

Link: 

When a NeedsConnector data entry page is accessed, all records are loaded by default.

At the top of the data entry pages, are generic search criteria fields (last name, first name, email, status, payment status, etc). You can either enter text into one of these fields, or select a value in the dropdown list, if available.

Clicking "Search" after entering one or more criteria will reload the list.

If you have defined customized questions on your registration form and marked them as "searchable", you can search by those answers.
To access those search fields, select Click to show/hide in the panel under the generic search fields.

Click "Search".

 

Display options
 

When you search for applications, you have 2 options:

  • Display by Applicants: Only the applicants will be displayed, one per line
  • Display by Household: The head of household will be displayed, along with the applicants. Clicking on the head of household will open the editor for the entire application. Clicking on 1 applicant will only open their portion of the application.
Emailing applicants
 

Link: 

On NeedsConnector data entry pages, you have the option to send emails to registrants by following these steps:

  • Search for specific registrants (or leave the default list of all registrants)
  • Click Send bulk email to list 
  •  In the resulting dialog box, enter the message you wish to send.
  • For some projects (events, programs, etc), you'll also be given the option to include their registration information in the email
  • Click "Send" - The email will be queued for delivery.
Online Sign-ups
Setup
What is "alternate term"?
 

We originally wrote our online sign-up feature with volunteer sign-up in mind, but you may wish to call it something else Meeting Sign-up, Party Sign-up etc. If you do, type in your term in the Alternate Term text field. Your users will see that term instead of Volunteer.

Note 1: Please use a term that can be pluralized with just an "s", otherwise your page will have spelling errors.

Note 2: You will still see the term Volunteer in many administrative functions.

How do I set up a recurring activity
 

In the sign-up editor:

  • Click Add New Activity, then click the created activity
  • Give your activity a name and, optionally, a sub-name.
  • Enter the date when the recurring activity will start
  • Select the start and end time, if needed
  • Provide the details for the activity, if needed (description, venue, address)
  • Input the number of people for each occurrence of the activity.
    • If a volunteer sign-up sheet, enter the number of people needed
    • If used as a meeting sign-up, the number of people who can attend)
  • Select the option Activity if Recurring
  • The dialog expands to display the following options:
Daily Options:
  • Select the frequency of the activity (every day, every 2nd day, etc)
Weekly Options:
  • Select the frequency of the activity (every week, every 2nd week, etc)
  • Select one or more days for the activity
Monthly

Options: select either:

  • The day of the month (1-28) and the frequency (every month, every 2nd month, etc). Choosing day 29, 30 and 31 will work, but the activity will only occur on months having those number of day.
  • Select which day of the week and which week of the month (for example: the second Tuesday) and the frequency (every month, every 2nd month, etc)
Yearly

Options: select either:

  • The day of the month (1-28) and the frequency (every year, every 2nd year, etc).
  • Select which day of the week and month (for example: the second Tuesday in February) and the frequency (every year, every 2nd year, etc)

Next, specify how long this activity will last:

No end date The sign-up will continue to be available until you stop it
# of occurrences Specify the number of times the activity should repeat.
End by The date the recurring activity will stop

 

Can I copy an activity
 

There are 2 ways to copy an activity:

  • Click the Copy link next to an activity.
  • Click the Copy - Shift Time link. This will create a copy, but shift the time. For example:

You have the following activity defined: Setup - Parking, for 08:00am - 10:00am
Copying/shifting it will result in: Setup - Parking Copy, for 10:00am - 12:00pm

View/Edit Signups
How to email people who signed up
 

Link: 

On NeedsConnector data entry pages, you have the option to send emails to registrants by following these steps:

  • Search for specific registrants (or leave the default list of all registrants)
  • Click Send bulk email to list 
  •  In the resulting dialog box, enter the message you wish to send.
  • For some projects (events, programs, etc), you'll also be given the option to include their registration information in the email
  • Click "Send" - The email will be queued for delivery.
See list of volunteers
 

To access the list of volunteers:

  • Select the My Projects Show Projects menu.
  • Move your mouse over the sign-up project (or click on a mobile device)
  • Click View/Edit Volunteers
  • In the resulting window, all activities for the next month will be displayed
  • To limit or expand the list, choose different dates and click Go 
  • Your choices on this page are:
    • Invite Volunteers: You'll be prompted for email address and a note to send
    • Send bulk email to the list of people signed up
    • Export the list to in an excel readable format
    • Export to a PDF document
    • Cancel an activity

For recurring activities, you can also change the description for just 1 occurrence. To do this, click the "page" icon to the right of the activity/date in the list.

Wish Lists
Setup
What is a Wish List
 

A NeedsConnector Wish List is a place for your organization to post a list of wishes or needs.
It can be something you are asking supporters to buy or a service you are asking them to provide.

 

Getting Started
 

You can start here...

  • Enter/select our organization
  • Enter your contact information
  • Describe why you are posting this Wish List
  • Include delivery instructions (delivery address or physical location to drop off)
  • Click Add New Wish for each item in your Wish List
    • Give it a brief descriptive name
    • Provide a longer description, if necessary
    • Specify the quantity needed
    • You can also add services to your Wish List. If you do, make sure your description is details. You may also want to check out NeedsConnector's Online Sign-up feature.
    • Clicking Preview Search will open a new window and search for the item on Amazon. If you want more specific results, provide a more detailed name/description
  • You can add 1 or 2 logos for your organization and/or Wish List

 

Does it have to be purchased from Amazon?
 

No, you may see advertisements from Amazon displayed with requested items. These are suggested items based on a search for the wish's name and description. Your supporters are free to shop anywhere.

Enable monetary donations in your wish list
 

Link: 

If you would like a Donations Accepted link added to your project's online pages:

  • Create a separate NeedsConnector donations project  (from the MyProjects page)
  • Refresh the project editor page via the browser page refresh button
  • Select the newly created donations project in the Donations section.