A program is a way for organisations to group or segment volunteers. This may be location-based, event-based or based on the characteristics of activities performed by the organisation.

An activity is an occurrence or event where volunteers can lend their time. Activities come in many forms based on the organisation, these are often weekly outreach shifts, monthly catch-ups, weekend events, packing events, ad-hoc meetups, and anything in between.

A managed roster will require approval by a leader or manager. You will likely see managed rosters for activities that have limits on the number of volunteers or require a mix of skill sets.

Open rosters can be freely joined and exited by volunteers. You will likely see open rosters in ‘the more the merrier’ activities.

Regular activities occur on a frequent cadence. Regular activities will automatically generate rosters for leaders to edit and publish.

Flexible activities can be considered as a template for an activity to be used when required. These are less common than regular activities but may be useful for events that do not follow a frequent cadence or the details change for the event as it runs.

Within activities, organisations have the option of assigning different sessions. These sessions may be used to assign volunteers to different times or responsibilities within one activity.

Volunteers have different skill sets that can be beneficial to certain volunteering tasks. Roles help organisations identify the best volunteer for the best task (such as a volunteer who can drive).