Tags Overview

Tags are an attribute which you can utilize within three different parts of the system: Volunteers, Groups, and Opportunities. Tags are an easy way to label and categorize items in each of these areas of your system permanently or temporarily. The Tags used in each of these sections are self-contained, but you can create very in-depth reports by using them all together in combination with the Custom Participation Report. Tags differ from other attributes in that they are visually represented in the different sections of the system for easily adding, removing, and searching.

Creating & Assigning Tags

You can find Tags in the main menu for any Volunteer, Group, or Opportunity. From this same place, you can create new Tags, assign Tags, and manage the Tags for your system. Please see the specific steps below to find the Tags for each area of the system.

Whenever you are creating a new Tag, you will type in the verbiage of the Tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a Tag that you want to assign again, enter the exact same text as the original Tag and the system will match them. There are a few important items to note any time you are creating a new Tag:

• There is a character limit of 20
• It can be multiple words, but any spaces will automatically be replaced with underscores
• Any capital letters will be made lowercase

Assigning Volunteer Tags

Tags can be added to volunteer profiles either individually through one of three different menus through the Volunteer Management Dashboard or in bulk using the Bulk Update functionality as described below.

Follow the steps below to assign individual Volunteer Tags:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Volunteer Database" link under the "Volunteer Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Volunteer for whom you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on either the “Manage Profile” (), “View Profile Details” (), or “Update / Edit Profile” () button.
4. Click on the “Add Volunteer Tag” () button.
5. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to this Volunteer in the “Volunteer Tag” field. 
• If this is a new Tag, type in the Tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a Tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
6. Click the “Add Tag” button.

Follow the steps below to assign Volunteer Tags in bulk:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Volunteer Database" link under the "Volunteer Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Search for the Volunteers for whom you want to add a Tag.
• You can find a specific subset of Volunteers using the Advanced Volunteer Search as outlined in the knowledge base article HERE.
3. Select all returned search results using the checkbox in the heading of the Volunteer Search Result Listing.
4. Click the “Bulk Update” button.
5. Select the “Volunteer Tags (Add)” option near the bottom of the page.
6. Click the “Select Item(s) to Bulk Update” button.
7. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to these Volunteers in the “Volunteer Tag” field. 
• If this is a new Tag, type in the Tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a Tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
8. Click the “Update Volunteer Information” button.
9. Confirm your changes in the pop up box.

Assigning Group Tags

Tags can be added to Groups individually or in bulk as described below.

Follow the steps below to assign individual Group Tags:

1. Click on the "Group Management" link under the "Attribute Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Group for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on the “Manage Group” () button.
4. Click on the “Add Group Tag” () button at the top of the page.
5. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to this Group in the “Group Tag” field. 
• If this is a new Tag, type in the Tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a Tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
6. Click the “Add Tag” button.

Follow the steps below to assign Group Tags in bulk:

1. Click on the "Group Management" link under the "Attribute Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Groups for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Select the Groups that you would like to update using the checkboxes to the left of their records or select all returned search results using the checkbox in the heading of the Group Inventory.
4. Click the “Bulk Update” button.
5. Select the “Group Tags (Add)” option near the bottom of the page.
6. Click the “Select Item(s) to Bulk Update” button.
7. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to these Groups in the “Add Group Tag” field. 
• If this is a new tag, type in the tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
8. Click the “Update Group Information” button.
9. Confirm your changes in the pop up box.

Assigning Opportunity Tags

Tags can be added to Opportunities individually through one of two different menus through the Opportunity Management Dashboard or in bulk using the Bulk Update functionality as described below.

Follow the steps below to assign individual Opportunity Tags:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Existing Opportunities" link under the "Opportunity Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Opportunity for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on either the “Manage Opportunity” () or “Update / Edit Opportunity” () button.
4. Click on the “Add Opportunity Tag” () button at the top of the page.
5. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to this Opportunity in the “Opportunity Tag” field. 
• If this is a new Tag, type in the Tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a Tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
6. Click the “Add Tag” button.

Follow the steps below to assign Opportunity Tags in bulk:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Existing Opportunities" link under the "Opportunity Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Opportunities for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Select the Opportunities that you would like to update using the checkboxes to the left of their records or select all returned search results using the checkbox in the heading of the Opportunity Inventory.
4. In the selection box underneath the “Opportunity Search Result Listing” select the “Bulk Update Opportunity Attributes” option.
5. Click the button to the left of the selection box with the same name.
6. Under the “Advanced Options” section, select the “Opportunity Tags (Add)” option.
7. Click the “Select Item(s) to Bulk Update” button.
8. Type in the Tag that you want to assign to these Groups in the “Add Opportunity Tag” field. 
• If this is a new tag, type in the tag as you’d like it to appear. If you have already created a tag that you want to use, be sure to enter the exact same text.
9. Click the “Update Opportunity Information” button.
10. Confirm your changes in the pop up box.

Managing Tags

Anywhere that you can add Tags (as mentioned above), you can also manage your Tag Cloud for all of your Tags in the system. You can utilize this cloud to perform quick searches for all items assigned under a certain Tag and also delete Tags from your system completely. It is important to note that only Administrators can delete Tags from the cloud and they’re removed from your system and all associated items. Users with Group Leader or Leadership Team access can only delete tags from individual Volunteers, Groups, or Opportunities. You can access this cloud by clicking on the “Tag Cloud” button from the Volunteer, Group, or Opportunity menus where you can assign Tags. We have included steps to locate this for each area below.

Managing Volunteer Tags

The Tag Cloud can be accessed through one of three different menus through the Volunteer Management Dashboard.

Follow the steps below to manage Tags through the Volunteer Management Dashboard:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Volunteer Database" link under the "Volunteer Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Volunteer for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on either the “Manage Profile” (), “View Profile Details” (), or “Update / Edit Profile” () button.
4. Click on the “Tag Cloud” () button.
• Click on any Tag to see all of the associated items.
• Click on the “Delete Volunteer Tag” () button to delete the Tag and remove it from any associated Volunteers, Groups, or Opportunities.

Managing Group Tags

Follow the steps below to manage Tags through the Group Management Dashboard:

1. Click on the "Group Management" link under the "Attribute Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Group for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on the “Manage Group” () button.
4. Click on the “Tag Cloud” () button at the top of the page.
• Click on any Tag to see all of the associated items.
• Click on the “Delete Volunteer Tag” () button to delete the Tag and remove it from any associated Volunteers, Groups, or Opportunities.

Managing Opportunity Tags

The Tag Cloud can be accessed through one of two different menus through the Opportunity Management Dashboard.

Follow the steps below to manage Tags through the Opportunity Management Dashboard:

1. Click on the "Search/Manage Existing Opportunities" link under the "Opportunity Management" section of the Main Dashboard.
2. Locate/search for the Opportunity for which you want to add a Tag.
3. Click on either the “Manage Opportunity” () or “Update / Edit Opportunity” () button.
4. Click on the “Tag Cloud” () button at the top of the page.
• Click on any Tag to see all of the associated items.
• Click on the “Delete Volunteer Tag” () button to delete the Tag and remove it from any associated Volunteers, Groups, or Opportunities.

Reporting on Tags

Tags make it very easy to quickly search for all of the items associated with a particular Tag and this makes it even easier to run very detailed searches and reports. For example, if you have a grant that is associated with particular volunteer opportunities, you can use a Tag to quickly identify all of those opportunities and report on them. Or you can find all of your staff members and report on any volunteer hours served by them overall or in a particular opportunity.

To run these types of reports, you can search for the matching Volunteers, Groups, or Opportunities in the Tag Cloud and then navigate to the Custom Participation Report and use either the Previous Volunteer, Group, or Opportunity search as the starting query. You can also combine Volunteer Tag searches with other criteria in the Advanced Volunteer Search to find a very specific subset of your volunteers. This can be particularly useful when searching for subsets of items within a previously run search, as you can apply a temporary tag and use that as part of your next query.

For more information about how to use the Custom Participation Report, review the short tutorial video HERE.

With any questions about how to run a specific search or report, our Customer Support Team is more than happy to help. You can contact them at support@cervistech.com or by using the “Need Help” button found at the bottom of the page when you are logged in to your console.