Yes. There are a few options in VolunteerHub that allow you to communicate with volunteers via text message.


1. Automated Texts

In the Reminder Email section of an Event's details, check the box for "Automatically send reminder text message to registered users 3 days prior to event". This will send a text message to registered users as a reminder for the event. (The time period can be changed there as well.)

VolunteerHub does not send text reminder messages to volunteers between 10:00 pm and 9:00 am (based on the organization's time zone). If an event is set to start at 8:00 am, with a text reminder set to go out 6 hours before the start, no text will be sent.

2. Administrator-Generated Texts 

There are several options for sending administrator-generated text messages:

  • To volunteers registered for an event:

    Click the Text button to send a text message to all registered users (waitlisted users can be included as well)

  • To all or a filtered listed of users:

    From the Users page. Selecting the Text button will send a message to all users. To narrow your selection, press the filter icon and input values to narrow your list of users.  Press the filter again to enact the filter.  Pressing the Text button will now only message those displayed in your filtered list.  See this article for more information.

  • To all or a filtered list of users registered for events:

    Navigate to the Events page.  Apply a filter to reach users. See this article for more information.

  • To a User Group:

    Navigate to the User Groups page and click on the user group you'd like to message. Click the ellipsis (...) button in the upper right and select Text Users.

  • To one user:

    From the user's profile, click the ellipsis in the upper right and choose 'Send Text to User'


Frequently Asked Questions

1. Help! I don’t see the text option in any of those locations on my site.

Be sure that your organization has not deleted the Text Opt-In question from your User Form. To recreate the question, follow the below steps:

  1. Navigate to the User Forms page and select the All Users group.
  2. Click on the Add Question button and click Create New Question.
  3. Select the "True/False" option from the Question Type field, and "Dropdown" from the Style field.
  4. Enter "Text Opt-In" in the Question Name field.
  5. Enter "May we send you text reminders?" in the Prompt field.
  6. Enter "(Messaging rates may apply)" in the Subprompt field.
  7. Select "Yes" for Require a response to this question.
  8. Choose the "Text Messaging Allowed" Token.
  9. Enter "Yes, you may text me" in the True Text field and "No, do not text me" in the False Text field.
  10. Select "False" as the Default Option.
  11. Click on the Save button.

2. What will the texts look like?

The automated reminder text says: "[Text Messaging Organization Name] reminder: [Event Name] @ [Date and time] @ [Location]"

Administrator-generated texts begin with “[Text Messaging Organization Name]:” followed by the message you enter. 

3. Can I include a hyperlink?

Yes, although US carriers prohibit the use of free publicly available URL shortener services (like tinyurl.com). This is because the 'free-public' URL shorteners are used by bad-actors to evade detection and get their SPAM messages passed through text messaging platforms.

4. Which URL shorteners should I avoid?

Though there isn't a single list of the URL shorteners blocked by all phone carriers, below is a list of shortener services Microsoft recommends avoiding.

To increase the chances of your messages being delivered, the following list shows examples of common URL shorteners you should avoid:

  • bit.ly
  • goo.gl
  • tinyurl.com
  • Tiny.cc
  • lc.chat
  • is.gd
  • soo.gd
  • s2r.co
  • Clicky.me
  • budurl.com
  • bc.vc

5. Where can I modify my 'Text Messaging Organization Name'?

From the Settings page, in the Text Messaging Organization Name field.

6. From what phone number will the texts be sent?

All texts sent through VolunteerHub, regardless of organization, originate from 855-762-5644.

7. What happens if a volunteer responds to the text message?

Volunteers who text that number will receive no response.

8. What if I need them to reply to me?

Include your phone number within the text and inform them to reply there.  Most phones should turn the phone number in the text into a hyperlink they can directly click on.

9. How do I purchase more text credits?

Please review the full instructions for purchasing credits for sending text messages.