Yes, there are two options for additonal fields

Option lists (menu option Rescue Organization Manager -> Option Lists)

If the field is for a defined set of options create an option list, an option list can be defined as a single select list (i.e. radio buttons) or a multi select list (i.e. checkboxes).

Fields (menu option Rescue Organization Manager -> Fields)

This feature provides for fields of type single line text, multi line text date, date & time, currency, number or phone number.

When adding a custom field or list you define which section (tab) on the edit page the field is displayed on and by creating your own custom groups (menu option "Rescue Organization Manager -> Data Groups") you can add you own sections (tabs) to the edit pages.

Custom fields or lists can be added for members, contacts, assets, events, participants added to an event, assets added to an event, event claims, event subjects and event teams and the same field or list definition can be used on one or more to prevent the need to create duplicate fields or lists.

The simplest way to create a new event is to click on the day of the event in the calendar page.  Alternatively you can use the Create Content option on the main navigation menu.

When editing an event there is an option called "Repeat" (where enabled and permissions permitting).  Selecting this option will allow you to specify a schedule by which the event should be repeated.  VolunteerRescue will then automatically create events up to 12 months in the future based on the schedule so you do not have to add the individual events.

When viewing the calendar in VolunteerRescue permissions allowing there will be a button titled "export" to the left of the current calendar month and year.  Selecting this export option will display a link that can be added to any iCal compliant calendar application.  Once added to an iCal compliant calendar any events that are shown on the VolunteerRescue calendar will also be displayed on your personal calendar.

Use the "Member certifications" option on the main navigation menu to bulk add or update certification details to a group of members.

Yes, there are two options for additonal fields

Option lists (menu option Rescue Organization Manager -> Option Lists)

If the field is for a defined set of options create an option list, an option list can be defined as a single select list (i.e. radio buttons) or a multi select list (i.e. checkboxes).

Fields (menu option Rescue Organization Manager -> Fields)

This feature provides for fields of type single line text, multi line text date, date & time, currency, number or phone number.

When adding a custom field or list you define which section (tab) on the edit page the field is displayed on and by creating your own custom groups (menu option "Rescue Organization Manager -> Data Groups") you can add you own sections (tabs) to the edit pages.

Custom fields or lists can be added for members, contacts, assets, events, participants added to an event, assets added to an event, event claims, event subjects and event teams and the same field or list definition can be used on one or more to prevent the need to create duplicate fields or lists.

There is overlap between roles, positions and statuses with each one being able to satsify more than one use and there is no right or wrong way to use them however each one has their own restrictions which tend to leave only one suitable for a particular task.

Role

Access to features in VolunteerRescue are controlled by roles in that it is roles that are given access to pages and features.  In order to access a page or feature a member must belong to a role that has the required permissions.

Second to that roles can be used to group members together in teams, it was decided to use roles as in the majority of cases access is restricted by team therefore this kills two birds with one stone and reduces configuration.

Position

Positions are really to be used where one or two members fill a role and generally refer to the various positions on the executive such as President, Secretary, Treasurer and also to positions such as training officer, equipment manager.  Positions do not support access and therefore cannot be used to restrict access to features in VolunteerRescue.

Status

Status refers to the current status of the member within the group and generally relates to whether a member is active, retired, lifetime member etc...  Only one status can be selected per member.

When using the hierarchical tree for storing assets in order to keep the tree as small as possible and more manageable sub locations can be defined at the lowest level rather than defining storage locations; the intention behind the hierarchical tree is to direct a member to a general area to locate an asset.

For example you may have a shelving system in a building that contains many boxed items but rather than add a storage item and therefore asset for every container box add a sub location of container box as typically the contents of the box will be written on the box anyway and the member just needs to know which shelving system to look at.

Sub locations therefore typically only contain one storage compartment and are assets where it is overkill to add an individual asset item for each one; NOTE: when you still need to record the value of these sub location assets you can still add one overall asset for the total quantity and assign the quantities to the assets they are located in for reporting purposes.

To add storage locations use menu option "Rescue Organization Manager -> General Lists" and select the "Asset sub location" list.

Assets are located based on a hierarchical tree, the best analogy I can think of is similar to a family tree.  At the root of the tree is generally a building, which in itself is an asset, where all the assets are stored.

Where an asset can store further assets define the storage locations of the asset using the main Storage section when editing an asset, examples are rooms in building, compartments in vehicle, pockets in packs etc...

For each asset use the "Quantites stored" sub section in the main General section to indentify the quantities of the asset and which storage item they are located in other assets.  When using this feature the value of the "Existing Location" field in the "Address where stored" sub location can be set to "<Not applicable>" as the address will be determined by the asset (usually a building) at the root of the hierarchical tree.

Reports can be obtained that itemise all the contents of an asset and where defined the value of the contents of that asset.  There is no limit to the depth of the tree but it is advised to keep this as small as possible to be manageable (read FAQ on sub locations).

Select the recipient(s) of the notification e-mail by position, when the member in the position stands down deselect the position for the member standing down in their account profile and select the position for the member now filling the position.  The current member(s) in the position are determined when the e-mail is actually sent and not when the notification is initially defined.

When editing the member status select the option to "Disable e-mails", whenever sending e-mails either from directly within VolunteerRescue or by the use of an e-mail foward address VolunteerRescue will not send the e-mails to any members that have a status with this option is selected.

Use the e-mail foward address feature (menu option "Rescue organization manager -> Email forward addresses") to create a group based e-mail address and select the recipient(s) of the e-mails sent to the address; recipients can be selected individually, by role, by position or by member status.

When you need to forward an e-mail to a group of members forward the e-mail from your personal e-mail client to one or more of the configured e-mail forward addresses at which point the e-mail will be sent to the VolunteerRescue e-mail server which will recognise the e-mail address as an e-mail forward address and will forward the e-mail to all the selected recipients for that forward address.

When changing the selection criteria for a report there is a section on the page called "Saved selections" (may have to be expanded by clicking on the section title).  This section allows a description to be entered for the selections made and saves them for reuse later.

When running the report again in the future use the Load button to load a previosuly saved set of selections.

Also, each saved selection is given a unique URL that can be added to a menu or as a link on a page enabling the report with the saved selections to be loaded direct from a menu item or page.

A non event hour is time that needs to be recorded outside an event and is usually just for one or two members.  For example a non event hour might be time preparing a powerpoint for a training session or taking a vehicle to the garage for a service.  Another way to view non event hours are those tasks for which an entry will not be added to the calendar.

Non event hours provide a way by which all miscellaneous hours over and above training, exercises, tasks etc... can be recorded and reported on for a true picture of a members and the groups hours.

Select the recipient(s) of the notification e-mail by position, when the member in the position stands down deselect the position for the member standing down in their account profile and select the position for the member now filling the position.  The current member(s) in the position are determined when the e-mail is actually sent and not when the notification is initially defined.

When viewing the calendar in VolunteerRescue permissions allowing there will be a button titled "export" to the left of the current calendar month and year.  Selecting this export option will display a link that can be added to any iCal compliant calendar application.  Once added to an iCal compliant calendar any events that are shown on the VolunteerRescue calendar will also be displayed on your personal calendar.