Effective communication is essential when managing volunteers. Smart tags in VolunteerLocal simplify this process by automatically personalizing messages and reducing manual effort.
Scroll to the bottom to view the list of available smart tags
Improve Accuracy and Save Time
Smart tags pull information directly from the system, helping reduce errors and ensuring volunteers receive accurate details.
By using templates with smart tags, you can quickly send routine communications, such as shift reminders or thank-you messages, without rewriting content each time.
Add Personalization Without Extra Work
Smart tags allow you to personalize messages automatically.
For example, an email message written like this:
|
Hello {first name}, Thank you, |
Will automatically populate as:
|
Hello Emily, Food Packing Thank you, |
This allows you to maintain a personal touch without drafting individual messages, saving time while improving the volunteer experience.
How To Use Smart Tags
When composing a message or editing a template:
Click the left-most icon in the editor
Select a smart tag from the list
The smart tag will automatically insert into your message
You can also copy and paste from this article!
Available Smart Tags
Basic Volunteer Information
Make sure the fields on your Application or Event/Program have the correct Field Designation so that the data appears when using the following smart tags.
| {first name} | Volunteer’s first name |
| {last name} | Volunteer’s last name |
| {email} | Volunteer’s email address |
| {volunteer profile link} | Link to the volunteer’s profile |
Job & Shift Information
{job info} |
The job name along with the shift date and time. |
The {job info} tag displays shift details and behaves differently depending on how it’s used:
Broadcast messages or templates: Displays all upcoming shifts
Reminders or cancellations: Displays only the relevant shift
Customize Job Info Display (uncommon)
| {job info: X shifts} | Show a specific number of upcoming shifts Example: {job info: 2 shifts} |
| {job info: X days} | Show shifts within a specific timeframe Example: {job info: 3 days} |
Event/Program Information
| {event name} | Name of the event (useful for accounts with multiple events/programs) |
| {event link} | Creates a clickable URL/link for the Event/Program |
| {event qr code} | Generates a unique QR code for each volunteer, used with the Administratively-scanned QR Codes Check-in Method |
Shift Reservations
These smart tags are used to send reservation information to the reservation leader when using the Shift Reservations feature.
Templates that include any of the following Shift Reservation smart tags can only be used when creating or editing a Shift Reservation. The following smart tags will not function in the Broadcast Compose & Send Email, Shift Reminders, or sending individual emails from Volunteer Profile or Report view.
✏️ Learn more about the Shift Reservations feature
| {reservation job} | Name of the job |
| {reservation shift} | Shift date/time (e.g., October 20th, 2025 at 4:30 PM) |
| {reservation password} | Password for the reservation |
| {reservation spots} | Number of reserved spots |
| {reservation volunteers} | List of volunteers who have signed up within the reservation |
| {reservation release date} | Release date (e.g., October 13th, 2025) |
| {reservation leader} | Name and email of the group leader |
| {reservation link: Your text here} | Custom registration link Example: {reservation link: Click here to volunteer with our group!} |
{reservations info} |
Lists all future reservations associated with the reservation leader, each reservation including:
|
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