Guide for charitable organizations and community partners using the RippleCore platform

Charity Partner Guide

For Charitable Organizations and Community Partners

Overview

The RippleCore Charity Platform connects charitable organizations with corporate volunteers, tracks volunteer impact, manages partnerships, and provides verification services for volunteer activities.

PRD Reference: Lines 192-209 (Volunteer Management System)

Getting Started

Platform Access

URL: https://charity.ripplecore.co.uk (or localhost:3010 for development)

Account Setup:

Receive invitation or register as charity partner
Complete charity verification:
- Charity Commission number (UK)
- Registration documents
- Contact details
- Focus areas (SDGs, causes)
Create opportunity listings
Start receiving volunteers

Key Features

Volunteer Opportunity Management: Post opportunities with skills matching
Check-In/Check-Out System: QR code + GPS verification
Impact Tracking: Hours, outcomes, and beneficiary metrics
Partnership Management: Corporate partner relationships
Verification Services: Multi-tier volunteer verification (30-100 scoring)
Reporting: Impact reports for funders and stakeholders

Charity Verification

Registration Process

Required Information:

Charity name and registration number
Legal status (registered charity, CIC, social enterprise)
Focus areas (select from 17 UN SDGs)
Primary cause categories
Contact details (email, phone, website)
Bank details (for potential future donations integration)

Verification Levels:

Level 1 (Basic): Email and website verification
Level 2 (Standard): Charity Commission verification
Level 3 (Enhanced): Document verification + reference checks
Level 4 (Premium): On-site visit + ongoing monitoring

Approval Time:

Level 1-2: 24 hours
Level 3: 3-5 business days
Level 4: 1-2 weeks

Risk Assessment

RippleCore checks:

✅ Charity Commission active status
✅ Financial health (accounts filed)
✅ No serious incident reports
✅ Positive safeguarding policies
✅ Insurance coverage

Risk Ratings:

🟢 Low Risk: Verified, established, good standing
🟡 Medium Risk: New charity, minor concerns
🔴 High Risk: Unverified, financial issues, incidents

Volunteer Opportunity Management

Creating Opportunities

Process:

Navigate to Opportunities → Create New
Enter opportunity details:
- Title and description
- Location (address or virtual)
- Date(s) and times
- Number of volunteers needed
- Skills required (from skills bank)
- Accessibility information
- What to bring/wear
Set verification requirements
Publish opportunity

Skills Matching: RippleCore automatically matches opportunities with volunteers based on:

Required skills (e.g., carpentry, teaching, IT)
Volunteer skill profiles
Availability
Location proximity
Past volunteering history

Example Skills Bank:

Professional: Project management, accounting, legal, marketing
Trade: Carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting
Education: Teaching, tutoring, mentoring
Community: Gardening, cooking, event management
Digital: Web design, social media, photography

Managing Applications

Application Flow:

Volunteer expresses interest
Charity reviews profile
Accept or decline with message
Send confirmation and instructions
Provide check-in details (QR code, GPS coordinates)

Communication:

In-app messaging
Email notifications
SMS reminders (optional)
Calendar invites

Volunteer Verification System

Check-In/Check-Out

QR Code Check-In:

Generate QR code for opportunity
Print or display QR code at location
Volunteers scan QR code on arrival
System verifies GPS location (optional)
Check-in recorded with timestamp

Check-Out Process:

Volunteers scan QR code when leaving
Duration automatically calculated
Charity confirms attendance (verification)
Impact outcomes recorded

GPS Verification:

Optional geo-fence around charity location
Verifies volunteers are physically present
Tolerance: 100 meters radius
Fallback: Manual verification if GPS unavailable

Multi-Tier Verification

Verification Levels (PRD Lines 203-209):

100 points (Tier 1): System verified - QR + GPS + charity confirmation
90 points (Tier 2): Manager approved - charity staff verification
70 points (Tier 3): Peer confirmed - other volunteer verification
50 points (Tier 4): Photo evidence - photo uploaded with charity tag
30 points (Tier 5): Self-reported - volunteer self-declaration

Achieving Higher Verification:

Use QR check-in system (+30 points)
Enable GPS verification (+20 points)
Charity staff confirms attendance (+50 points)
Upload photo evidence (+20 points)
Peer verification from other volunteers (+20 points)

Audit Weight: Higher verification levels carry more weight in compliance audits and impact reporting.

Impact Tracking

Recording Outcomes

Beyond Hours: Track meaningful outcomes beyond volunteer hours:

Beneficiaries reached (number of people)
Services delivered (meals served, homes repaired)
Resources distributed (food parcels, clothing items)
Skills transferred (people trained)
Environmental impact (trees planted, waste reduced)

Outcome Categories:

Direct Beneficiaries: People directly helped
Indirect Beneficiaries: Community impact
Environmental: Sustainability outcomes
Economic: Local economic benefit
Social: Community cohesion, wellbeing

Impact Reporting

Available Reports:

Monthly Impact Summary
- Volunteer hours
- Beneficiaries reached
- Outcomes achieved
- Top corporate partners
Annual Impact Report
- Year-over-year trends
- Volunteer demographics
- SDG alignment
- Stories and testimonials
Funder Reports
- Customizable by funder requirements
- Evidence-backed metrics
- Volunteer verification levels
- Financial value of volunteering (proxy values)

Export Formats: PDF, Excel, CSV

Corporate Partnerships

Managing Partner Relationships

Partner Types:

Regular Partners: Ongoing relationship, monthly volunteering
Project Partners: Specific project or initiative
Event Partners: One-off events
Skills-Based Partners: Professional volunteering programs

Partnership Features:

Dedicated partner portal
Custom opportunity creation
Team volunteering coordination
Impact dashboard for partners
Branded impact reports

Company Match Integration

For Donation Tracking:

Partners can set up company match programs
Employees donate to your charity
Company matches donation (e.g., 2:1 match)
RippleCore tracks and verifies all donations
Monthly reconciliation reports

Example:

Employee donates £100 to your charity
Company matches 2:1 = £200
Total donation: £300
Verification: Bank transaction + company confirmation

Safeguarding & Compliance

Volunteer Safeguarding

Requirements:

DBS checks for relevant roles (automatically tracked)
Safeguarding policy published
Incident reporting system
Age restrictions enforced (16+, 18+ for certain roles)
Lone working policies

RippleCore Features:

DBS expiry tracking and alerts
Age verification from volunteer profiles
Safeguarding policy acknowledgment
Incident log with immediate alerts

Data Protection

GDPR Compliance:

Volunteer data processing agreement
Clear consent for data collection
Right to access volunteer records
Right to erasure (with audit trail retention)
Data retention: 6 years for volunteer records

Data Shared with Charities:

✅ Volunteer name, email, phone
✅ Skills and experience
✅ Availability and preferences
✅ Attendance records
❌ Personal wellbeing data (anonymized only)
❌ Donation amounts (anonymized only)

Opportunity Best Practices

Creating Engaging Opportunities

Title Best Practices:

Clear and specific (e.g., "Garden Restoration Day" not "Volunteering")
Include impact (e.g., "Help 50 Families with Food Bank Sorting")
Action-oriented (e.g., "Build Community Garden Beds")

Description Guidelines:

What volunteers will do (specific tasks)
Impact they'll create (who benefits)
Skills needed (or "no experience required")
What to bring/wear
Accessibility information
Parking and public transport details

Photos:

Upload high-quality photos of:
- Volunteers in action (with consent)
- Beneficiaries helped (anonymized if needed)
- Before/after project photos
- Location and facilities

Skills-Based Volunteering

High-Value Skills:

Professional Services: Legal, accounting, HR, marketing
Technical: Web development, IT support, data analysis
Creative: Design, photography, video production
Trades: Construction, repairs, maintenance

Matching Algorithm: RippleCore automatically suggests opportunities to volunteers based on:

Professional skills match (70% weight)
Availability match (15%)
Location proximity (10%)
Past volunteering preference (5%)

Financial Sustainability

All We Can Connection

How It Works:

10% of RippleCore subscription revenue funds All We Can
Global school programs supported
Your charity benefits indirectly through:
- More corporate volunteer engagement
- Better volunteer tracking and verification
- Professional volunteering expertise
- Increased donor trust through evidence

Impact Visibility: