Do Some Good's world class form system allows you to fully streamline any community program or application process, such as donation and sponsorship requests. You can also use forms to gather impact stories from community organizations, employees, stores/locations, and more.  

Quick Links:

• Getting Started
  • Ready-Made Templated Forms & Other Options
  • Using the Form System to Collect Impact Stories
  • Form Name & Description
• Customizing & Editing Forms
• Draft Forms & Publishing
• Editing Form Details
  • Form Name
  • Form Description
  • Thank-You Message
  • Start Accepting Submissions (Date/Time)
  • Stop Accepting Submissions (Date/Time)
  • Form Background Colour and Image
• Saved Messages for Submission States
• Managing Forms
  • Publishing & Closing Your Form
  • Sharing Your Form
  • Recent Submissions
  • Messaging
  • Recent Activity
  • Transfer Ownership
  • Archiving
• Needing an Account to Fill Out Forms
• Best Practices

Getting Started 

To create a form, head to the "Forms / Story Generator" page in your left-hand navigation. You will land on your "Forms" page. Select the green "New Form" button.

 

 

Ready-Made Templated Forms & Other Options

Every time you create a form, you have a few options to choose from:

• You can start with one of our ready-made templated forms. Using industry best practices, we've designed a suite of templated forms that will give you a head start and save you significant time.
  
  When you select a template, you can go ahead and use it as is, or you can make any edits you wish. There are 7 templates to choose from:
  
  

• You can start with a blank form. Selecting a blank form will take you to our intuitive, drag-and-drop Form Builder tool which is super easy to use. A quick tour will launch to show you around. You can read up on all of the Form Builder functionality here.

If you've ALREADY CREATED A FORM BEFORE, your Forms page will look something like this, with a list of all of the forms you've created. If you want to create a new form, just select the green "New Form" button in the top right-hand corner.

 

 

Once you select the "New Form" button, you will again have the option to start with a ready-made template, a blank form, AND you also have the option of starting with one of your existing forms. 

No matter which option you choose, your form will be created as a draft which you can edit and review before you decide to publish it.

 

Using the Form System to Collect Impact Stories

You can use the form system to collect impact stories from community organizations, employees, stores/locations, and more. And the best part? These stories are auto-created FOR you. No more going back and forth with people by email collecting write-ups, photos, approvals, etc. These stories come ready to go, rights cleared.

For a quick overview of how Story Generator works, check out these short videos:

• 30 sec - https://youtu.be/0Vqz9mt6KGs
• 2 min - https://youtu.be/s3zc5MpQCQA

And for tips on how to best create, share, and edit your impact story form, visit this article.

 

Form Name & Description

Once you choose template, blank, or existing form, you will be asked to enter a form name and description.

 

• Form Name: Your Form Name is added to the top of your form and is also incorporated into the permanent url you will use to share this form. 
  
  
• Form Description: This is shown when you share your Form URL on social media, etc. We recommend you include a brief description of your company and why you support the community, followed by what the form is (e.g., funding/grant application, spotlight form, etc.) and what it’s meant to do (e.g., support kids sport programs, showcase our customers, etc.).

Note: You can edit your form name and description at any point, but keep in mind that the very first form name you enter is what will appear in your form's URL.

 

Customizing & Editing Forms

No matter what type of form you select (template, blank, existing), once you've added your form name and description, you will be taken directly to the Form Builder tool where you can easily customize and/or edit your form however you like. You can read up on all of the Form Builder functionality here. When in Form Builder, don't forget to save your work!

 

Draft Forms & Publishing 

When you are done using Form Builder to customize and/or edit your form, select the green "Done Editing" button in the top right-hand corner. This will take you back tot he Manage Form page. 

 

 

One of the key actions on the "Form Details" page allows you to "Publish" your form. When you publish a form, it is available on Do Some Good if someone has a link, but it does not mean that it is publicized or searchable. It is up to your team to share links to your form in Do Some Good stories, on social media, in newsletters or whichever method you feel will reach your audience most effectively. 

 

When you are ready to publish your form, you press the publish button. If you plan on launching your program right away you can simply "Publish Open-Ended" in the Publish Form dialog box. This will make the link to the form active and will allow any user with that link to create a submission, and it will remain active until one of your administrators decides to close the form. 

 

If you wish to publish the form, but not allow submissions to be accepted prior to and/or after a specific date and time you can choose the option to "Setup Start Time and/or Deadline". This will allow you to set dates and times for submission cut offs and as well as optional messages that will be displayed to the user if they visit the form link outside of the submission time window.

These start and end dates can be updated by editing the form details at any time prior to or after the form is published. 

NOTE: If you want your team to create test submissions before launching your program, do NOT set a start date in the future. Not even administrators can submit to a form outside of the submission range. 

 

More details about how start and end times behave can be found below. 

If you're not ready to publish yet, no problem! Your form is saved as a draft on your Forms page. Share this draft link with other administrators so they can review it and suggest changes. Select "Preview Draft Form", the form will open , and then just copy the URL and send it off. Administrators will be able to view and interact with the form but will not be able to create a submission. 

 

 

 

Editing Form Details

There are many form details that you can view and customize. Simply select "Manage" next to the form you're working with. 

 

 

You will land on your "Manage Form" page. Then select the "Edit Details" green button on the right.

 

 

You will land on your "Edit Form Details" page. Here are the different form details you can customize and edit at any time.

Form Name

This is originally set when the form is created but can be changed. Note: the form name you originally chose is what will appear in your form's URL.

Form Description

This is shown when you share your Form URL on social media, etc. 

Thank-you Message 

When a respondent submits a form, they are taken to a standard thank-you page. You can add a custom message that the respondent will see on that page and in an email.  

 

Start Accepting Submissions After

At the time of publishing, or at any time in the Edit Form Details area, you can set a 'Start Accepting Submissions After' date and time. When you set this value on a published form, any visitor who arrives prior to the opening date/time will be shown a generic landing page indicating the form is not open for submissions yet. If you choose to provide an optional message to the visitor, this will be displayed on the same landing page. Helpful information to provide might be the opening date or information that may be required once the form is open to submissions. 

The already published form will automatically start accepting submissions at the date and time and in the time zone of the person who set the value. Any visitors to the form after that time will see the form and be able to submit until the form is manually closed or reaches its pre-defined end date. 

NOTE: Setting a 'Start Accepting Submissions After' date/time WILL NOT automatically publish a draft form.  

 

Stop Accepting Submissions After

At the time of publishing, or at any time in the Edit Form Details area, you can set a 'Stop Accepting Submissions After' date and time. When you set this value on a published form, any visitor who arrives after to the closing date/time will be shown a generic landing page indicating the form is no longer accepting submissions. If you choose to provide an optional message to the visitor, this will be displayed on the same landing page. Helpful information to provide might be a link to your community page or other programs that may still be active.  

The published form will automatically stop accepting submissions at the date and time in the time zone of the person who set the value. Any visitors to the form after that time will see the landing page with the optional message. 

 

Message Displayed to Applicants Accessing the Form After the Deadline

Once a form is closed to new submissions, people may still have access to the form link. If they visit the form, they will see a message that the form is closed. You can customize a message for your applicants. A link to your community support page with links to other programs is a good thing to add here. 

Form Background Colour and Image

This optional field allows you to set the colour of the area behind your form. Our default background colour is a light blue with a blended image behind it but you can change the colour to anything you like and also remove the image. You can find the option to set your background colour by editing the form details on its manage page, or at the top of the form builder by clicking on the 'Appearance Settings' button. In the colour choice dialog you will have the option to set the colour using a colour picker, or colour code. You can choose between HEX, RGB and HSL colour formats by clicking the arrows next to the code.

You can choose to keep the stock Do Some Good image blended with your colour or just use a solid colour. This same coloured background effect happens on the account/create and login screens if the respondent is not logged in. Removing the Do Some Good image is done by un-checking the box to 'Blend Background Color With Default Background Image'. 

• Not sure what the colour code is for your company's brand colours? You can use this free tool to find out:  https://imagecolorpicker.com/
  • • Option 1: Upload your logo or an image. Then click on the colour in the image you've uploaded and it will tell you the "HTML code:" with the hex colour.
    • Option 2: Enter the URL to your website or an image and pick the colour on the preview they provide to find your HEX colour.

Saved Messages for Submission States

You have the ability to set a custom message for any state of your form. Whenever you choose a state with a custom message in the 'Change Submission State' dialog, the custom message will be pre filled in the 'Personalized message to the applicant' area. 

 

To create a new message in the "Form Details" page, select the 'Create Message' button, select state you want to associate a message with and compose your message. You can also save or update the default message from within the state change dialog. 

Once a message is created you can edit that message from the "Form Details" page in the Saved Messages area. 

Although the personalized message is pre-filled your administrators are not forced to use it. The administrator can edit or further personalize that message or choose not to send a message at all. 

 

Managing Forms

To manage a form, head to your "Mange Forms" page by clicking on the "Manage" button next to the form you're working with. 

 

 

There are several actions you can take to manage your form:

 

Publishing & Closing Your Form

You can publish a draft form or, if your program is at an end, you can "Close Form Submissions" so that no new submissions can be made. 

 

Sharing Your Form

Once your form is published and you're ready to share your form link, click the "Share This Form" button. (NOTE: you can also share your form from your main Forms tab by clicking the "Share" button next to the form).

 

 

Grab your form URL or QR code to copy and paste on your website, share your form via social media, or email your form link out to people - totally up to you!

For a ready-made email you can send out, click the "Show Sample Message" link.

 

 

Once your link is shared, you will start to receive Submissions. You'll be notified by email each time a person fills out your form. Learn how to review, process and manage submissions here. 

 

Recent Submissions

View a list of the most recent submissions to this form. 

Messaging

You have the option to group message your applicants: all applicants, all approved applicants, or all declined applicants, which will save you a lot of time. 

By default, users are configured to receive an email when they receive an in-platform message. Each user can however change their communication settings. 

 

 

 

Recent Activity

The recent activity feed shows information that is of concern to the entire form. That would include changes to the form details, publishing status, new submissions, change of ownership and similar. It would not include information that is particular to a single form submission. Each submission has its own activity feed as well. 

 

Transfer Ownership

You do not need to set a form owner, all administrators on your platform have access to view and edit details for all forms and submissions. If however you have a form that you are most responsible for and you want to be notified of all activity related to that form, setting the form owner will do that for you. 

If you are the form owner, you will automatically be set as the owner of each new submission that comes in. Any time an edit is made to the form details or a submission that you own by an administrator other than yourself, you will receive a notification from Do Some Good. 

If you wish to learn how you can use form and submission owners to help with your review workflow and target notifications to the correct people, please refer to this article. 

 

Archiving

Archiving a form is usually only done when the form was a mistake or if your team is completely done with it. The form is removed from the reporting dashboard and from the form page itself. You can still view the form details if you choose the "Archived" filter on your "Form" page. 

 

Needing an Account to Fill Out a Form

Once applicants click on the link to your application form, they are taken to the Do Some Good login page to either sign into their Do Some Good account or create one.

Applicants must have a Do Some Good account to fill out your application form. This provides a number of benefits:

• Allows for some application fields to auto-fill based on applicant’s login information
• Ensures security and credibility of the completed form, weeding out any spam
• Creates a connection between your business and the applicant
• Makes it easy to communicate with the applicant after the form has been submitted
• Allows you to collect more data for tracking and reporting 
• Allows the Do Some Good platform to nudge and encourage the applicant to be a brand ambassador for your business (e.g. sharing stories, writing testimonials)

The most important reason for requiring an account in information security. After filling out your form, the submitter is given a link to view their submission and its current state of review. Because the form may contain sensitive or private information, the respondent will only be able to view their submission if they are logged into their account. Any verifiable fields that are edited by one of your team will be displayed to the applicant (along with their original entry) in this view.

 

Best Practices

Use a Variety of Forms

When it comes to forms, it's best practice to create and use them in a variety of ways to fully maximize the powerful Form Builder tool and enhance your brand and reputation as a company that cares.

• • • Consider building an impact follow-up form (or using the template we provide) to ask charities you’ve supported about the impact your funding or sponsorship has had on their organization.
      
      
    • Or a spotlight form to send to your customers, employees, or community partners. Spotlights are a great way to celebrate or recognize the accomplishments of others, which leads to strengthened business relationships.
      
      
    • Click here to view each template and learn how to use them to boost your company's brand!
      
      
    • And keep in mind, the possibilities for creating and using forms are endless! Think of your business needs and how sending out a form, and auto-creating stories with the responses,  will help you meet your goals!
      
      
• It also matters how you get the word out about your form!
  
  
  • • If your company regularly supports the community, consider building a community section or page on your website. You can add a link to your donation and sponsorship request form here. 
    • Here's how Otter Co-op has set up their community webpage. You'll see they've posted some details about their Community Support Fund, including eligibility, program details, and a link to their application form.