Tap into UCalgary’s vibrant volunteer community with new tool

Before the university’s new volunteer management system, Better Impact, was made available university-wide in April 2019, IT technical services co-ordinator and zone manager Marc Wrubleski had very few options to manage his volunteers in the Schulich School of Engineering’s Maker Multiplex.

“Students use the Schulich makerspaces to create things to solve engineering problems, and we need student volunteers to mentor and supervise the labs to make sure everyone is safe, and getting the assistance they need,” Wrubleski says.

“We’ve had a lot of success and added capabilities because of Better Impact.”

Say goodbye to paper — once and for all

One of the biggest benefits of Better Impact, Wrubleski says, is saying goodbye to paper signup sheets, consent forms and other administrative paperwork that he says takes too much time and effort to maintain.

“When we first looked into the volunteer management processes before Better Impact, it was the old paper-based system,” Wrubleski says. “But the day we saw the UToday story announcing this new volunteer management system we stopped the presses and applied right away.”

Not having to look after paper and documents has been a lifesaver for not only Wrubleski and his team, but also his students who now have increased access to the makerspaces thanks to an efficient volunteer management system.

Frees up time for the work that really matters

Having a system in place specifically for managing volunteers has allowed Wrubleski and his team to spend less time on process — and more time on what matters.

“It enables my staff to do value-added work or more strategic work, which we wouldn't have enough time for without this system,” he says, adding that it has been a real benefit to students using the space.

You get all the support you’ll need

Though Wrubleski says you’ll need to dedicate some real time to learning the ins and outs of the volunteer management system, you’ll have all the support you need both online and in-person.

“There was a learning curve to get Better Impact up and running, but the time spent learning it was worth it,” Wrubleski says.

“We used the online documentation to learn the system, plus we had a couple of training sessions with the Risk Management and Insurance team — which was invaluable when you wanted to ask specific questions.”

Get Better Impact for you and your team

Do you recruit UCalgary alumni volunteers? The UCalgary Alumni team offers volunteer recruitment support through their Better Impact team account for all alumni-specific volunteer opportunities on campus. If you are interested in tapping into UCalgary’s amazing community of alumni volunteers, contact alumnivolunteer@ucalgary.ca.

For all non-alumni focused accounts, review the information on the Risk Management and Insurance website for next steps.