❖ Heads up! This article is intended for admins.
Now that you've created your Shift site account, it's time to set it up for success! In this article, we cover how organizations dedicated to animal welfare can set up a successful Shift site. This information is tailored to those organization types specifically. This may include:
- Animal Rescues and Shelters
- Animal Rehabilitation or Rehoming organizations
- Animal Care, Training, Grooming, etc.
- Fostering Pets
- Big Animals—i.e., Equestrian, Farm, Exotic, and Zoo
These are just a few examples; however, this article is targeted at organizations who primarily work with furry or scaly friends. Here we cover:
Three steps to success
Here are the three steps to take to get started!
Step one: Create a Shift
The purpose of your Shift site is to make your volunteer scheduling easier so that you can confidently focus on your mission. So the first thing to do is start adding shifts to your site so your community can start registering for them.
1. Click Schedule at the top of your site. 
- This is the default page when you log in as an admin.
2. There are several options for creating a shift which you can learn more about by clicking here. 
- For this example, we're just clicking into the calendar and creating a new shift from there.
3. Get creative! Titles of shifts should be clear, informative, and it doesn't hurt if they're a little catchy too.
- This really comes down to what the purpose of that shift is and the tone you want to set for it.
4. Fill in that description field with detail about the shift and any additional information you think volunteers should know when registering.
- Here's what it looks like to the volunteers:
5. Set up the shift as a one-off event or repeating!
Once you post shifts on your site, you can start registering volunteers for them or share them with your community to boost interest around them.
Naming shifts
When it comes to naming your shifts, it really depends on how you want to set them up. For example, you could set them up to be role-specific, animal-specific, location-specific, task-specific, etc. You can give them simple names or add a little spice to them with some funny puns. However you set them up, you want to ensure they capture the tone and intention of your mission. Here are some examples to give you some ideas—click here for more naming inspiration:
| Shift Theme | Example Titles |
|---|---|
| Role-specific |
|
| Animal-specific |
|
| Location-specific |
|
| Task-specific |
|
| Catchy / Punny / Fun |
|
Step two: Brand your site
There are two major components to branding your Shift site:
- Your site's name
- Your site's logo
Your site's name
Your site's name can be the same name as your organization or it can be named after one of your organization's agencies or programs. You can also name it something else entirely, but it's best to keep it relevant and recognizable. How you name your site really depends on how you plan to use your site. For example, if you plan to use your site for only one mission, you might name it something like Gloria's Big Cat Rescue.
- The name of your site appears in the site's URL. You can also include it in your logo.
Your site's logo
Your site's logo is one of the first things volunteers and site visitors see when they navigate to your site. Click here for information about updating your logo. Here are a few things to keep in mind about your logo:
- Your logo resizes to 200 x 50px or pixels after you upload it
- You can adjust the size, but it's best to go ahead and size your image to these specifications before uploading
- You'll want to check the readability of your logo at that size by testing it out in a photo editor before you upload it
- While we love recommending Canva for this task, you are of course welcome to use any photo editing software of your choice
- The logo is a great place to include your site's name
Step three: Invite volunteers
Now that you've added some shifts and set up your branding, it's time to invite volunteers to your site! Already have a roster of volunteers ready to sign up? You can register them for shifts on their behalf! Here are some ways to start sharing your site and inviting volunteers today:
- Share your site's URL in an email blast, social media post, newsletter, etc.
- Post about your site in local forums
- Reach out to local animal shelters and animal welfare organizations to spread the word about your site and opportunities
- Invite volunteers directly
- Register volunteers for opportunities if you already have a roster of ready-to-go members
- You can create an account for them and send an email invitation for them to complete their profiles when you do
- Upload a link to your site on your organization's main homepage
There are several ways to get the word out about your site. You can also use some of these templates we've created or come up with your own!
The member perspective
When members register on your site, they can then view and register for posted shifts: 
Registered members can:
- access their account information—here they can change their password, add an avatar, edit their information, etc.
- review their schedules
- find new shifts to register for
- unregister for shifts
- review their data—e.g., how many hours they have submitted for shifts and their shift registrations
Additional tips
Here are some examples of how you might set up your site, depending on how you intend to use it:
- Do you want to post opportunities that are the same but occur at different locations? You might consider creating your opportunities as location-based shifts!
- You can designate different colors to each location and differentiate them by title too
- Do you want to set your opportunities up to be task or role-based? You might consider titling them after the specific roles or tasks that the opportunity fulfills.
- In this example, the same color was designated for all of the different opportunities within one scheduled event: Bark in the Park. However, you can select different colors to differentiate each role or task if you'd like!
