Inspiration
After looking at a few examples of volunteer management systems, we realised that the current process was cumbersome, effort-intensive and disorganised. Hence, in brainstorming for a solution, we prioritised cost-effectiveness and efficiency, to empower both volunteers and administrators to contribute effectively to the organisation and its mission.
What it does
HeartBot is a TeleBot that automates the process of volunteers enrolling, managing activities and requesting certificates from organisations, and streamlines the process of handling forms, taking attendance, and generating detailed reports by nonprofit administrators. It consolidates all these functionalities into a single platform with a large user-base – Telegram – and automates several complicated processes. Volunteers are able to perform specific functionalities by prompting the bot with commands such as /enrol and /dashboard.
How we built it
We used telebot, a Python library, to build HeartBot, allowing it to respond to specific commands. We also used Google sheets, a low-cost option, to store data such as attendance, volunteer hours and feedback.
Challenges we ran into
Making sure the design of the Telegram bot was user-friendly. Although Telegram usage is widespread in Singapore, and many know how to navigate through the messaging app, the specific functions of the bot may not be made clear. Hence, we made sure that the bot would send specific instructions, and included an option for the user to ask for help. We will also implement a 'Menu' that allows volunteers to look at the full list of available commands and their functions.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Being able to fulfil our primary focus of cost-effectiveness and efficiency by thinking of a simple, straightforward solution of making a Telegram Bot. Instead of making use of other platforms such as building a website or an application, which could be more aesthetically pleasing, we chose to focus on functionality and simplicity.
What we learned
We learned about the many different facets that go into volunteer management and how much administrative work organisations have to engage in in this process. When considering the features of the bot, we made sure that all aspects were addressed and applied in our solution.
What's next for HeartBot
We will focus on implementing the full list of commands of the bot and its functionalities. We will also provide databases and backend that is necessary for data management and for the organisation to observe volunteering trends. We also hope to automate even more processes such as feedback review so as to minimise manual efforts as much as possible.
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