Diversity and Community Engagement
The University of Mississippi

Posts Tagged ‘GivePulse’

The Pulse – Progress Report on GivePulse

Posted on: February 9th, 2021 by elpayseu

In this post, OCE Area Coordinator Madison Alliston provides updates on GivePulse implementation and our collective impact of community engagement for spring 2021. 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Volunteering is one of the most selfless acts someone can do. Giving back to the community helps individuals become more connected to others while making a difference. That’s why the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) decided to partner with GivePulse last semester. This online service platform connects students with non-profits in the Oxford community and across the country looking to make a lasting impact.

Over the past few months, the OCE team has been hard at work getting community and campus organizations onboarded and acquainted with GivePulse, and you can already see the impact it’s making. This progress report shows just how much impact our GivePulse community has already made, and we’re just getting started.

So far, the University of Mississippi (UM) community has…

1). Connected with 1,033 students and community organizations in Oxford,

2). Received over 370 community impacts,

3). Logged 1,388 volunteer hours from students, and

4). Produced an economic impact of $37,743!

The best news of all is that more and more students are joining UM’s community each day! So far, 10 major student groups and organizations have joined the UM community page including the Luckyday Scholars, UM Athletics, and Grove Grocery. Over 60 community service organizations and nonprofits have joined the UM GivePulse page, and new opportunities are being posted constantly.

In just the first few months, GivePulse’s volunteer program has already made an impact in the Lafayette-Oxford-University community, and we are just getting started. Students are seeing the value of volunteering. They are logging onto GivePulse, finding a service organization that suits them, and making a lasting impact. We are so excited that campus and community partners are utilizing GivePulse, and we cannot wait to see where we go from here!

Have you joined GivePulse, yet? Go to olemiss.givepulse.com to create your profile and find opportunities to get engaged.

If you are a community group interested in becoming an affiliate, fill out this form to provide us with the information we need to get you set up. Our area coordinators are standing by to assist you in building out your page and connecting with our community.

Be on the lookout for more GivePulse updates, tutorials, and events every week, and don’t miss out on our Issue Area Roundtables where campus and community members will come together to discuss the issues affecting our community. Register for the first roundtable on the environment and sustainability here.

For more information:

The Pulse – Introducing GP to Students

Posted on: January 25th, 2021 by elpayseu

In this tutorial, Jilkiah Bryant, area coordinator for health & wellbeing, introduces us to the basics of GivePulse, shows how it will benefit students, and how to create your own account. These video slideshows will be coming to you each week as our area coordinator team highlights some of the best features of GivePulse and how you or your organization can reap the benefits.

So, what is GivePulse? GivePulse is a community of volunteers, professionals, civic leaders and service-learning students. It enables you to capture your impact in your community and search for local events, organizations, and the causes you care most about. This platform serves as your go-to for community service, civic engagement, and for finding opportunities that fit who you are as a person. 

Why GivePulse? GivePulse allows your community and its members to be uplifted by providing a platform that allows us to track and measure the impacts we make. Whether it be voting, volunteering, teaching, or training, in the LOU community or on campus. By sharing our service experience through GivePulse, we inspire those around us to also get involved and engaged in our communities. This platform allows us to promote and enhance the way we do community engagement.

Now that we’ve covered the “what” and the “why,” let’s get you started on the “how.”

How do I get started on GivePulse? 

  1. Just go to olemiss.givepulse.com and click “Login via OleMiss.”
    • This should take you to the myOleMiss web portal where you can login with your myOleMiss credentials.
  2. Now that you have logged in, you can start building out your profile!
    • Make sure to add a profile picture and a personal bio.
  3. Join Groups
  4. Add impacts and start tracking your community engagement.

How do I join Groups?

  1. From your profile/dashboard, click “Get Involved” in the upper right hand corner.
  2. Make sure to toggle the “Events/Groups” button to “Groups.” This will show you all of the groups you can join in your area. 
    • You can also search for groups all over the country. Just type in the zip code or city you wish to serve.
  3. Find the Group you would like to join and click “Become Member” on their homepage.
    • This allows you to stay up to date on that group’s events and opportunities as well as share your impacts with that group.
  4. Make sure to join the University of Mississippi group in order to share your impacts with our campus community!

For assistance with GivePulse, make sure to contact our area coordinator team via engaged@olemiss.edu, and be on the lookout for regular GivePulse orientation sessions as well as our GivePulse Huddles where we gather with campus and community members to share tips & tricks on how to make the most out of GivePulse.

For more information:

The Pulse – Why GivePulse?

Posted on: January 4th, 2021 by elpayseu

In this new series, The Pulse, our OCE team introduces GivePulse, our new online community engagement platform. In this first post, OCE Area Coordinator Madison Alliston shares how GivePulse is helpful for our nonprofit partners and broader community. 

When I was a kid what I wanted more than anything in the world was to be a superhero when I grew up. I wanted to save the day, defeat the villain, and get all the glory in sparkling tights and a long cape. But as I grew up, my childhood job of saving the day faded away. That was where I was wrong, because I can be a superhero by serving others using GivePulse.

GivePulse, an online platform for service organizations and nonprofits, allows individuals to become superheroes be helping them make a difference each and every day. This program helps volunteers, non-profits, service organizations, and students find unique, exciting, and educational opportunities for social change. Instead of waiting for the bat signal to appear, individuals can log on and find service organizations in their area with a touch of a button. <<Check out GivePulse here.>>

But how exactly does GivePulse benefit individuals and nonprofits compared to other volunteer platforms? There are numerous benefits for volunteers and organizations who use GivePulse.

1). GivePulse connects nonprofit agencies, student groups and the University of Mississippi throughout the Oxford community.

Community partners who use this program give the students at the University of Mississippi the opportunity to become superheroes. GivePulse integrates with the Ole Miss Forum, a platform students use to find events, organizations, and news articles on Campus. Because GivePulse lists all events in the community, the integration of the two programs is extremely helpful in connecting students with volunteer opportunities in Oxford.

2). GivePulse enables non-profits and service organizations to easily and efficiently create and list events, recruit volunteers, and track volunteers in the Oxford area.

Community partners who use this program can advertise outreach opportunities to more student organizations at the University of Mississippi. Service organizations are easily able to approve and edit submitted projects, events, and opportunities in five minutes or less. Students are able to easily register to volunteer for events and supply drives posted on GivePulse AND access a full service summary of all of their volunteer hours and impacts.

<<Check out this Socks and Scivvies Drive posted by Volunteer NE Mississippi.>>

3). GivePulse is extremely user friendly and easy for nonprofits, service organizations, and students to navigate.

Community partners who use this program can effectively communicate with volunteers through message boards and email. GivePulse provides a platform for volunteers to track and measure the impact of their volunteerism and allows service organizations to track and evaluate their effectiveness of their outreach efforts in the Oxford Community.

<<So far, in our first month, the University of Mississippi community has tracked 136 people with 166 impacts, 569 hours, and an economic impact of $15,463! That’s the power of tracking our collective impact, AND we’re just getting started!>>

4). GivePulse allows nonprofits and service organizations to share information about their organization conveniently to more volunteers.

Community partners who use this program can connect their Facebooks, Instagrams and websites on GivePulse. Service Organizations and nonprofits can spread the message about their group and connect other service platforms they use to obtain more student volunteers.

5).  GivePulse helps nonprofits and service organizations answer any and all questions quickly and accurately.

Community partners who use GivePulse can communicate with the program’s customer support online through email, webinars, or documentation. Unlike other online service platforms, GivePulse’s customer support team are ready to help users when they need it. I personally have emailed them and received help within minutes.

GivePulse has helped me to realize that I can be a superhero to others. I can make a difference in someone’s life. Having the ability to find numerous service opportunities in the Oxford community has inspired me to make a lasting impact on my community and acquire valuable life skills.

For more information:

CUPS Recap: Technology (7/23/20)

Posted on: July 24th, 2020 by elpayseu

In this CUP session, we focused on opportunities for community-university partnership around technology needs, including website design, social media, and more. We also shared new office initiatives to support these needs:

New Technology Assistance RFP Process 

Our office shared a new application form for nonprofits to submit proposed technology-related projects for student consideration. This RFP form will present us with specific information about projects concerning your organization’s outreach, technology, and communication needs and allow us to solicit and promote your project for with individual students and courses that may be able to address them.

Priority consideration for fall projects will be given to those submitted by Friday, August 7th.

Complete the application online – Request For Proposal

Download the PDF Application. 

GivePulse Overview

In this session, we also previewed GivePulse, the new service management platform that will launch this fall on campus that will help us elevate, celebrate, and sustain community engaged partnerships. In order to best serve our campus and community partners, we will be offering GivePulse training sessions to those interested in engaging with the platform at the following dates and times:

  • Tuesday, August 11th: 10am – 12pm
  • Wednesday, August 12th: 12pm – 2pm
  • Thursday, August 13th: 2pm – 4pm

These training sessions will take place on Zoom. Invitations to the Zoom meetings will be sent out to participants at a later date.

In order to RSVP to one of the training sessions please complete this form: GivePulse Training