Help & Support

Key concepts

• ·Organizations are the top-level container — your PTA, neighborhood group, or volunteer roster.
• ·Members join an org using a passkey shared by the organizer.
• ·Each member has a profile per org — their contact info, location, and custom field values.
• ·Organizers manage settings, invite members, and post announcements.

Choosing the right type

Use a Community Directory when the value is in members finding each other — carpooling, playdates, neighborhood connections. Use a Private Database when you're building a roster that staff searches — guest speakers, volunteers, internship hosts, mentors.

Joining an organization

• ·Your organizer shares the community name and a passkey (like a group password).
• ·Sign up at carpoolconnector.com, then enter the org name and passkey to join.
• ·If you receive an invite email, click the link — the org and passkey will be pre-filled.
• ·You can be a member of multiple organizations under one account.

Your profile

After joining, you'll land on your profile page. Fill in your contact info, set a location pin on the map, and choose any custom fields your org uses. Everything is optional — share only what you're comfortable with.

• ·Your display name is set at signup and appears across all orgs. Update it from the profile page header.
• ·Phone and notes are visible to other members (community) or only curators (database).
• ·Notes is a free-text field — use it for carpool availability, special instructions, or anything relevant to your org.
• ·If your org has "Children's names" enabled, an extra field will appear for you to list your kids' names.
• ·Your location pin shows your approximate neighborhood — drag it to adjust. Each org has its own pin.
• ·Custom fields (e.g. Grade, Skills, Availability) are configured by your organizer.
• ·Profile photo is optional, shared across all your orgs, and shown in the directory.

Visibility badges

Your profile page shows badges indicating where you currently appear:

These reflect your saved settings — update them in the Visibility section of your profile.

Visibility controls

• ·"Show me in the directory" — includes you in the browseable member list.
• ·"Show my pin on the map" — places your location on the shared map. Toggle this off without losing your saved pin.
• ·"Email me new announcements" — opt in or out of email notifications when your org posts an announcement.
• ·If your membership has expired, you're automatically hidden until you re-confirm, regardless of your visibility settings.

Membership renewal

Some organizations use automatic membership expiration to keep their roster current. If your org has this enabled, you'll receive an email asking you to re-confirm your info periodically. Click the link, review your details, and hit Confirm — your membership extends automatically. Until you confirm, your listing will be hidden from the directory.

Leaving an organization

Go to My Profile, select the org, and click "Remove this entry" at the bottom of the page. Your data is deleted immediately.

Creating an organization

Apply to create a community from the homepage. Once approved, you'll receive a passkey to share with your members. Share the org name and passkey via email, newsletter, or any channel you use to reach your group.

Org settings

• ·Basics — change your org name, passkey, and the message shown in invite emails. Option to enable a "Children's names" field on member profiles.
• ·Tabs — choose which sections members see: Home, Directory, and Map.
• ·Fields — add custom fields (e.g. Grade, Skills) that members fill in on their profile. Fields are multi-select checkboxes.
• ·Map — set a default map center (usually your school or office address).
• ·Renewal — enable automatic membership expiration and set the duration in months. Only applies to new members going forward; existing members are not affected retroactively.
• ·Invites — send email invitations, resend individual invites, or share a direct join link.
• ·Members — view, search, and manage all members. Assign roles, remove members.

Custom fields

Custom fields let you capture structured info beyond name and phone. Each field has a label and a set of options — members pick from checkboxes on their profile. You can filter the directory and map by custom field values.

• ·Add fields from the Fields section in Org Settings.
• ·Use the ▲ ▼ buttons to reorder fields.
• ·Renaming a field will orphan existing member data — their selections won't carry over until they re-save their profile. A warning will appear in settings if you do this.
• ·Removing an option doesn't delete existing member data, but that value becomes unfilerable.

Inviting members

You can invite members two ways: share the passkey directly (they join at carpoolconnector.com), or send email invitations from the Invites section. Email invites include a pre-filled link so members land directly on the join page.

• ·The Invites section also shows a direct join link you can copy and share anywhere.
• ·Individual pending invitations can be resent if the original email was missed.
• ·You can add a custom invite message in Basics — it's included in every invite email and saved so you don't have to retype it.

Membership renewal

Enable auto-expiration in the Renewal section of Org Settings. Set how many months a membership lasts. New members who join after enabling this will have an expiry date set automatically — existing members at the time you enable it are not affected retroactively. When a membership expires, that member is hidden from the directory until they re-confirm. A renewal email is sent to expired members automatically.

Assigning roles

Go to Org Settings → Members. Find the member and use the "Make admin" or "Make curator" buttons. Hover either button for a description of what the role does. Roles can be removed the same way.

Posting an announcement

• ·Go to the Home tab and click "+ Post Announcement".
• ·Add a title (required), body text, and an optional link with a label.
• ·Use "Preview email" to see exactly what members will receive in their inbox before posting.
• ·Check "Email members" to send the announcement to all members with email notifications enabled.
• ·For private database orgs, "Email members" is off by default — turn it on intentionally to reach your roster.

Email notifications

Members can opt out of announcement emails from their profile page (Visibility section → "Email me new announcements"). Organizers cannot override this per-member preference. Members who have opted out will still see announcements on the Home tab.

Editing and deleting

Org creators and admins can edit or delete any announcement from the Home tab. Editing does not re-send email notifications.

Who can see what

Controlling your visibility

Each org has its own visibility settings on your profile page. Changes take effect immediately after saving — you can adjust or remove yourself from the directory at any time. Your contact info and location data are never shared outside your org.

Data security

Your data is only accessible to members of your organization. Community Connector uses row-level security on all data — even platform staff cannot read member data without explicit access. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from your profile settings.

School PTA or parent group

Use a Community Directory. Enable the map so families can find neighbors for carpooling and playdates. Add a "Grade" custom field so parents can filter by their child's grade. Enable renewal annually (12 months) so the directory stays current year to year.

Neighborhood group

Use a Community Directory. The map is the star feature — members can see who lives nearby. Custom fields like "Has dog", "Interested in block watch", or "Available for snow removal" make it useful beyond just contact info.

Volunteer pool

Use a Private Database. Volunteers submit their own profiles with availability, skills, and interests. Staff (curators) search and filter the roster to find the right person for each opportunity. Use curator notes to track who's been contacted and what projects they've worked on.

Guest speaker or expert database

Use a Private Database. Speakers submit their own bio and areas of expertise via custom fields. Staff browse the roster when planning events. The announcement feature can be used to alert speakers to upcoming opportunities — just check "Email members" when posting.

Mentor or internship host network

Use a Private Database. Mentors fill in industry, availability, and areas they can help with. Program coordinators (curators) match students or participants to mentors. Enable renewal so mentors re-confirm their availability each year.

Multiple orgs, one account

You can be a member of multiple organizations under one Community Connector account. Switch between them using the dropdown on the Connect page. Each org has its own profile — your settings, visibility, and custom field values are independent per org.