❖ Heads up! This article is intended for site managers.
With the Galaxy Link, you can connect to other sites for receiving and sharing data. This includes:
- Content—e.g., events, initiatives, Needs, agencies, volunteers
- Response content—e.g., Need responses or event RSVPs
- Reporting data—i.e., information from the Reports area
This is a great tool for hosting content from other Get Connected sites to help them extend their reach and build a stronger community of volunteers! Here we cover:
ⓘ So you know: To make a site connection, both parties must have a Get Connected site and agree to share data across their platforms.
Important terminology
When talking about the Galaxy Link and site connections, there are a few important terms you'll need to know:
- Sender—a "Sender" is the site sending content to another site
- Host—a "Host" is the site receiving content from another site
- Content—the events, initiatives, volunteer Needs, and agencies a Sender site shares with a Host site
- Response Content—responses to content (e.g., Need responses, event RSVPs, etc.) on a Host site that flows back to the originating site, or the Sender site
Common connections
While your specific site connection needs are your own entirely, we did want to highlight some of the most common ones we see being made:
Volunteer centers and nonprofits
This is a very common site connection we see. In this scenario, a single-cause organization connects to a local volunteer center. In this connection, the single-cause organization's agencies and volunteer Needs are shared with the local volunteer center to help bring more attention to their content. This helps:
- single-cause organizations attract more volunteers to their agencies and Needs
- extend their reach to the volunteer center's established community
- promote their site and content
Volunteer centers and colleges or universities
Another common site connection we see is a volunteer center connecting to a college or university's site. This allows:
- the volunteer center to share volunteer and service Needs for students to get involved in
Volunteer centers and corporations
In this scenario, volunteer centers connect with corporations who value employee volunteerism and improving their social responsibility. Through this connection, volunteer centers can share specially curated volunteer Needs with the corporations to share with their employees. This also allows corporations to monitor and track their employee volunteer involvement. 
State sites
State sites can make connections with organizations across their state to host and promote those organizations' agencies and volunteer Needs. This option is great for:
- States who are working to achieve Federal Grants
- States who are trying to allocate resources more effectively across the state
Major organizations with sublicenses
Another site connection scenario we see is one major organization that has a headquarters site and location-based branches—or sublicenses. This option is ideal for large-scale non-profits or organizations that want to offer licenses to smaller or location-based organizations within their communities.
How to turn on the Galaxy Link
Please contact us to request enabling the Galaxy Link. You and the sites you wish to connect to must provide documentation—e.g., signed data-sharing agreements—that confirms all parties agree to the data-sharing relationship. Once we have received that documentation, we can enable the Galaxy Link for you. All content is shared from one site to another automatically once a site connection has been established; however, you can opt to block content as necessary.
How others interact with shared content
For all content, except initiatives, data sharing is usually one way—i.e., a site shares content with another site but doesn't receive content back from them except for response content and reporting data. However, a site connection can be setup to both share and receive content between sites. This is really dependent on how you and the other sites want to share and manage content and data.
- Initiatives are always accessible by both sites, regardless of how the site connection is configured—unless one site manager has blocked shared initiatives that is.
- Here, we've listed what others can do when interacting with shared content:
Site managers
While other sites' site managers can't directly edit shared content, they can:
- Add tags to events, Needs, and agencies
- These tags don't appear on the Sender site—just on the Host site
- Edit responses and manage hours for volunteers that have responded to a Sender site's Needs
- Block shared events, initiatives, Needs, and agencies from appearing on a site
- Assign shared Needs to their user groups
- Share the Sender site's initiative links with volunteers
- View the Sender site's custom initiative questions and excluded agencies list
Volunteers
When a Sender site's content is shared on another site, then the Host site's volunteers can:
- View the Sender site's agencies' profile pages
- View and respond to the Sender site's Needs
- View and RSVP to the Sender site's events
- Search Needs by initiatives
- View the Sender site's initiatives' banners and descriptions as applicable
- Receive notifications about the Sender site's initiatives—this is dependent on how the Sender site has set up custom messages for initiatives and notifications
ⓘ So you know: These same interactions apply for a Host site.
FAQ
Do qualifications impact how volunteers interact with shared content?
Yes. If there are qualifications active on a shared Need, then volunteers must complete those qualifications and be approved before they can respond to a Need. Depending on how a Sender site has set up their qualifications, they may be automatically approved or have to be reviewed and manually approved by the Sender site.
How can I ensure volunteers are taken to my site when responding to my Needs?
This is part of the site connection set up. You can have volunteers redirected to your site when they click on your Needs posted on the Host site. If you'd like for us to set that up for you, please contact us with your request.
Is it possible to remove shared content back to the date we set up the site connection, so I can pick and choose which pieces of content I want shared?
Yes. This is something we would have to do on our end. Please contact us if you'd like to discuss this further.
What do my tables have color-coded segments?
The color-coding lets you know the content is from a site connection. For example, if a volunteer responds to a Needs on a Host site, then the Sender site can review the responses from Volunteerism > Responses. The responses that are color-coded in the table are the responses that were made on the Host site.
Why aren't my agency fans appearing in reporting?
Data Explorers Reports only pulls data from the site, not from connected sites. You can always review a list of agency fans by going to Volunteerism > Agencies > select the Agency Name > scroll to Agency Fans. The agency fans from the Host site are color-coded in the table.
Can I review data from connected sites through the site manager dashboard?
Yes. The widgets on the site manager dashboard pull data from any connected sites that your site has a reporting relationship with.
ⓘ So you know:
- You can work with our team to get your relationship with a connected site set up however works best for you and your organization.
- Your access to data may be limited depending on the settings that you choose.