Practical articles to help neighbourhood houses, family resource centres, and community hubs get the most out of OpenCommunity, from setup and programs to attendance and reporting.
How community organizations are using OpenCommunity, in their own words.
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A practical, low-stress way to move a community centre from paper sign-in sheets to digital, starting with one program and keeping the welcome intact.
5 min read
What a community centre needs before issuing an official donation receipt in Canada: who can issue, what qualifies as a gift, and what goes on it.
11 min read
If a donor gets something back for their gift, you may only be able to receipt part of it. Here is how advantages, the de minimis rule, and the 80% rule work.
9 min read
A practical guide to taking gifts at pay-what-you-can events and the front desk, from cash and in-kind gifts to anonymous donations and refunds.
9 min read
Community programs collect a lot about children. Here is what counts as their personal information and what BC's privacy law expects you to do with it.
9 min read
BC's privacy law sets no fixed age of consent. Here is how to think about a child's capacity, when you need a parent or guardian, and who counts as one.
8 min read
Holding children's data longer than you need is a risk. How to collect less, limit who sees it, and dispose of records safely under BC's PIPA.
10 min read
Digital access varies widely, so a digital-only process quietly excludes people. Here is how to keep staff-assisted and shared-device paths open for everyone.
5 min read
People share more willingly when they understand what you collect and why. A plain-language guide to explaining data collection with respect.
5 min read
How you ask shapes whether people answer honestly or disengage. A dignity-first guide to demographic questions for community programs.
5 min read
A newcomer's first visit often decides whether they return. Here is how to lower barriers, communicate across languages, and help people belong.
5 min read
Collect only what serves a clear purpose, not what might be useful someday. Here is a purpose-first guide to participant information for community programs.
5 min read
Month-end pain comes from reconstructing data late. Here is how to capture it as you go and reuse reports so month end becomes a short routine.
5 min read
A calm, gradual way to roll out digital sign-in: start with one program, keep the steps few, support the first weeks, and keep a fallback.
5 min read
Outputs are what you did, outcomes are what changed, impact is the lasting difference. Here is how to tell them apart and report honestly.
5 min read
Drop-in programs have no fixed roster. Here is how to capture attendance with a sign-in fast enough that no one skips it, and reporting that follows.
5 min read
Program management tracks participation; case management supports individuals over time. Here is how to tell which your organization needs.
5 min read
There is no single number. This guide explains what sets your retention periods and how to build a simple schedule for keeping and disposing of records.
5 min read
Start from the exact question each funder asks, build clean numbers from sign-in data, and reuse a report instead of rebuilding it every quarter.
6 min read
Duplicates inflate your counts and split one person's history in two. Here is how to prevent them at sign-in and clean up the ones you have.
5 min read
A CRM tracks donors and contacts; participant software tracks program attendance. Here is the difference, and whether you need both.
5 min read
A household record links related people so shared details are entered once and family participation is visible together. Here is how it works.
5 min read
Which privacy law applies to your community organization, the core ideas shared across all of them, and a few practical habits to protect participant trust.
6 min read
The choice is not paper versus a warm welcome. Here is where paper still works, where it costs you, and what digital sign-in changes.
5 min read
One person with ten visits is one participant and ten visits. Here is how to count both correctly and report each without overstating your reach.
5 min read
Spreadsheets are fine until records, households, attendance, and reporting must stay in sync. Here is how to tell when it is time to move on.
5 min read
A short, warm, repeatable checklist for onboarding volunteers at a community hub, so occasional helpers feel confident quickly and keep coming back.
5 min read
A plain-language guide to Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation: what consent your community organization needs, what every email must include, and how to keep records.
5 min read
A practical guide to choosing community centre management software: map your needs, ask the right questions, check data ownership, and pilot before you commit.
6 min read
A plain definition of participant management software, what it does day to day, who benefits, and how it differs from a sales or donor CRM.
5 min read
Registration records who signed up; attendance records who showed up. Here is why the difference matters and how to keep both without extra work.
4 min read
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