Web App Updates

Feb 2025

Jan 2025

  • We now allow multiple internal notes per project! Previously, a project included a single textbox, which volunteers had to continue to update — annoying. Instead, multiple notes allow more of a “conversation” and a running log of updates.
  • Project recaps! Edit Project now includes an additional tab, with fields allowing the volunteer to capture the “story”, feedback, financial details, and more. Completing a project also automatically redirects the volunteer to this tab. We sincerely appreciate all volunteers submitting these when they can! They’re a massive help. Behind the scenes, this feeds into a “stories pipeline”, as well as powers analytics that are super important.
  • The project-updated and project-status-changed notifications have been consolidated into a single project-updated notification.
  • Continued updates to the “area steward” capabilities for the Network.
  • This will sound minor, but it was driving us bonkers: we’ve updated multiple links in the app to not open the next page in a new tab. Instead, we allow the user to decide.
  • We’ve built a full “staging environment” for app development purposes, allowing our tech advisory group to assist in testing new features before they fully roll out.
  • Clarifications on the notification preferences tab in the Edit Profile page.
  • Notifications now allow projects matching your distance setting to IGNORE the organization they belong to. Previously, volunteers would only receive notifications from projects within their organization, but this caused confusion when multiple organizations are near each other and the volunteer base overlaps.
  • We’ve added an “Ongoing” project status, useful for any project that’s getting done multiple times. In the future, we plan to rethink that to better track how often a project gets done (ex: mowing 12 times for someone throughout the season -> translate that to one project with 12 “hits” to our project-completed totals for the year). But for now, it’s a simple differentiation.
  • Updates to project intake over SMS, supporting the network outside of Fort Wayne.
  • A LOT of continued cleanup and streamlining behind the scenes. This month, we took some time to refactor major portions of the code, which will make some new things we have planed MUCH simpler to build.

Dec 2024

  • Project crowdfunding is back! Projects can now define a $ amount that needs to be raised (typically for building materials). Our standard donation form will then be displayed on the page, along with a goal thermometer. For now, only staff Super Admins can enable this on a project, and it also requires certain backoffice tools to power the thermometer. Contact us if this is a need!
  • Historically, the NeighborLink Network has consisted of a set of “affiliates”, which is essentially a franchise system of sorts. That will continue! However, we’ve also launched an additional, simpler tier that we’ve called “Area Stewards”, as NeighborLink continues to expand. Stewards launch and oversee NeighborLink in their cities, but primarily focus on volunteer advocacy and project moderation/triage. The central NeighborLink organization then manages the volunteer queue, background checks, by-phone project requests, etc — like we do for the catch-all NeighborLink “organization” nationwide.
  • More updates to email and SMS notification content.
  • Corrections to the date/time input form fields, which were periodically displaying number-only keyboards on mobile browsers.
  • Notifications about volunteers releasing projects now include more details about the former volunteer.
  • Updates to the map to prevent two-finger “pinch zoom” from accidentally zooming the entire page (not just the map as intended).
  • Project Search now allows volunteers to search within “Any Distance”, not requiring a number of miles. We’ve also introduced additional mile selections (1/4, 1/2, 1, 5). The thought behind that is emphasizing proximity and the ability to search within a volunteer’s own neighborhood.
  • Lots of updates to the layout used to print and export PDF versions of the project details page.
  • Reworking the backbone behind drop-down form fields, simplifying them and allowing keyboard inputs for users tabbing through forms with the keyboard.
  • Updates to the Edit Project page layout, saving space.
  • Continued cleanup and streamlining behind the scenes.

Nov 2024

  • Homeowners can now request a project completely over text messaging! We ask the minimal set of the project intake questions, just to keep things simple. Projects requested through SMS are clearly marked as such in the Project Queue, signifying they may need edits prior to approval. Contact us if you’d like details on how this works!
  • Major updates to all email and SMS notification content, sent to admins, volunteers, and homeowners.
  • Volunteers are now sent an email notification if someone else edits a project they’re leading.
  • Once a month, project leaders are sent an email with the list of projects they still have open. This is a means to try and close out projects that may already be completed, making our numbers and project lists more accurate.
  • Organizations can now define a “default zoom level” for the map. Some orgs need to start zoomed in to a specific city, others need a view of a broader area.
  • Ongoing updates and tuning for the new Dashboard.
  • Major cleanup of the form validation system used for both project and volunteer intake.
  • Added links to more information on the Project Details, such as the user profile of the person that submitted the project.
  • Admins can now approve/deny projects directly from the Project Details page.
  • Project Intake now correctly updates the Neighbor’s details, if they changed.
  • Loosened the rules defining who is allowed to edit projects. Super Admins and Admins can edit any project in the system. Volunteers can edit any project they’re leading or that they posted. Volunteers can also edit any project within their own organization, but only if it is not already led by someone else.
  • Track and display the date that a project was first selected and led by a volunteer.
  • Bug fixes impacting how the back button worked with the map view, both for the Find Projects map and Project Search’s map.
  • Multiple corrections to how the logic behind the “Complete Project” button works.
  • Project list exports (CSV) now include the total number of projects the homeowner has requested over time.
  • Updates and clarifications to the online and email notifications that neighbors receive after self-submitting a project.
  • Ability for the Volunteer Queue to track who has received a background check reminder email.
  • Rejecting a volunteer in the queue now completely deletes the user, but keeps a backup copy of their information in a separate table (for auditing purposes).
  • Corrections to volunteer search, in addition to allowing Super Admins to search for volunteers across all organizations.
  • Simplified navigation and overall experience for non-logged-in visitors.
  • Continued cleanup and streamlining behind the scenes.

Oct 2024

  • We’ve brought back a Dashboard concept for ALL users! Use it to easily find your current projects, bookmarks, and past completed/posted projects. Projects are listed directly in the dashboard itself, as well as in new pages that show them all.
  • The dashboard also lists a variety of statistics, which we plan to continue to increase.
  • The project details page has receive big updates, making better use of the space and providing buttons for common actions all in one place.
  • The 9-dot “app selector” has been replaced by a full navigation sidebar!
  • Major updates to the tables used throughout the platform, allowing consistent searching, sorting, and paging.
  • A handful of bug fixes to project intake, involving time-sensitive deadlines and quirks with self-submitted projects.
  • Multiple improvements to the list view available in the Map.
  • The language selector has been moved to the upper bar, as opposed to floating in the lower left. The latter was getting in the way.
  • Fixed a bug that was preventing tagging from working from within a project’s page.
  • Email is no longer a required field for homeowners.
  • Clarifications to project intake to make the anticipated process more clear.
  • Overhauled the admin’s Project Queue list and made it easier to approve projects from within the View Project page.
  • Improvements to admin’s Neighbor Search.
  • Updated login page, with the signup process being more obvious.
  • Multiple areas of performance improvement and tuning — you’ll start to see noticeably faster page load times.
  • Continued cleanup and streamlining behind the scenes.

Sep 2024

  • Significant cleanup behind the scenes! The vast majority of the work is invisible to users, but sets the web app up for future flexibility and planned new features.
  • The selectors for all date and time entries have been replaced by “mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm am-or-pm” text inputs across the board.
  • Multiple corrections and simplifications to the Edit User Profile screen.
  • Corrections to how a project’s Completed Date is handled, by both the Edit Project screen and automatic updates.
  • Auto assign the current user as the project leader if the project status is updated to planning/scheduled/in-progress/completed. IE, disallow those project statuses unless a leader is identified.
  • Automatically move a project into the planning stage if a leader is selected through the Edit Project screen.
  • Updates and clarifications to auto emails that are sent as projects and volunteers are accepted/rejected.
  • Cloning a project now copies the POC details, if different than the homeowner.
  • We’re beginning to explore new data visualizations! To start, here’s a work-in-progress heat map that highlights areas requesting help on the web app. https://app.neighborlink.org/visualizations/heatmap/1/ More to come!

Aug 2024

  • Significant cleanup behind the scenes! The vast majority of the work is invisible to users, but sets the web app up for future flexibility and planned new features.
  • Originally, Fort Wayne was the “default” organization for volunteers and projects that were outside of NL affiliate locations. That caused a lot of confusion. We’ve changed this to instead provide a default “NeighborLink” organization as the catch all. The Fort Wayne staff will still manage the volunteer and project queues for this new “organization”.
  • Volunteers and projects outside of the Fort Wayne and other affiliate areas have been automatically moved to that new organization.
  • When the nearest-organization is selected for new volunteers and projects, the range has been decreased to 30 miles (originally 50). NE Indiana and NW Ohio affiliates were starting to overlap.
  • Volunteers can start the intake process through a text message question-and-response. They’ll receive an email to finish their registration through the website, including a link that prefills the form with answers already provided through text messaging. We’ve found this extremely helpful during in-person events. Please contact us if your affiliate would like to have this capability!
  • Similarly, homeowners can request help through text messaging. Please contact us if your affiliate would like to have this capability!
  • The ability to post certain types of projects can now be restricted to types of users.
  • We’ve restricted the ability to post Financial Support projects to super admins of affiliates only. Financial support is not NeighborLink’s core mission and the number of financial projects was starting to surge. However, unique circumstances do arise and we’re leaving it open for staff to publish these requests on their own as needed.
  • In the Find Projects map screen, we’ve updated the sidebar to include more details, such as time-sensitive and skill-level.
  • We’ve increased the options available in table pagination, providing longer options and defaulting it to 50.
  • The Project Search screen now allows searching by volunteer.
  • The Project Search screen now hides the date fields, organizations drop-down, and tags for standard volunteers, restricting their use to admins only. We found that they caused confusion for everyday users and weren’t necessary.
  • Bug fix: in project intake, the state field wasn’t allowing keyboard selection if the user was tabbing through the form.
  • Bug fix: the Neighbor’s Other Requests tab of the project details screen was broken.
  • In the Find Projects map, we’re now only showing projects that are Available or ones that are requesting additional volunteers. Any other project that’s in a planning, scheduled, or in-progress stage is hidden. These were causing confusion for brand new volunteers trying to find initial projects.
  • We’ve implemented a “checklist” system for the volunteer intake queue. The queue now has the ability to track notes, background check steps, social media reviews, reference checks, and communication with the volunteer. Please let us know if you’d like a walk-through!
  • Bug fix: corrections to the query that powers the map’s search box, in addition to allowing the <Enter> key to submit the search.
  • Updated the Slack integration (“The Link”) to provide more details in posts to #projects from the web app.
  • The database and map now have the ability to display “special markers”, which we plan to use to highlight strategic partners. If your affiliate would like to do the same, let us know!
  • Bug fix: multiple issues with volunteer search results.

Jul 2024

  • Significant cleanup behind the scenes! The vast majority of the work is invisible to users, but sets the web app up for future flexibility and planned new features.
  • A “project notes” textbox has existed on the Edit Project screen for some time. We now show the same box on the project intake form, only visible to volunteers/admins.
  • We’ve introduced a new “skill level” concept. All project types have been categorized into Everyday, Skilled, or Contractor skill levels. This concept has been worked into Find Projects, Search, project details, etc. Additionally, the color coding on the map has been updated to reflect skill levels, as opposed to the project status.
  • On the map, project cluster icons have been switching to using a gray color, better emphasizing the above color scheme for the actual projects.
  • Bug fix: time sensitive projects were not showing up as red icons on the map.
  • Bug fix: the use of project search’s “Only My Projects” checkbox was not including In Progress projects in the results.