Getting Started — Your First 30 Days

Welcome to CauseHub

This guide walks you through setting up your organization on CauseHub from scratch. Follow these steps in order, and within 30 days you'll have a fully operational nonprofit management platform.

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Week 1: Foundation

Day 1–2: Account Setup

Goal: Get your organization profile complete and your first users in.

Step 1: Complete Your Organization Profile

1. Log in to your CauseHub portal
2. Navigate to Organization Admin → Settings
3. Fill in:
   • Organization legal name (as registered with CRA)
   • CRA Registration Number (Business Number)
   • Primary address, phone, and email
   • Logo (appears on tax receipts, membership cards, and correspondence)
4. Click Save

Step 2: Invite Your First Users

1. Go to Organization Admin → Users
2. Click Invite User
3. Enter their email address and select a role:
   • Org Admin — Full access to settings, users, and all portal sections
   • Staff — Access to contacts, donations, programs, volunteers, CRM
   • Finance — Access to funds, budgets, expense approvals, T4A management
4. They'll receive an email invitation to create their account

Day 3–4: Import Your Data

Goal: Get your existing contacts and donors into CauseHub.

Step 3: Import Contacts

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Contacts
2. Click Import (top right)
3. Download the CSV template
4. Fill in your contacts — at minimum: name, email, contact type (individual/organization)
5. Upload and map columns
6. Click Import

Step 4: Import Donation History (Optional)

If you have historical donation records you'd like to bring in:

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Donations
2. Use the Import feature
3. Map donor name, amount, date, and fund

Day 5: Configure Programs

Goal: Get your first program visible on your website.

Step 5: Create Your First Program

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Programs
2. Click New Program
3. Fill in:
   • Program name, description, dates
   • Capacity (or leave blank for unlimited)
   • Is Public — Turn ON if you want it on your website
   • Target demographics (optional)
4. Add sessions (individual meetings/classes within the program)
5. Save

Step 6: Choose Enrollment Settings

1. Navigate to Organization Admin → Settings
2. Decide on Auto-Approve Enrollments:
   • ON — Registrations are approved instantly (best for open community programs)
   • OFF — Staff reviews each registration before approval (best for youth programs requiring consent)

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Week 2: Data & Donations

Day 6–8: Set Up Donations

Goal: Accept your first online donation.

Step 7: Configure Donation Funds

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Donations → Funds
2. Your default General Fund is already created
3. Add any additional funds:
   • Building Fund, Scholarship Fund, Program-specific funds, etc.
4. Each fund can be designated as restricted or unrestricted

Step 8: Process a Test Donation

1. Go to Staff Portal → Donations
2. Click Record Donation
3. Enter a test donation: select a contact, amount, fund, payment method
4. Save — this creates the donation record
5. If eligible, a CRA tax receipt is generated automatically

Day 9–10: Set Up Volunteering

Goal: Get volunteer tracking running.

Step 9: Create Volunteer Roles

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Volunteers → Roles
2. Create roles like: Event Helper, Board Member, Program Leader, etc.
3. Set minimum age requirements if applicable

Step 10: Invite Your First Volunteer

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Volunteers
2. Click Add Volunteer
3. Select a contact (or create a new one)
4. Assign their role and start date
5. They can now log hours through their own Volunteer Portal

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Week 3: Members & Communications

Day 11–15: Set Up Membership

Goal: Configure membership tiers and accept your first member.

Step 11: Configure Membership Tiers

1. Navigate to Organization Admin → Membership
2. Review default tiers or create your own:
   • Individual, Family, Student, Lifetime, etc.
   • Set price, duration, and benefits for each tier

Step 12: Process a Test Membership

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Members
2. Click New Member
3. Select a contact, choose a tier, and set the start date
4. Membership auto-calculates the expiry date based on the tier duration

Day 16–20: CRM & Communications

Goal: Start tracking stakeholder interactions.

Step 13: Set Up Communication Pipelines

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → CRM
2. CauseHub includes pre-configured communication types:
   • Donor Outreach, Member Engagement, Volunteer Recruitment, etc.
3. Each type has its own pipeline stages
4. Create your first lead: click New, select a type, and add details

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Week 4: Finance & Go-Live

Day 21–25: Configure Finance

Goal: Set up your fund accounting and approval workflows.

Step 14: Review Fund Structure

1. Navigate to Finance Portal → Funds
2. Verify your fund setup matches your chart of accounts
3. Configure T3010 expense categories for CRA reporting

Step 15: Test Expense Approval

1. Navigate to Staff Portal → Approvals
2. Submit a test expense request
3. Have an Org Admin approve it
4. Verify it appears in finance approvals

Day 26–30: Train Your Team

Goal: Get everyone comfortable with CauseHub.

Staff Training

Share these training guides with your team:

• Staff Guide — For program coordinators and admin assistants
• Finance Guide — For your bookkeeper or treasurer
• Org Admin Guide — For yourself and backup admins

External Stakeholder Onboarding

As your donors, volunteers, members, and board members create accounts, point them to the corresponding Portal Guide in this training library.

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30-Day Checklist Summary

Day	Task	Portal Section
1–2	Complete organization profile	Organization Admin → Settings
1–2	Invite first users	Organization Admin → Users
3–4	Import contacts	Staff → Contacts
5	Create first program	Staff → Programs
6–8	Configure donation funds	Staff → Donations → Funds
6–8	Process test donation	Staff → Donations
9–10	Create volunteer roles	Staff → Volunteers → Roles
9–10	Add first volunteer	Staff → Volunteers
11–15	Configure membership tiers	Org Admin → Membership
16–20	Set up CRM pipelines	Staff → CRM
21–25	Review fund structure	Finance → Funds
26–30	Train your team	Training Library