Two posts ago, I went over some Google spreadsheet basics for parent volunteer groups. If you can use Excel, you can use a Google spreadsheet. Entering that information directly into the spreadsheet can be tedious, especially if you are one lone overworked volunteer. That’s where forms can help. Check out this link to my sample Google form for PTAs and PTOs. You can post a direct link on your site and let people fill in the form themselves and skip the paper altogether. But even if you don’t plan on letting your members directly enter their information themselves, the form will help your membership people enter info a little less painfully.
Starting your form.
The relationship between forms and the spreadsheets they populate gets a little tricky when you try to link a form to an existing spreadsheet. I’ve found this out the hard way. If you are starting from scratch, the easiest, cleanest thing is to start your Google form first and then let it determine the structure of your spreadsheet.
- From your Google drive, click the big red Create button, then choose Form.
- Choose your title and theme – have a little fun. I like the dorky binder paper look myself because it seems to fit in with the whole school thing, , but go nuts with the cherry blossoms if you want.
- Start adding the fields for the information you want to collect. A spreadsheet will automatically be created with fields based on what you put on your form, with the same name as the form.
- You can change the destination for the form responses: ie, the spreadsheet. Go to Responses > Change Response Destination.
Tips on editing your form
1. Go to the Insert form to add an item. Most of the information you collect (names, addresses, phone numbers) should simply be Text.
2. Once you create an item and want to make a copy of it, just click on it and then click on the Duplicate button in the top right corner.
3. You can grab items and move them around your form to change the order. Click above the question title, then drag.
4. What items are required? In my sample, I’ve only selected Adult 1 Last and First Name fields plus home phone as the bare requirement.
5. Use Checkboxes for simple questions with one answer: for example, a Yes or No question. (You can also add an “Other” option for Checkboxes.)
6. Multiple Choice is good for questions with more than one answer. For example, if you collect volunteer data, you can ask if the potential volunteer wants to work bake sales, International Night,and/or the book fair. Again, you can add an “Other.”
7. The “Choose from a list” option is a real time saver. I’ve used it in my form to have a list of grades and teachers for each child already there for the user to select. This saves typing time and errors. Once you set up one question with a lot of names, you can make a duplicate and create a new label.
8. Go to Insert > Section Header if you want to break up your form into smaller sections.
Finishing, Sending, and Sharing Your Form
You can always take a break and come back to edit your form later! You don’t have to complete it all at once.
Sending the form will make sure users can see it, fill it out and respond, but can’t make changes.
Sharing lets others (for example, other volunteer leaders, board members, or committee members) make changes and view responses. Remember, only users with a Google account can edit the form, but anyone can fill it out.
1. When you’re done with your from, click on Send Form in the upper right corner.
2. If you want to put your form out there publicly on your group’s web site, click on Embed to get the code. Copy and paste as needed.
3. Use the social media sharing buttons if your group has a Facebook page and/or Twitter feed.
4. Invite specific users by entering their email addresses in the email box – this option is good for a mailing list.
5. Click on the “Add Collaborators” option for sharing your form. Remember, the form can only be edited by users with a Google account.
I recommend you change the Access to Private – you may not want want to give anyone with the link the ability to edit the form.
6. You can also share your form or spreadsheet from the main Google Drive screen. Check the form you want to share, then click on the Share button (the little person with the plus sign) above.
Google forms have many more advanced options if you want to get more complicated, but this will get you started with the basics for collecting member information. Next time, I’ll look at other info you can collect with forms and how to get a simple directory started.
Thanks for reading! I’ve love to hear feedback about how helpful this info was.
The Fearless Volunteer 