Vivery text messaging functionality is only visible to Organization and Location admin users and is intended to be used only for messages related to an agency's food programs.
Contact groups allow organizations to send text messages targeted to specific groups of recipients. For example, an agency might want to send a message specifically to seniors. Instead of sending the same message to each senior individually, the agency could create a contact group and send a text message to their group of seniors.
NOTE: Contacts must be added to the platform before being adding to a group. New contacts cannot be created in this window.
Understanding Contact Groups
Contact groups can be used to target communications. Here are some examples of how agencies have used contact groups:
- Seniors – used to alert clients of a senior program of changes to the day or time of their distribution.
- Families with small children – created to alert families when diapers were donated and available
- Pantry Clients – for special events or emergency closures, this list can save your constituents time by keeping them informed
- Specific distributions - different groups based on what distribution they generally attend
Creating a Contact Group
To create a new contact group, click Communications in the left navigation menu, then click Manage Contact Groups. Choose the organization and location from the drop-down lists to add contact groups.
NOTE: You must first add contacts before adding contacts to a group. You cannot generate a new contact in this window.
Click the +Add Group button.
On the pop-up screen, name your group and add a description. Click Save when finished.
Editing an Existing Contact Group's Name and Description
To adjust a contact group’s name or description, click Communications tab in the left navigation menu, then click Manage Contact Groups.
Choose the organization and location from the drop-down menus, then scroll down to the list of groups at the bottom of the page to find the group to edit.
Click the List icon to the right of the group name, then click Edit Group. Adjust the name and description of this group near the top of the pop-up window that appears. Click Save when finished.
Adding and Removing Contact Group Members
NOTE: You must first add contacts before adding a contact to a group. You cannot generate a new contact in this window.
To add or remove contact group members, click Communications in the left navigation menu, then click Manage Contact Groups.
Choose the organization and location from the drop-down menus, then scroll down to the list of groups to find the group to edit. Click the List icon to the right of the group name. Click Edit Group.
To add or remove contacts from a group type a name or phone number into the field labeled Type contact or select below under Available Contacts in the pop-up window. You can also scroll through the list of contacts to find the desired name and phone number.
Adding Contacts to Groups
Click the contact name or hold the Shift key and click to select multiple contacts. If you have erroneously selected a contact, click Clear Selections.
To add the selected contact(s) to the group, click the >Single Right Arrow and they will populate the Added contacts section.
To add the entire list to the group, click the >>Double Right Arrow. When finished, click Save.
Removing Contacts from Groups
Click the contact name or hold the Shift key to select multiple contacts. If you have erroneously selected a contact, click Clear Selections.
To remove the selected contact(s) from the group, click the <Single Left Arrow and they will move back to the Available Contacts section.
To remove the entire list from the group, click the <<Double Left Arrow. When finished, click Save.
Adding Contacts to a Group from the Manage Contacts Grid
Contacts can also be added after an upload. From the Manage Contacts grid, click the Checkbox next to each desired contact.
Click Add Groups to affiliate the selected contact(s) with a Group. Select the desired group from the Dropdown list. Click Save when finished.
