Questions We Get Frequently Asked
What is SweatMonkey anyway?
SweatMonkey is an online platform dedicated to connecting students to their communities and allowing them to track and get credit for the work they have done. Students can learn about local and national organizations and find causes that truly interest them. Through volunteer service, paying jobs, internships, and events posted by various organizations, students get engaged in meaningful service in their community. Finally, in our robust tracking system, students can enter all of their jobs and track all of their hours, and then submit that information to their place of work for verification. If necessary, they can also submit it to a faculty member, group sponsor, or anyone at their school who gives them credit for their service.
OK, where did the name come from?
The original group of students who started SweatMonkey, including founder Callahan Fore, put their heads together in an effort to come up with the most applicable and memorable name for their project. They wanted something that was catchy, but still related to the goals of the initiative. Finally, they landed on SweatMonkey. Callahan's father had always taught him about "sweat equity" and that if you want something, you have to earn it. Also, they hoped kids would act like enthusiastic monkeys, tackling service projects wholeheartedly.
SweatMonkey was built with students in mind, and they are
our main user. Whether they are learning about local organizations,
finding things to do in their community, or tracking their service and
building a resume, students are at the heart of our program. Other
users include organization administrators, who list their organization,
tell students about their organization's mission, post opportunities,
and verify hours, and school faculty, who form groups at their school
to manage their students and post information, credit their students'
work, and view reports of all student activity within the community.
SweatMonkey is open to a wide range of students, faculty,
and organizations. Whether you are a student in middle school (13 years
old and up), high school, college, or beyond, or if you are a faculty
at any level of education, from elementaries to universities, you can
make use of SweatMonkey. Are you an organization representative?
Non-profits, businesses, government agencies, associations, clubs, and
more are all welcome to add themselves to our growing database of
organizations.
How does SweatMonkey help my High School?
High school community service programs benefit from the database of organizations and opportunities, as well as the tracking system with an unlimited number of groups for, say, National Honor Society, Key Club, and any other service clubs at the school. Or, create a general group for all students to track in.
Can I use SweatMonkey at the collegiate level?
Yes! Colleges and universities can utilize SweatMonkey as a complete Service Learning management system. Invite your faculty to join and form classroom groups for their service-based classes. Student organizations can form as groups to track and credit their members' activity, and the college or university can claim all of these hours and programs in aggregate.
What features does SweatMonkey offer?
SweatMonkey was built to be lightweight and
user-friendly, yet offer every feature necessary to give students the
resources they need to find and track their community achievements and
faculty the power to measure their impact. A database of community
organizations allows students to do comparative analysis on local
initiatives, while a list of local opportunities gives them a quick way
to get involved. An online hour tracking system allows students to add
their jobs, be they volunteer service, paying, or internships, and
track their hours as they complete the work. Organizations have the
opportunity to promote themselves, post opportunities for students, and
easily sign off on hours completed online. Faculty can manage their
school, form groups, post school-related events and jobs, and run
complete reports on their students' activity within the community.
To learn more about SweatMonkey's features, select one of the
following: For Students | For Instructors | For Organizations
What type of computers does SweatMonkey work on?
As a web-based platform, SweatMonkey is much easier to access and use than any other software solution. All you need is a computer, a web browser (even IE6 is supported!), and internet connection. You can use SweatMonkey on any number of computers, so whether you are at home, at school, or at an organization, you can access your same SweatMonkey account from anywhere. We don't require any limiting technologies, like Flash or Java, so virtually any web-enabled device can access SweatMonkey (including smartphones and tablet PCs of all types).
Is SweatMonkey safe enough for students?
Absolutely! At SweatMonkey, we have taken every effort to
ensure that our members are safe. First, there are no public profiles
for individuals on SweatMonkey. There is no member-to-member
communication within SweatMonkey. Organizations do not contact students
on SweatMonkey. Until a member contacts an organization to learn more
about them or to register for an opportunity or event, their anonymity
is maintained.
Obviously, we expect parent and faculty
oversight of students' activity on SweatMonkey. Please make sure you
check out any organization you child or student is planning to work for
or tour. Together, we can maintain a safe, effective, and rewarding
experience, online and in the real world.
SweatMonkey is
also certified by Verisign, TrustE, and the Better Business Bureau. Click here to learn more about our
safety at SweatMonkey.
What happens to all the data I input on SweatMonkey?
While the data you input is stored on our servers, it is kept safe and secure. We do not and will not sell any personal information to any third party at any time. We back up our databases daily in three locations, and you can export your data at any time.
How can I get started?
How do I know if SweatMonkey is available in my community?
SweatMonkey is free for any community to use. However,
until it has been adopted by a handful of schools, students, and
organizations, it won't be as useful as it could be (although any
school can begin using SweatMonkey to manage and track their students'
hours from day one). To expedite the acceptance of SweatMonkey, we have
developed the "SweatMonkey Ambassador" program, which is available to
any proactive student or group of students who wishes to help his or
her community by getting SweatMonkey started. The best part about it is
that by completing this program, you have done your community a great
service, and you can claim any community service hours you worked on
the project on behalf of SweatMonkey!
Click here to learn more about the
SweatMonkey Ambassador program.