12/9/2025
New Pinwheel Features!

Site Contact Enhancements & PTA/Principal Changes

Pinwheel has released several updates to improve how Site Directors/Principals, PTA Presidents, and other site contacts are created, managed, and maintained. These changes strengthen site record quality, organize contact relationships more clearly, and simplify the site acceptance process in recruitment campaigns.

Contact Roles - A new Contact Roles setting is available under People Roles in Account Settings. This update:

  1. Introduces two standard and system‑controlled contact roles: Site Director/Principal and PTA President.
  2. Allows accounts to add additional custom contact roles
  3. Supports assigning contact roles directly on a person record
  4. Custom roles added by accounts will not have system functionality tied to them but can be used for filtering and general contact management.

Site and Organization Contacts Tabs - Site and Organization records now include two sub-tabs in the Contacts tab:

  1. Current Contacts – Anyone currently associated with the site or organization
  2. Former Contacts – Any person previously attached and then removed

When removing a contact:

  1. A new confirmation window asks the user to confirm
  2. The removal date is recorded
  3. The person moves automatically to Former Contacts
  4. Association Status updates to Former on the person's record
  5. Start Date and End Date fields help preserve an accurate history of site involvement.

Person Record Association Enhancements - A person’s Associations tab now shows:

  1. Connected Account
  2. Contact Role
  3. Status (Current or Former)
  4. Association Start Date
  5. Association End Date

These values reflect real‑time changes when a contact is added, updated, or removed.

Site Application Acceptance - In Recruitment Campaigns, the Site Application acceptance process has been redesigned. When a site is accepted:

  1. Site Director/Principal and PTA President details can be converted into person records.
  2. Roles are automatically applied upon acceptance.
  3. All accepted contacts are added to the site’s Current Contacts tab.

If the site already exists:

  1. Existing site contacts are displayed.
  2. Users can choose to keep or remove each contact.
  3. Removed contacts automatically transition to Former status.

Site Application Form Updates - The Site Application’s Standard Questions - Contacts section has been expanded to include:

  1. Site Director/Principal first name, middle name, last name, phone, and email
  2. PTA President first name, middle name, last name, phone, and email

Section headers now allow the title to be customized and the contact block to be published or hidden. 

People List Filters - The People List now supports:

  1. A contact role column
  2. Filtering by all contact roles
  3. Filtering by current or former contact status

Reports - The following standard reports were updated to reflect recent data changes, with layout, formatting, and select name updates:

  1. Site Reports - Site Contacts - This report has been reorganized to provide one line per contact associated with a site.
  2. Site Reports - Site Grouping - This report has been renamed Site Participation Trends by Grouping. Formatting and layout improvements were made.
  3. Site Reports - Site Historical Data - This report has been renamed Site Historical Data by Season and Year.
  4. Site Reports - Site List - This report has been reorganized to align with the order of tabs and fields in the site record.
  5. Site Reports - Site Notes List - This report has been reorganized to add one column each for notes.
  6. Site Reports - Site Recent Assignment - This report has been renamed Site Recruitment Campaigns & Event Assignments.
  7. Site Reports - Site Retention by Site Type - This report has been renamed Site Type and Title 1 Retention Comparison.
  8. Site Reports - Site Season - This report has been renamed Site Season Preferences. It has been expanded to show all season combinations.
  9. Site Reports - Site Summary - This report has been renamed Site Record Report. Formatting and layout improvements were made.
  10. Site Reports - Site Type - This report has been renamed Site Type & Title 1 Season Snapshot. The data has been updated to remove the season preference and compare sites in one program/camp to the entire site portfolio.
  11. Site Reports - Site Utilization - This report has been renamed Site Season Utilization and Retention. Report labels have been updated for clarity, additional data has been added, formatting has been improved, and explanations of data have been added throughout, including an "Understanding the Report Metrics" section at the end.
  12. Site Reports - Site Type Over Time - This report has been retired. The information in this report can be retrieved in the Site Type and Title 1 Retention Comparison.
  13. Site Reports - Sites by Organization - This report has been retired. The information in this report can be retrieved in the Site List.
  14. Site Recruitment Campaigns - Application Information - All Questions - Formatting and layout improvements were made.
  15. Site Recruitment Campaigns - Applications List - Unnecessary columns have been removed, and some columns renamed for clarity.

Data Conversion for Existing Site Director/PTA President Data - Existing Site Director and PTA President values on site records were converted into person records.The conversion process:

  1. Created new person records when no matching person exists.
  2. Merged data into existing records if matching emails are found.
  3. Applied appropriate contact roles.
  4. Placed the person on the site’s Current Contacts tab.
  5. Added an association history and status to the person's record.
  6. Validation rules were used to weed out placeholder data, such as "N/A" or "Unknown".
12/5/2025
New Pinwheel Features!

 

Referral Source Added to Person Records

Referral Sources can now be created in Account Settings under Person Record Settings and assigned on person records. Accounts can enter and manage custom referral options, such as social media, board member, community event, or outreach efforts, to track how individuals first connected with the organization. Once created, referral options appear as a drop-down field on person records under the Account Info tab, below the Alumni field. Referral Source will also be added to the People List in People Reports next week.

New Award Management Tools

Person Awards can now be created in Account Settings under Person Record Settings and assigned on person records. A new Awards section has been added to Person Record Settings, including values for Award names and Award Categories. Award options can be defined, activated or deactivated, controlled at the parent level, and shared with child accounts where permitted. A dedicated Awards tab has also been added to person records, allowing account-specific recognition to be assigned and tracked. An Awards List report will be added to People Reports next week.

 

11/25/2025
New Pinwheel Features!
  1. Donation Receipt Update - Pinwheel’s donation receipts generated from fundraisers now include additional details. Each receipt displays a unique receipt number, the receipt issue date, and the donor’s address and email. These additions help donors maintain accurate tax records and support Canadian receipt requirements.
  2. Pinwheel Website Refresh - The Pinwheel.us website has been updated with a fresh layout and improved navigation. It’s now easier to explore Pinwheel’s features and the industries we support.
10/21/2025
New Store Features!

 

Event Store Products Are Now Available at Three Levels

Pinwheel now allows event store products to be offered in three different places within registration: Team, Participant, and Registration. For example, Participant Products might include a personalized shirt, Registration Products could include parking passes or tote bags, and Team Products might include a 2-person kayak rental for a 2-person kayaking team. This update provides flexibility in how and when products are presented to participants during registration. 

Store Settings - Store Settings now includes three subtabs: Participant Store, Registration Store, and Team Store (visible if the event uses teams). Each subtab allows users to update the store title and message, with support for Spanish and French translations. Existing event Store Messages will be automatically placed into both the Participant and Registration tabs.

Product Setup - The Product screen has been reorganized for improved usability and has a new section called Location Availability, where users choose where each product should appear:

  • Registration – offered once, after all participants are entered 
  • Participants – offered to each person registering
  • Teams – offered when a new team is created

Registration Form - During registration, products display in the appropriate sections:

  • Team products appear on the Create a Team page.
  • Participant products appear during each participant’s setup.
  • Registration products appear after all participants are added.

All products follow inventory, category, and team type settings.

Participants Grid, Team Grid, and Reports - The Participants grid now separates products into three columns: Participant Products, Registration Products, and Team Products. The Team Grid displays Team Products purchased. All related reports have also been updated to reflect these new product levels.

Report Name Changes - The following event reports have been renamed:

  • Store Item List is now Giveaway/Store Product List
  • Giveaway/Store Summary by Grade/Age is now Giveaway/Store Summary by Age Requirement
  • Teams with Captains List is now Team Information List
10/2/2025
New Pinwheel Features!
  1. Active and Previous Fundraiser Lists - a new column called Received has been added next to the Raised column. If the Raised and Received amounts differ, check the fundraiser for donations that haven't been received yet. Open the fundraiser, go to Management Menu > Donations, then filter by Received = No." 
  2. Fundraiser Dashboard - the Received value has also been added to the Fundraiser Dashboard, under the progress bar.
  3. UserWay Accessibility Tools are now incorporated in all event registration, recruitment campaign, and fundraiser forms. The tools can be accessed by clicking the blue person button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
8/28/2025
Updates to Attendance App Reports

Pinwheel’s Attendance App helps accounts track participant and volunteer attendance, give volunteers access to participant details, allow volunteers to send email or text updates to participants and caretakers, collect session feedback, and generate reports to monitor program delivery. Inside Pinwheel, there are 11 built-in reports designed to deliver insights your team can use to improve programming and address issues quickly.

We’ve recently updated these Attendance App reports to make them clearer and easier to use:

  • Report names and descriptions have been refined for clarity. See the list of updated names below.
  • Formatted reports (not spreadsheets) now include footers with the report date and page numbers.
  • The Attendance Submission report has been retired. We recommend using the Attendance App Submission Dates report instead.
  • Consistent logic across all reports:
    • Excludes canceled teams with no attendance
    • Excludes inactive teams with no attendance

Updated Report Names (previous to new):

  • Attendance App - Person Attendance → Attendance App - Participant and Volunteer Attendance
  • Attendance App - Participant Attendance → Attendance App - Overall Participant Attendance
  • Attendance App - Participant by Session → Attendance App - Participant Attendance by Session
  • Attendance App - Statistics → Attendance App - Statistics, Awards, and Notes
  • Attendance App - Submission by Category → Attendance App - Session Submission Dates
  • Attendance App - Transportation/Activity Notes → Attendance App - Session Notes (now includes session feedback notes)
  • Attendance App - Volunteer Attendance → Attendance App - Overall Volunteer Attendance

If you aren't using the Attendance App yet but are interested, contact support@pinwheel.us to learn more!

8/7/2025
New Pinwheel Features!
  1. Email Marketing (if your account is not using Pinwheel's Email Marketing tool, click here to sign up!): 
    1. In Contacts and Groups, the column order has been updated to display Email first, followed by First Name and Last Name. This change allows the Export Grid to Excel file to match the format of the Email Import Template, making it easier to use as a re-import tool. This can be used to perform unsubscribing contacts in bulk by exporting a group or filtered list of contacts, and re-importing the file as Unsubscribed.
    2. In the Groups grid, a new column for Creation Date has been added.
    3. After creating a new Group, the software now opens the group form instead of returning to the Group Grid.
  2. Donor Import - People Tags can now be included as a field when importing donor data. If your account is not using Pinwheel's Donors Module, contact us for details!
  3. Events - Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Setup:
    1. A Run Status column has been added to the Generate Fundraisers History grid.
    2. Details for each fundraiser created have been added to the History grid.
  4. Site Records and Site Applications - On the School Details tab, the internal "% non-white" field has been relabeled to "% BIPOC". The corresponding standard question in the site application remains unchanged; however, accounts can update or reword that question as needed.
7/21/2025
New Pinwheel Features!
  1. Account Settings Updates – This tool has been reorganized and expanded to be more intuitive and provide more functionality:
    1. Registration Settings has been renamed to Application Settings. The Receipt Sender Options have been relocated to this section.
    2. A new section called Event Settings has been added; Category Cancellation Reasons and Participant Withdrawn Reasons have been moved here.
    3. A new section called Fundraising Settings is now available and includes a new option called Campaign Type. Accounts can now define custom campaign types (e.g., Direct Donation, Peer-to-Peer) and assign them to fundraisers on the Settings tab for additional reporting. Use of campaign types is optional.
    4. A new section called Person Record Settings has been added. All existing options related to Roles, Tags, and Gender have been consolidated here.
  2. Event Messages – Information Panel Enhancements - Updates have been made to the Information Panel in Event Messages to provide more flexibility and control:
    1. A new Panel Title field has been added. By default, this is set to "Event Information," but can be customized to better fit the event (i.e. for example, it can be changed to "Program Details" for an after school program). A new Show/Hide toggle also provides control over whether the title appears at all.
    2. Packet Pickup has been moved to a tab next to Additional Information so it is easier to see on the screen.
7/16/2025
New Pinwheel Reports!

We have added four powerful Account Reports to help you better analyze and manage events.

To access them, go to the green menu bar, click the Reports folder, and open the Event Reports section. You’ll find:

  1. Event Statistics for Multiple Events – View key performance metrics across events
  2. Financial Summary for Multiple Events – See a consolidated financial overview
  3. Participant List for Multiple Events – Export participant data across events
  4. Profit and Loss for Multiple Events – Track total revenue and expenses

How to run them:

Copy each event’s Registration Code from Event → Setup → Settings, then paste them into the report input field, separated by commas.

These reports are great for year-end summaries, grant reporting, or just getting the big picture. Check them out today!

6/6/2025
New! Wallet Pay and Refunds Now Available for Fundraisers

We have added Apple Pay and Google Pay as payment options for fundraisers, making it quicker and easier for donors to give!

To enable Wallet Pay*, open any fundraiser, go to Settings Payments and switch the Accept Wallet Payments toggle to Yes. Repeat this step for any other fundraisers where you want to offer this option. 

Stay tuned - Wallet Pay support for events and recruitment campaigns is coming soon!

*If your organization uses iframed fundraisers on your website, check your email for further instructions on enabling Wallet Pay.

 

In addition, refunds can now be performed in fundraisers. Open a fundraiser, click Donations, find the donation to be refunded and click on it once, open the Donation Details tab, click the Refund button next to the credit card, e-check, or wallet payment, and then go through the steps on the refund screen.