MissionScope Lite

MissionScope Lite helps nonprofits, churches, ministries, and community organizations organize day-to-day mission activity inside WordPress.

The plugin provides a local operations dashboard for tracking programs, sessions/events, volunteers, staff, grants, simple reports, CSV imports/exports, frontend widgets, and basic impact activity. MissionScope Lite is designed for organizations that need a practical way to begin organizing mission data without adopting a full cloud-based SaaS platform.

MissionScope Lite works as a standalone WordPress plugin. The current Lite version stores MissionScope data in the local WordPress database and does not require a MissionScope Cloud account.

MissionScope Cloud is a planned optional SaaS platform for future advanced reporting, cloud dashboards, full team collaboration, multi-site reporting, cloud backup, AI-assisted reporting, full grant reporting, grant-ready templates, and white-label reports.

No MissionScope Lite records are sent to MissionScope Cloud unless a site administrator intentionally connects a future Cloud account and gives permission. MissionScope Lite 1.0.0 does not include automatic Cloud synchronization.

Current MissionScope Lite Features

• Operations dashboard with local summary metrics for staff, volunteers, programs, sessions/events, and grants.
• Agency profile settings for organization name, logo, contact details, mission statement, website, address, brand colors, and public-facing profile information.
• Volunteer directory for managing volunteer contact details, availability, screening status, orientation status, assignments, and service hours.
• Volunteer clock and service hour logging for tracking local volunteer time connected to a program or session/event.
• Staff directory for managing staff records, departments, roles, supervisors, assigned programs, access level, and WordPress account links.
• Program directory for tracking programs, categories, descriptions, dates, locations, staff, volunteers, sessions, grants, ROMA goals, and budgets.
• Sessions / Events directory with event calendar, date filters, attendance targets, capacity, registration status, check-in status, and event records.
• Event registration contact management for collecting registrant names, email addresses, phone numbers, event-specific answers, and basic registration status.
• Grants directory for tracking funders, grant types, managers, programs, requested amounts, awarded amounts, spending, remaining balances, report due dates, and related records.
• Simple Reports with predefined report templates such as Operations Snapshot, Event Attendance, Volunteer Service, Grant Status, and Program Activity.
• Widgets and shortcodes for event lists, event calendars, event details, volunteer service clock, and dashboard embedding.
• Event categories for organizing event displays and filtering event list widgets.
• Frontend page connections for assigning WordPress pages to MissionScope templates.
• Public widget color settings for event widgets and public-facing MissionScope displays.
• CSV import and export tools for supported MissionScope tables.
• Downloadable CSV templates and instruction files for supported import types.
• Matching rules for CSV imports using primary columns such as email, program_name, location_name, session_name, and grant_name.
• Dashboard settings and user preferences for layout, reporting period, items per page, theme mode, and notification preferences.
• Basic role and permission structure for WordPress users who need MissionScope access.
• Upgrade to MissionScope Cloud information page that explains the local-first status and future Cloud option.

What MissionScope Lite Does Not Include

MissionScope Lite is intentionally limited so that organizations can start with basic local operations tracking.

The current Lite version does not include:

• Online transaction processing.
• Ticket sales.
• Giving management.
• Outreach drive tools.
• An ad hoc report designer.
• AI-generated impact narratives.
• Cloud backup.
• Multi-organization management.
• Multi-site reporting.
• Full advanced grant search.
• White-label board or funder exports.
• Automatic MissionScope Cloud synchronization.

These advanced capabilities are reserved for the future MissionScope Cloud platform.

Admin Menu Areas

MissionScope Lite adds a MissionScope menu inside the WordPress admin area. Depending on user permissions, available areas may include:

• Dashboard
• Volunteers
• Volunteer Clock
• Staff
• Programs
• Sessions / Events
• Event Registrations
• Grants
• Simple Reports
• Widgets & Shortcodes
• Import / Export
• Settings
• Upgrade to Cloud

Public Widgets and Shortcodes

MissionScope Lite includes shortcodes that can be placed on WordPress pages, posts, or Shortcode blocks.

Available shortcodes include:

• [missionscope_event_list layout="cards" columns="3" limit="6" title="Upcoming Community Events"]
• [missionscope_event_calendar title="Find an Event Near You"]
• [missionscope_event_detail id="14"]
• [missionscope_volunteer_clock title="Volunteer Check In"]
• [missionscope_dashboard]

The event list, event calendar, and event detail widgets are public-facing display tools for showing event information.

The event list widget supports layout="cards", layout="list", layout="carousel", layout="image_boxes", and layout="spotlight". Use columns="1", columns="2", or columns="3" to set events per row, and limit to control how many upcoming events are displayed. Administrators can set default Event List options from MissionScope > Widgets & Shortcodes.

The volunteer clock widget is used to record local volunteer service time. It does not send volunteer hour records to MissionScope Cloud.

The dashboard shortcode should only be used on pages that are restricted to authorized MissionScope users.

Import / Export

MissionScope Lite includes CSV import and export tools for supported local tables.

Supported import/export data types include:

• Volunteers
• Staff
• Programs
• Locations
• Sessions / Events
• Grants

The first row of every CSV file must contain the correct column headers from the official MissionScope template. Excel files should be saved as CSV before importing.

MissionScope uses primary matching columns to decide whether an imported row should update an existing record or create a new record.

Primary matching columns include:

• Volunteers: email
• Staff: email
• Programs: program_name
• Locations: location_name
• Sessions / Events: session_name
• Grants: grant_name

If the primary match column is blank or does not match an existing record, MissionScope creates a new record.

External Services / Cloud Notice

MissionScope Cloud is a planned optional hosted SaaS service. It is not required to use MissionScope Lite 1.0.0.

The Upgrade to Cloud page includes an administrator-facing link to the MissionScope website and a MissionScope Cloud updates signup form. Opening the website link is an intentional browser visit. Submitting the signup form is optional and sends the information entered in the form to MissionScope’s HubSpot account for update notifications. MissionScope Lite does not transmit plugin records through that link or form.

MissionScope website information is available at:

https://www.themissionscope.com

Digital documentation and the online user manual are available at:

https://themissionscope.com/docs/

The Cloud updates signup form is optional and loads from HubSpot at js.hsforms.net only after a site administrator chooses to show the form on the administrator-facing Upgrade to MissionScope Cloud page. HubSpot’s privacy policy is available at https://legal.hubspot.com/privacy-policy and HubSpot’s legal terms are available at https://legal.hubspot.com/legal-stuff.

Data Privacy Notice

MissionScope Lite stores information locally in the WordPress database. Depending on how the site administrator uses the plugin, stored information may include:

• Organization profile information.
• Program records.
• Staff records.
• Volunteer records.
• Volunteer service hours.
• Session/event records.
• Event registration contacts.
• Attendance counts.
• Grant records.
• Report filters and report activity.
• Import/export history.
• WordPress user IDs associated with record changes.

MissionScope Lite does not silently track usage, automatically synchronize records, or send local records to MissionScope Cloud.

Administrators should review their own privacy policies and only enter data they are authorized to store in WordPress.

Support Policy

Free support includes bug reports and basic usage questions.

Priority setup, customization, migration, training, and reporting assistance may be available through paid services.