GFC WhatsApp community

Written By Sarah S

GFC is setting up a WhatsApp community to bring together all our current WhatsApp groups!

What does this mean?

All GFC related WhatsApp groups will be available for members to see and join through a GFC WhatsApp community. 

Groups will be either:

Open – anyone can join these groups

Closed – you need to submit a request to join these groups and group admins will need to approve them. Alternatively, a group admin can add you to these groups.

What are the advantages of having a WhatsApp Community?

  • All GFC Groups (except xxx) will be in one place

  • GFC members will be able to join the GFC Community and then see and join all groups relevant to them

  • When members are transitioning to a new team, parents/members can easily request to join the new team’s group and be approved by the relevant group admin (Team Manager)

  • Community members will be able to request new groups to add to the Community and all members of the Community will be able to see and join the group.

  • Communities have an Announcements feature that allows Community Admins to send a one-way communication to all members of the Community. We will use this for notifications and reminders that are currently sent to multiple groups and that some of you will be receiving multiple times!


What do you need to do?

Nothing! We will organise all existing groups to be added to the new GFC Community. 

How and when will we do this?

Before the start of next season, all existing groups will be added to the new GFC WhatsApp community. When an existing group is added to the Community, by default you will become a member of the Community. 

What else do you need to know?

Leaving a community

If you leave the Community, you will also be removed from all groups you are a member of in the Community.


Announcements

  • Announcements are a one-way communication. Members in the community can react to the Announcement e.g. give a thumbs up, participate in a poll but you cannot respond to the Announcement. 

  • If you have a question related to an Announcement you can send a message in a relevant group chat, in most cases this will be your team’s group.

  • You can silence Announcements to reduce the notifications you receive. If you do this, you will still be able to see the Announcements when you go into the Community but you won’t receive a notification when there is a new Announcement. 

Who will the Community Admins be?

The committee members will be the admins of the community.


Where do I find the GFC Community?

  • You will be able to find the GFC Community in your Chats in WhatsApp, or you can find it through Communities in WhatsApp. 

  • For most of you, Communities will be next to Chats on the menu bar at the bottom of WhatsApp. If you are a WhatsApp Business user, you will need to go to Settings in the bottom right and then you will see Communities in the list. 

  • Once you open the Community, you will see all groups that you’re a member or that you can join. 

  • For groups you’re a member of you’ll also be able to see groups that have new messages. 

Questions?

Please reach out if you have any questions and we’ll be happy to answer them!

Sarah S
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