WhatsApp Integration via QR Code
Most Canadian scout families are already on WhatsApp. Rather than asking them to adopt a new app, Wampums meets them where they are. The integration is activated with a simple QR-code pairing flow — a leader opens the WhatsApp settings screen in Wampums, scans the code with the WhatsApp mobile app, and the two systems are linked within seconds. No API keys, no developer accounts, no IT involvement required.
Once connected, every announcement or notification composed in Wampums can be sent directly to the group's WhatsApp thread. Delivery status and read receipts are surfaced inside the Wampums dashboard, so leaders know exactly which parents have seen each message without leaving the platform. Replies received on WhatsApp are visible in the Wampums conversation log, keeping all communication history in one searchable place.
Email & Role-Based Mailing Lists
Not every parent uses WhatsApp, and some families prefer a formal email for important announcements such as registration renewal, council events, or health form deadlines. Wampums maintains fully automated mailing lists built from your participant and leader roster. Lists update automatically when participants join or leave sections — no manual CSV imports, no bouncing messages to old addresses.
Mailing lists are segmented by role and section: all leaders, parents of Beaver scouts, parents of Cub scouts, camp registrants, or any custom group you define. Pre-built templates with your group's name, logo, and colour scheme ensure every email looks professional. Templates support bilingual content blocks so the French and English versions live inside one message file and are rendered correctly for each recipient.
Google Chat Integration
For groups that coordinate internally via Google Workspace, Wampums supports Google Chat as a delivery channel. Leader-facing notifications — new registration requests, budget approvals pending, upcoming activity reminders — can be routed to a designated Google Chat space or direct message. This keeps internal operational communication separate from parent-facing channels and ensures the right people are notified without relying on individual leaders to check the app.
Google Chat webhooks are configured from the organization settings screen in under two minutes. Notifications include deep links back to the relevant record in Wampums so a leader receiving a "new form submission" alert can tap through directly to the response details. This dramatically reduces the time between an event occurring and a leader taking action on it.
Permission Slip Tracking & Automated Reminders
Permission slips are one of the most time-consuming administrative tasks in scouting. A leader creates the slip, distributes it, then spends the next two weeks individually chasing the families who haven't responded. Wampums automates the chase. When a permission slip is issued, the system records which parents have been notified, which have responded affirmatively, which have declined, and which have not opened the message at all.
Automated reminders are sent at configurable intervals — you might set reminders for seven days before the deadline, three days before, and again the morning of the activity. Critically, reminders go only to non-responders: families who have already signed will not receive a follow-up. Leaders can see a live status board showing the response rate as a percentage and a list of outstanding families, making it trivial to send a targeted follow-up to just those parents.
Bilingual Notifications — Every Parent in Their Language
Canada's scout groups reflect the country's linguistic diversity. In a single Beaver colony you may have anglophone families, francophone families, and newcomer families who prefer one official language over the other. Wampums stores each parent's language preference at the profile level and routes every outgoing communication accordingly — whether it is a meeting reminder, a permission slip, a payment receipt, or an emergency weather cancellation.
The announcement composer displays two side-by-side text areas: one for English, one for French. Auto-translate suggestions help leaders who are not fully bilingual draft a first version of the alternate language, which can then be reviewed and edited before sending. Both language versions are stored in the message history, so you can audit what was sent to whom and in which language — useful for council compliance and record-keeping.
Announcement Composer with Rich Text
The announcement composer in Wampums supports rich text formatting — headings, bullet lists, bold and italic emphasis, and embedded links. This makes it easy to structure longer communications such as camp packing lists, fundraiser instructions, or annual report summaries without the content becoming a wall of plain text. Images can be embedded for activity flyers or photo highlights from the previous meeting.
Draft mode allows leaders to prepare messages in advance and schedule them for delivery at a specific date and time. A send preview shows exactly how the message will appear on WhatsApp, in email, and as a push notification before it is dispatched, reducing the risk of formatting errors reaching families. Message history is searchable so any past announcement can be found, duplicated, and resent with minimal effort.
Push Notifications for Mobile Devices
Push notifications are the fastest path to a parent's attention when something time-sensitive happens — a meeting cancellation due to weather, a reminder that equipment pickup is tomorrow, or an urgent allergy alert for a visiting leader. Wampums supports web push notifications on Android and iOS through the Progressive Web App, as well as native push through the Expo-based mobile app. Parents opt in during onboarding and can adjust their notification preferences at any time.
Notification frequency controls prevent alert fatigue. Leaders can designate messages as high-priority (sent immediately to all active channels) or standard (batched into a daily digest for families who prefer less interruption). All push notifications deep-link into the relevant section of the app, so a parent tapping a "permission slip due" notification lands directly on the form rather than the home screen.
Audience Targeting & Segmentation
Not every message is for every family. A reminder about Beaver colony camp applies only to Beaver parents; a leader training reminder should go only to the leadership team; a fundraiser update for the cookie drive targets the families participating in that specific fundraiser. Wampums lets you select the audience at the time of composition using pre-built segments (by section, by role, by activity registration) or custom lists you define on the fly.
Delivery analytics break down open rates, click rates, and response rates by segment — useful for understanding whether English communications are performing differently from French ones, or whether push notifications have better engagement than email for your specific community. These insights help leaders continually refine their communication strategy to reduce noise and improve the signal for the families they serve.
