Golden Release Notes, October 20, 2026
Helping participants know what they need, and proving they're ready
Credentials only help if a participant can tell what's required and see where they stand. This release makes that path clear from the opportunity page onward.
See what an opportunity requires, and the next step
What changed: When an opportunity requires credentials, the sign-up page now shows what's needed and the next step for the participant: sign in, create an account so their progress is saved, or finish the next item in a package.
What it means for you: Fewer participants stall at sign-up unsure why they can't register or what to do next, so more of the people who want to help actually make it through.
Who it's for: Participants, and organizers running credentialed opportunities · Setup: Nothing to turn on; it shows on opportunities that require credentials.
Follow a credential or package from start to finish
What changed: A package journey page lays out the full set of requirements and where the participant is in it: what's done, what's in review, and what's next. Participants can view a credential they've submitted, complete one in a focused full-page flow, and get pointed to the right next step after each submission.
What it means for you: People can self-serve through multi-step requirements instead of emailing to ask what's left, and organizers field fewer "what do I still need?" questions.
Who it's for: Participants working through multi-step credentials or packages · Setup: Nothing to turn on.
Expired credentials prompt a renewal
What changed: An expired credential now behaves like one that hasn't been started, so the participant is prompted to complete it again.
What it means for you: Lapsed background checks or certifications surface on their own rather than going unnoticed. Note: Automatic expiration reminders are not currently being sent proactively for all customers, since the expiration becomes most important upon registration. Organizations with branded email packages can work with their Client Strategy Lead to enable expiration reminders.
Who it's for: Participants with expiring credentials, and the organizers who rely on them · Setup: Nothing to turn on. Automatic reminder messages can be configured for organizations with custom email packages.
Finding the right opportunity and time, even at scale
For programs running hundreds or thousands of opportunities and time slots, finding the right one to join should still feel simple.
Maps that load and center where participants are
What changed: Portal maps load more reliably with a very large numbers of pins, and we've added anonymized location lookup behind the map, so more people land in a useful, zoomed-in view faster.
What it means for you: Participants see opportunities near them faster and more reliably, which is where the map actually helps them act.
Who it's for: Participants browsing portals with many opportunities · Setup: Nothing to turn on.
A clearer way to pick from many time slots
What changed: For opportunities with a large number of time slots, a new selection experience adds filtering and grouping so the right slot is easier to find, on desktop and phone.
What it means for you: On high-volume opportunities, participants can find and commit to the specific shift they want without scrolling an endless list. This is rolling out first to select organizations with high-volume-time-slot opportunities (>30 timeslots on an opportunity).
Who it's for: Participants on high-volume opportunities · Setup: Rolling out to select organizations with high-volume-time-slot opportunities; ask your Client Strategy Lead.
A smoother sign-up
Waivers show at the right time, and don't repeat
What changed: We tightened how waivers appear in two places:
- Registering without an account: the participant now enters their details first and sees any required waiver after, with the choice to accept and continue or go back. Once they accept it, it's recorded, so they aren't asked to sign it again when registering for more time slots on that same opportunity.
- Registering while signed in: a signed-in participant is no longer re-prompted to sign a waiver they've already accepted when picking additional time slots right after registering on the same opportunity.
What it means for you: A shorter, less repetitive sign-up for everyone, and fewer "why is it asking me again?" messages. Note: a waiver is tied to its opportunity, so a different opportunity with a similar waiver will still ask for it.
Who it's for: Guests and signed-in participants; any organization that collects waivers · Setup: Nothing to turn on.
Better phone number entry
What changed: Phone number fields, including emergency contact, now include a country selector and validate the number's format for the country chosen, accepting international numbers that begin with "+".
What it means for you: Participants anywhere can enter a number correctly, and the numbers you collect come through in a consistent, usable format, which also matters for reliably reaching people by text.
Who it's for: Participants, including international, and organizations collecting phone numbers · Setup: Nothing to turn on.
Managing access across your organization
For organizations with structure, control should match the structure, not fight it.
Assign roles across your hierarchy in one step
What changed: When an admin changes someone's roles in the Dashboard, they can choose which organizations below them the change applies to, review it before saving, and see a history of what was added or removed and where. Admins can also search for people across the organizations they manage, and organizations they can't act on are shown with a reason.
What it means for you: If you run a region with units beneath it, you can grant the right access everywhere at once instead of one place at a time, with a clear record of who changed what.
Who it's for: Admins in multi-level organizations · Setup: Nothing to turn on; it's in the Dashboard now.
Move a chapter within your hierarchy
What changed: A chapter can now be moved to a new place in the hierarchy through our admin tooling, which shortens the turnaround on structure-change requests.
What it means for you: When your structure shifts, such as a unit joining a different region, the change can be made quickly. Ask your Client Strategy Lead to arrange it.
Who it's for: Multi-level organizations · Setup: Ask your Client Strategy Lead to arrange the move.
Choose how SSO applies roles at sign-in
What changed: For organizations that sign in to the Dashboard with SSO, Golden can now set how roles are applied: refreshed from SSO at every sign-in, or set only when someone first gains access.
What it means for you: If your organizers adjust roles by hand in the Dashboard, the second option keeps SSO from resetting those changes at the next sign-in.
Who it's for: Organizations that sign in to the Dashboard with SSO · Setup: Ask your Client Strategy Lead which option fits.
Keeping credentials trustworthy
A credential that's in use can't be removed out from under participants
What changed: You can no longer deactivate a credential (or remove the last active credential from a package) while it still gates a live opportunity. Golden blocks the action and shows exactly which opportunities, and which organizations including those below you, still rely on it. When deactivation is allowed, it asks for a confirmation first.
What it means for you: No more opportunities quietly left requiring a credential that no longer exists, and no participants stuck in a review state no one can see. If a credential is safe to retire, you'll know; if it isn't, you'll know why.
Who it's for: Organizers and admins who manage credentials · Setup: Nothing to turn on.
Setting up SMS
Clearer SMS consent, with your own terms
What changed: The SMS opt-in checkbox now carries the full consent language (recurring messages, frequency, message-and-data-rates, and how to opt out) plus links to SMS Terms and the Privacy Policy, and an SMS Terms page is generated for each organization that turns SMS on. It starts unchecked, and organizations can still customize the opening line.
What it means for you: This applies to all organizations setting up SMS for the first time with Golden; everyone else keeps their current wording. If you're turning on SMS or resubmitting for carrier approval, per-organization terms are now expected, so check with your Client Strategy Lead.
Who it's for: Organizations turning on or customizing SMS · Setup: Part of SMS onboarding; per-organization terms are now expected for new campaign registrations.
Under the hood
Smaller fixes, newest first.
- Names with apostrophes work with certificates. Participants with an apostrophe or an accented or non-English character in their name could hit errors downloading their history and have their certificate fail to load.
- Special characters in opportunity names display correctly. For some customers, opportunity names with characters like "&" or an apostrophe were showing up garbled; they now render correctly across titles, time slots, and search.
- Reviewers keep sight of participants who reopen a credential. Someone who reopened a credential they'd already started could drop out of the credential pipeline view, including people waiting for review. They now stay visible.
- Realigned opportunity statuses. While making status-related behavior changes that some customers asked for, we shifted some opportunities into statuses that didn't match how other customers expected them to show. We've revisited the rules that decide an opportunity's status and realigned existing opportunities to follow them, while respecting statuses set manually.