63 million Americans are ready to volunteer their time for your next event. History shows that no matter what—in times of recession or booming success—there's no lack of human kindness. Volunteers are invaluable to event planners because they're ready to assist you for free That said, strong volunteer event planning requires organization. Having free hands with no direction can cause more chaos.
Volunteer Event Planning
Strong volunteer event planning means using your volunteers! Have a job for everyone. Before you reach out, it's good to get clear about the event you're organizing. Ask yourself:
- What kind of event is this?
- What kinds of resources will I need? Food? Supplies?
- How much money is required?
- How big's the event?
- How many volunteers could I use and for how long?
- When is it?
The more information you can give your volunteers, the better, so they know what they're signing up for.
Planning a volunteer event means you're the planner. Not having these details can make for a confused team.
Event Planning Volunteer Checklist
Once you have an idea of your next event, it's best to prepare two lists. One's for the event details, and the other's for you regarding how to manage your volunteers.
1. Get to Know Your Team
Volunteers are dynamic and passionate people! Knowing their strengths and weaknesses can help you strategize. Connecting also makes it easy for volunteers to want to help!
2. Have Sign-Up Sheets
Pitching in's contagious. You can either assign duties or have sign-up sheets for people to choose their duties and time slots. Giving some freedom to your volunteers keeps folks happy and collaborative.
3. Give Rewards for Helping
If your response rate is low, incentives can keep people focused and committed. Offering gift cards, a raffle, or a community pot-luck is a nice way to motivate the team and keep morale high.
4. Expect the Unexpected
It's best for event planning volunteers to be briefed before, during, and after the event. Like a pre-game, intermission, or post-game sports talk, your team should know what to expect. Good events have flowing communication, camaraderie, and connection.
5. Keep in Touch
The worst thing would be not acknowledging or thanking your volunteers for their time and effort. Successful events take a village, and volunteers are that village. Making an impression on your volunteers fuels their passion to help. Make people feel valued and they'll keep coming back for future events!
Event Planning Gone Right
No more having to scramble for bodies to help you out. The Pitch In Club makes it easy to organize events and manage a crew, all at your fingertips.
During busy events, words can't travel fast enough. Our volunteer event planning tool makes it easy to stay two steps ahead. The better the leader, the better the team. Having a volunteer event planning checklist is just as much for your team as it is for you. Sign Up Today to see how you can make a difference with volunteer event planning!