Fast, Easy Solutions for Recruiting Volunteers Online
Free online sign up sheets make organizing volunteers both faster and simpler - but how do you get your volunteers to access their online volunteer calendar and actually sign up? We've got the answer!
At VolunteerSpot, we offer three easy ways for you to recruit volunteers and invite people to sign up for your activity.
1. Enter email addresses directly into our simple planning wizard
2. Paste a general URL link on your facebook page or in your own email message or email group (listserve)
3. Publish a sign up button on your website that looks like this:
1. Enter email addresses in our simple planning wizard
With this option, VolunteerSpot sends an invitation message with an activity sign up link directly to your volunteers. If you have more than 50 people, you may paste additional batches of 50 email addresses by accessing your activity in the My Activities tab and clicking Invite.
2. Paste a URL link in your own facebook page, email message or email group (listserve)
If you are inviting people with a link on your facebook page, click here to see how - it's easy!
If you are inviting people using your email program or a group email list like a Yahoo!Group or listserve, you MUST use a URL link. Simply copy and paste the unique URL link into your own email message and send it out to your group. (Scroll down for instruction on how to grab a link.)
TIP: Using an optional online service like TinyURL shortens a long VolunteerSpot URL into a much shorter one - and you may give it a custom alias. Try it at www.TinyURL.com
Becomes this: http://tinyurl.com/CentralVolunteers
3. Publish a sign up button on your website
If you want to invite the general community to sign up for your activity, embed a sign up button on your website by copying and publishing the HTML code string. It will look like this:
Anyone clicking the button may enter their email address and sign up to volunteer. HTML buttons may be embedded in both Yahoo!Groups and ETeamz pages. Creative VolunteerSpot users have also posted public sign ups on Craigslist by copying/pasting the HTML code string. Please note, ANYONE may signup through your link -- it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to screen and approve volunteers.
How do I get a link or button ?
You have two choices for generating a URL link or HTML Button:
While planning your signup, click the box shown below in the 4th screen of the Plan Now Wizard. The URL and HTML links will appear on the next screen. Copy/paste the link or code where you want it.
If you have already planned your signup, open your activity in the My Activities tab. To the left you will see the option to Invite by Link.
Here's the window you'll get with the URL link and HTML code:
Copy the URL link (the top line) and paste it in your facebook page or own email message.
Or, embed the HTML code on your site (or even Craigslist) to generate a button that looks like this - and links to your activity.
What happens next?
When a volunteer clicks the email URL link or a button on your website, they are directed to a page like this on VolunteerSpot:
On this page, a volunteer enters his or her email address and directed to your signup sheet. Volunteers don't need to register accounts with VolunteerSpot, the system recognizes each individual's email address.
For volunteers without email addresses, please see this help article on making manual assignments.
May I mix it up?
You bet! Please use any or all of the signup and recruiting methods that work best for your group.
My volunteers are tech-timid, how do I explain the URL link signup process?
VolunteerSpot was built with tech-timid volunteers in mind - our colors and buttons are welcoming and easy to follow. Here is sample text you may copy and customize to explain the process to your volunteers:
We’re using VolunteerSpot (a time-saving online sign up and reminder tool) to schedule our upcoming activity. Please click this link and enter your email to access our signup page. You will NOT need to register an accout with VolunteerSpot:
<ADD LINK OR BUTTON HERE>
If you have any trouble at all accessing the site or prefer not to enter your email address – please email me and I can sign you up manually.
Happy Volunteering!
