Online SignUp Blog by SignUp.com

A New Home for the VolunteerSpot Blog

Check out the latest news and content at SignUp.com

The VolunteerSpot blog has moved and is still alive and well! We continue to add new helpful tips and ideas every month with the goal of making life a little easier for all you awesome (volunteer, PTA/PTO, teacher, faith group, league, workplace, neighborhood, and community) Organizers out there.

 

SignUp.com’s Idea Center

We invite you to search our VolunteerSpot blog archive for past posts that may be of interest, and for fresh, up-to-date content, head over to the SignUp Idea Center. Here you’ll find fun ideas, best practices, smart planning tips, and free downloadable graphics, PLUS printable and fillable checklists, letters, coloring pages, appreciation certificates, thank you notes, and much more. 

We’ve got you covered when it comes to volunteer management (for nonprofit organizations, schools, teams, whatever your cause!), fundraising, holidays and other seasonal events, family reunions, picnics, potlucks… you get the point!

Whatever your interest, Start Planning Now at SignUp!

Online Sign-ups | New Views Make it Easier!

Free Online Sign-ups and Volunteer Management Tools

Now it's even easier to view and manage all of your sign-ups with our brand new collapse and menu features! Free online sign-ups save volunteer coordinators, teachers, room parents, coaches and many more organizers, time (and stress) setting up schedules and event sign-ups. Now when you're managing your sign-ups, you can count on:

An easy-to-access Sign-up menu that takes you straight to what you need to do (i.e. invite, edit details, etc) straight from your Dashboard:

And the new Collapse and Expand features which turn your Dashboard full of Sign-ups into an at-a-glance list view:

We hope these new features make your life easier - we're proud to power your GOOD work!

 

Also see:

Custom Themes for Sign-ups

Importing/Exporting Contacts for Your Sign-ups

New: Participant Check-in

 

New Feature: Participant Check-in

Virtual Check-in for Volunteers & Participants

Put VolunteerSpot to work for you onsite at your next event with our brand NEW feature: Participant Check-in! Right from the convenience of your mobile device or computer, you can turn your online sign-up into a virtual check-in sheet, verifying volunteers and participants as they arrive and even asking them to validate volunteer hours after-the-fact.

Great for large events like charity races, carnivals, festivals and service days - and day-to-day check-in needs like at the library or school office, Participant Check-in lets organizers:

• Manually check in participants and volunteers on event day from multiple mobile devices or computers
• Sign up Walkups (optional)
• Virtually allow participants to self check in on their shift day
• Follow up with participants to validate they attended an activity or event to capture their hours for reporting purposes

Get this Premium feature today, click here!

 

Also see:

How to Customize Your Sign-up

Creating and Managing a Contact List

New: Mobile Sign-ups and Scheduling

Enhanced Mobile Features for Organizers

Organizing school and nonprofit volunteers with VolunteerSpot? Now you can do even more on the go! Whether you're standing in line at the grocery store and waiting with a little one in the doctor's office, in minutes you can monitor and manage your free, online sign-ups right from your smartphone!

From your mobile device, quickly:

Invite and message participants

Post sign-ups on social media

Access check-in sheets

Capture reports & sign-up data

And more!

Save time (and stress less) organizing volunteers, participants and school parents! Get started today >

 

Also see:

New > Easy Invitation Sharing with VolunteerSpot

How to Collect Money, Dues and Fees with VolunteerSpot

Organizing School Volunteer Interest Forms

 

New Feature: Easy Invitation Sharing

VolunteerSpot Time-Saving Scheduling Features

It's easy to boost participation and spread the word about your event with VolunteerSpot's new scheduling and sign-up feature, Easy Invitation Sharing!

Community and school-wide events often require a ton of volunteer support - with free online sign-ups and scheduling tools from VolunteerSpot, it's easy to coordinate lots of participants, but what about spreading the word so more people sign up to pitch in? Now volunteer and participants can share your event sign-up with their friends and family via email, facebook and twitter. Learn more

Organizers can simply register a free account and check the setting when creating their sign-up, example:

Don't miss other great features including brand NEW:

No-hassle fundraising and contributions sign-ups

Customization and themes for your sign-ups

 

Collect Money, Fees and Dues

NEW! Contributions Sign-Ups from VolunteerSpot

Selling tickets for the annual fundraiser? Collecting school-parent group dues? Managing t-shirt or uniform slaes? Ditch the 'reply-all' emails and complicated spreadsheets. VolunteerSpot's NEW Contributions Sign-Ups make it easy for anyone and any group to raise and collect money, quickly and securely. Try it out

Organizers, school leaders, room parents, Scout leaders, you name it - can set up their online Contributions sign-up in minutes.

1. Simply register a free account
2. Click the Create a Sign-Up button
3. Select "Fees and Contributions Only" from the Sign-up Kind menu

 

Add the items for sales, the amounts, and allow participants to simply contribute any sum of money to your organization or cause too!

Invite participants, parents, and group members to contribute online, buy t-shirts and tickets, you name it - post a link on social media, on your school-parent group webpage, in eNewsletters and more. Participants can access on their computer or mobile device and contribute in seconds >>

Participant Contribution Sign-Up on Desktop or Tablet:

Participant Contribution Sign-Up on Smartphone:

 

Also see:

Customize Your VolunteerSpot Sign-Ups

Campus Plan | Power Features for Schools

 

School Volunteer Interest Form

Parent Volunteer Survey | Back to School

Don't dread back to school sign-ups any more! Forget sifting through hundreds of paper volunteer surveys and compiling spreadsheet after spreadsheet to sort through who's interested in helping with fundraisers over volunteering in the library or cafeteria. VolunteerSpot has you covered with free volunteer interest sign-ups that help you quickly compile all your school parent volunteer info online, in one place, with easy, free reporting features to boot!

School parents can view the volunteer interest sign-up from anywhere at anytime on any device - with a couple clicks and taps, they've shared their contact info and email and what areas of school volunteering they're interested in.

How to Create a Volunteer Interest Form with VolunteerSpot:

• Register a free account with VolunteerSpot
• Create a "no-date" Sign-up sheet
• Add ToDo's of what you need help with during the school year and when,  i.e. Fall Carnival Oct. 2015, Teacher Appreciation Week May 2016, etc.
• Invite parents to sign up or post links to your Volunteer Interest form on the school website, social media channels or in back to school eNewsletter

School leaders, room parents and teachers can customize their sign-up themes, aggregate school parent info into Contact Lists in their accounts, post sign-up links on the school website and social feeds, and so much more. Get Started

 

Charity Race Sign-Ups

Organizing Walkathon, Fun Run & 5K Volunteers

Training for a 5k? Try training to organize one! From managing tactical event details to recruiting and organizing volunteers and sponsors, coordinating an outdoor race or athletic fundraiser can really take the wind out of you. Stress less and save time finding all the help you need with free online sign-ups from VolunteerSpot!

24/7 access from a computer or mobile device makes signing up to help with this year's 5K or Fun Run a breeze, not to mention eCalendar syncing and automated email reminders! Volunteers and helpers will thank you for making it so easy to get involved. 

Charity Race Sign-Up (Mobile View)

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Charity Race Sign-Up (Desktop View)

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In addition to intuitive and quick scheduling tools, volunteer coordinators have access to:

• Adding a custom background theme to a sign-up
• Collecting extra information from volunteers (i.e. t-shirt size)
• Having volunteers sign a permission or waiver
• Adding an event map and extra documents to the sign-up
• Inviting volunteers to the sign-up via email, social media, website
• Messaging volunteers by date or status signed-up
• And much more!

Try a free demo today or get started - you'll be glad you did!

 

Also see:

7 Tips for Planning a Successful Walkathon

Charity Walks: Easy Ways to Thank Volunteers

New Feature | Customize Your Sign-Up

Sign-Up Themes

Announcing our most popular NEW feature . . . THEMES!

VolunteerSpot's new feature let's you customize any and all of your sign-ups with beautiful, themed backgrounds and the ability to upload an image or logo too! It's super easy  >>

1. Choose a theme when you first set up your sign-up in the Planning Wizard or use the Settings menu on a current sign-up to access Themes.

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2. Choose from a variety of sign-up themes including sports, school, seasons and more! Over 1,600 variations available between themes and images.

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3. Apply and preview how your theme will look.

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4. Upload your school or organization logo to display at the top left of your sign-up, or choose an image from the media library to add your sign-up. 

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5. Your beautiful theme displays as a full background for parents and participants signing up!

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Add flare and customization to your sign-ups today! Get started

New Campus Plan Features Makes Organizing Even Easier!

Posting Sign-ups to Group Pages

Just in time for the New Year, VolunteerSpot is making it easier than ever for your school  to get organized! Our brand new update now lets ANY organizer in your Campus Plan add Sign-ups to your Group Pages (without adding them as an Assistant Organizer) - whoop!

This help article describes how easy it is, click >> How can another organizer post a sign-up to my Group Page?

Group Pages allow organizations & schools with lots of sign-ups, i.e. for the Spring Carnival, specific grade activities, Booster Club events, you name it, post them all in one location for parents and volunteers to access and sign up. To get started, simply create your school's new Group Pages, and give other Organizers permission to add their Sign-ups to it. You can then open your Group Page to change the sort order of the activities listed. Learn more

 

Also see:

Campus Plan from VolunteerSpot

New Feature: Quick List Builder

Auto-fill Feature Makes It Easy to Schedule Spots

 

 

Giving Tree Signup | New Feature Makes It Easy!

 VolunteerSpot's Quick Item Entry Saves Time

Using VolunteerSpot for all your GOOD work this holiday season is a given, but now it's even easier to save time and stress less coodinating the signups and holiday help you so need.

VolunteerSpot's brand new Quick Item Entry feature helps organizers build lists in minutes of all the items and things they need donated or contributed: Quickly organize:

• Thanksgiving potlucks
• Food Bank Donations
• Giving Tree/Adopt-a-Family Projects
• Winter Class Party Supplies
• Holiday Community Meals
• Teacher Group Gift Basket Donations

Watch our quick how-to video below and click to set up your signup now!

Invite volunteers, family members and participants to sign up to help with a quick email invitation - or post a shareable signup link to your webpage, social accounts. Rely on mobile access, eCalendar sync and automated reminders to keep everyone on track! Get started now

 

Also see:

8 Things to Know Before Donating to a Food Bank

Holidays & Winter Signup Sheets

8 Holiday Decorating Hacks

 VolunteerSpot Makes it Easy to Give & Gather 

 

NEW! Campus Plan from VolunteerSpot

Organize Your Entire School with VolunteerSpot Today!

Bring an even more powerful VolunteerSpot to your entire school with our NEW Campus Plan! Click here

VolunteerSpot has revamped the way schools network their online sign ups with the brand new CAMPUS PLAN!

Now room parents, school staff, teachers and volunteer coordinators can:

• Share Premium upgrades with ALL VolunteerSpot organizers from their school
• Customize MULTIPLE group pages with school logos and pictures
• School-wide tracking & signup progress across multiple activities

Click here now to get started!

Premium upgrades for all your school organizers means hours tracking, capturing extra info from volunteers/parents, adding assistant organizers to activities and more. VolunteerSpot's Campus Plan is THE solution for  coordinating parent volunteers - in the classroom, lunchroom, media center, for fundraisers, book fairs, bake sales, you name it - get started today!

Special $99 limited-time offer available, upgrade today! 

   

NEW FEATURE! Lock Your Signup

Online Signups | Volunteer Management Solutions

Organizers and volunteer coordinators, you gave us your feedback and we listened! Now your online signups can be locked and reopened by YOU, at your convenience. We are continually adding new features and updates to make signing up and coordinating volunteers a breeze - we are thrilled to offer this new feature to organizers - try it out today!

If you want to:

Allow volunteers to sign up only at specified times

Lock your signup requiring volunteers to contact you directly with changes

Prevent volunteers from signing up after a specified time

'Close' your signup without having to delete it

 

Here's how:

VolunteerSpot organizers can disable signups and prevent participants from making changes or canceling their spots in three easy steps:

1) Login and open your activity in the MyActivities Tab

2) In the Status Calendar, click on the status clipboard of any planned day

3) Choose “Disable Signups” in the popup menu and repeat for each day you wish to lock.

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Best Practice:

To foster positive communication, it’s a best practice to alert participants that you are disabling the sign up calendar and ask them to contact you directly with changes or additions to their schedules. You may do so using the “Send Message” feature – choosing to alert everyone, or only sending the message to those signed up on a particular day. Click here to learn how.

When you’re ready to unlock the day, choose “Enable Signups” on the popup menu for each day you wish to unlock.

Volunteer Management Software | Reporting

VolunteerSpot Online Sign Up Reporting | Feature Friday

Free volunteer management software makes it so easy to schedule and track volunteers for your school, non-profit, group or event!  Simply set up your needs in an online volunteer calendar, invite your volunteers and relax.  As your volunteers fill spots, track your sign up with simple reports including printable documents and spreadsheets.

VolunteerSpot Activity Calendar (Organizer View):  Click Report to grab a schedule in document form, click Export to view the data in a spreadsheet.

 

VolunteerSpot Report (Document by day or month to save/print) - lists shift/task titles, the number of volunteers needed, the shift/task times, positions filled and positions still open and volunteer name.

 

VolunteerSpot Report (Spreadsheet by total sign up to save/print) - lists shift/task titles, the number of volunteers needed, the shift/task times, positions filled and positions still open, as well as volunteers with name, email and phone numbers.

 

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VolunteerSpot's Premium Version also lets you track and report hours totalled (per volunteer per sign up) as well as extra information captured from volunteers, i.e. t-shirt size, child's name, emergency contact, etc.

VolunteerSpot Report (Document - Extra Information Fields):

VolunteerSpot Report (Document - Volunteer Hours Tracking):

 

VolunteerSpot Report (Spreadsheet - Extra Info and Hours Tracking):