Volunteer Management lets you set up volunteer opportunities, such as concessions, field setup or event check-in, with tasks and shifts that families sign up for, plus automatic invitation and reminder emails. You build each opportunity in five steps, then make it visible.

Applies to: Admins and Volunteer Coordinators · All plans · Families enrolled in your registration programs

Where: Customers > Volunteer Management

When to use it

Use Volunteer Management for volunteer jobs that aren't tied to a team. Don't use it for coaches, assistant coaches, managers or team parents: they register as volunteers in your registration program and are placed on teams, which this module doesn't do. See How to add coaches, managers and team parents (volunteer registration and Volunteer Quick Add).

If Customers > Volunteer Management shows an Enable Volunteer Management button, click it first. While the feature is off, the opportunities list is hidden and families don't see Volunteer Shifts in their account.

Step 1: 1 Configuration

1. Go to Customers > Volunteer Management and click Add Opportunity.
2. Enter the Opportunity Name, the Season (year and season) and the Duration (Starts and Ends).
3. Set Volunteer Shift Deletion. Yes lets volunteers delete shifts they're signed up for. With Yes, choose in Volunteer Date Selection how many days before a shift (1 to 7) they can still delete it.
4. Choose the Leader. The list shows your admin users from Administration > Manage Users, and the Leader receives replies to the invitation, confirmation and reminder emails.
5. Click Save & Next.

If your site uses multi-organization registration, an Opportunity Owner list also appears. It limits the opportunity to admins whose organization filters include that organization.

Step 2: 2 Programs

1. Click Add Program, choose the Program and click Add. Repeat for each program whose families should volunteer.
2. Click Next.

Only adults on accounts with an accepted enrollment in these programs see the opportunity, receive its invitations and can be assigned to it. The red X removes a program.

Step 3: 3 Tasks

1. Click Add Task. Enter the Task Name (the role) and Responsibilities (the work), choose the Location and click Add. If the location isn't listed, add it on Schedules > Locations > Manage Locations.
2. Click Add Shift and tick one or more tasks in Task.
3. Choose # Volunteers Needed (1 to 25), the Shift Start Time and the Shift End Time.
4. Under Date(s), choose Recurring Shift with a Start Date, an End Date and the Recurring Day(s), or One Time Shift with its date.
5. Click Add. Add more shifts the same way, then click Next.

What you'll see: "Volunteer Shifts added." Click the triangle next to a task to see its shifts. The Volunteers column shows sign-ups out of the number needed, for example 2 of 4. The pencil edits a task or shift, and the red X deletes it. A recurring shift creates one shift for each matching day, up to 200 at a time.

Step 4: 4 Volunteers (optional)

Families can sign themselves up, but you can also assign volunteers.

1. Click Assign Volunteers and choose the Volunteer (select or type a name).
2. In Task/Shift, choose up to five task and shift pairs.
3. Tick Send Volunteer Confirmation Email to email the volunteer their shift details.
4. Click Assign, then Next.

You can assign more volunteers than a shift needs: you're warned, and the assignment is still made. A small icon next to a volunteer's name means they have no email address, or that their email is filtered (point to it to see why).

Step 5: 5 Communications

1. Set Invitation Email to Yes and choose the 1st Invitation date.
2. Optional: tick 2nd Invitation and choose how many days after the 1st it's sent, and tick 3rd Invitation and choose how many days after the 2nd.
3. Set Reminder Email to Yes and choose in 1st Reminder how many days before a shift volunteers are reminded. Choose 1 to 7.
4. Click Save.

What you'll see: "Volunteer Opportunity updated." with a reminder to turn on visibility. Invitations go to the adults in your linked programs who haven't signed up for a shift; each address gets one email per invitation, and replies go to the Leader. The 1st is sent on the date you choose, and the 2nd and 3rd the set number of days after the one before. Each sign-up gets one reminder.

Step 6: Make the opportunity visible

On Customers > Volunteer Management, click the opportunity's eye icon (Toggle Show on Homepage) so it turns green. Red means families can't see it.

Turn it on before the 1st Invitation date: invitations go out on schedule even while an opportunity is hidden, but families can only sign up once it's visible. They sign up under My Account > Volunteer Shifts; see How to Sign Up for Volunteer Shifts in TeamSideline. To link to that page from a message or a page, use the editor's Links list and choose Volunteer Shifts.

If it doesn't work

• A family doesn't see the opportunity or any shifts. Check that its eye is green, that the family has an accepted enrollment in a program on 2 Programs, and that it has future shifts with open spots. Full and past shifts aren't offered.
• Someone isn't in the Volunteer list on 4 Volunteers. Only adults on accounts with an accepted enrollment in a linked program are listed. Add the program, or enroll the family.
• "Error: An active program is required to apply changes" No program was chosen. Choose one, then click Add.
• "Recurring or One Time selection is required." or "Recurring Shift Day selection is required." Choose Recurring Shift with at least one day, or One Time Shift.
• "... has already been assigned to ... Please select a different shift." The volunteer already has that shift.
• "You are adding a duplicate shift" The same shift is chosen twice in Task/Shift.
• "1st Invitation Date required." Invitation Email is Yes without a date.
• "There are no programs currently configured. Click the 2 Programs tab to add." Communications can't be saved until a program is linked.

Good to know

• On the opportunities list, Volunteers shows sign-ups out of volunteers needed across all of an opportunity's shifts. The name opens 4 Volunteers, More Options opens the other steps, and the handle on the left drags opportunities into a new order.
• Copy Opportunity copies an opportunity's tasks and Leader under a new name, season and duration. It doesn't copy shifts, programs, communications or Volunteer Shift Deletion, and the copy starts hidden.
• There's no limit on how many shifts one person can take.
• Families who sign themselves up see a confirmation on screen; only volunteers you assign with Send Volunteer Confirmation Email ticked get a confirmation email.
• To see or change one family's shifts, open their account under Customers > Account Management and click Volunteer Shifts: Add Volunteer Shift adds one, and the red X removes one.
• Disable Volunteer Management hides every opportunity. When you enable it again, turn each opportunity's eye back on.

Related articles

• How to Sign Up for Volunteer Shifts in TeamSideline
• How to add coaches, managers and team parents (volunteer registration and Volunteer Quick Add)