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7 Crucial Components of a Successful Volunteer Sign Up Form

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Volunteers

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The bigger the event, the more volunteers are needed, and manual sign-up often becomes tedious, unnecessary, and strenuous for an event that requires hundreds or even thousands of volunteers. At this point, online sign-up methods are preferred and imperative to keeping your event running smoothly and efficiently. You must ask the right questions while setting up that volunteer form to ensure you have the information needed to plan the event. Below we’ve explored some of the most critical factors for a successful volunteer sign-up form.

Important Personal Details

Beginning with the most expected, place these at the top of your form where they are easy to locate. This includes their first and last name, birth date (especially if some of your positions require certain age groups), gender, and age. While expected, the vital part of this section is that the information is easily accessible for future reference.

Contact Information

Consider the easiest way for you to contact your volunteers and then ask for a second or even third point of contact to ensure that if one fails, the others will work. Phone numbers (whether or not text updates are a good way to contact them), email addresses, and physical addresses are the essential parts of this section.

Preferred Roles

Allow your volunteers to list the positions they’d most like to fill. Their answer gives you an idea of the areas they feel they’re most successful and confident in, and when you need to sort people quickly, this creates a point of reference.

Availability

Have them list what dates and times they are open to work and, if you plan to use shifts, which they’d prefer or are available for. Keep this area clean and simple.

Qualifications & Skills

What experience do they have in the kind of event you’re hosting? Are they trained in first aid or CPR, any systems you use, or other helpful skills? Consider if they know how to use graphic design programs, can code HTML, or have experience in public speaking. Have them list these and anything else they think is helpful in a short-reply area.

Emergency Contact Information

To cover yourself and your volunteers in an emergency, have them list their emergency contact. Remember to have them include their relationship with them, their contact number, and an alternate number.

Your Own Touch

Since every event is different, remember to include any details you need to make it function at its best.

The information you collect with these forms will help inform and structure your crew of volunteers throughout your event. You can easily access the information you need and stay organized and on top of your event.