Volunteers who know what to expect arrive prepared, and volunteers who feel prepared are set up for success at your event. This article offers a recommended timeline of emails/digital communications leading up to and after your event. It offers guidance for what to tell your volunteers once they have agreed to help: what to send, when to send it, and what each message is meant to accomplish. You know your volunteers and can tailor your communications as needed to best fit your capacity and your volunteers' needs. This article is written for Event Partners.
Definitions of the terms used here are maintained in the central glossary.
For finding volunteers and making the initial ask, see Recruiting Volunteers for Events. For what each role does, see Volunteer Roles at a Local Event.
Upon Signing Up
It is helpful to confirm each volunteer within a few days of signing up, while they still remember agreeing. Repeat the details from your original ask rather than assuming they saved that information: the role in a sentence, the date, the hours you need them, and who to contact with questions.
A few other details are helpful at this point as well:
- Certification. Say whether it is required or recommended for their role, link the course directly, and name a date to finish by.
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Other details that need lead time:
- If you are providing things like volunteer shirts, swag, or food, make sure you ask for details like shirt sizes and dietary restrictions.
- Ask if volunteers need any kind of accommodation in order to successfully participate (e.g., handicap access, chairs, interpreter, etc.). Asking now gives you time to plan appropriately to be sure everyone is comfortable at the event.
Three Weeks Before
This communication is targeted to volunteers requiring certification only (Head Referees and Judge Advisors). At this point, confirm that volunteers whose roles require certification have a plan. If they have completed the course, ask for their certificate; if not, ask for their plan for completion.
Certification courses take only a few hours, so a volunteer who plans to sit down with it over the weekend is fine. If someone cannot get certified in time, you have enough time at this point to find someone else.
One Week Before
Now is a great time to confirm your volunteer headcount. Ask directly: "If something has changed and you can't make it, please tell me now." People who need to cancel may be dreading the conversation, and an explicit invitation offers an easy opening, while giving you time to fill the space.
Include another reminder for anyone who still has to submit their certificate, and end warmly — you are looking forward to seeing them.
If you still have open volunteer roles to fill, this is also a good moment to ask your confirmed volunteers whether they know someone else who might be available.
Two Days Before
Your event is right around the corner — time to make sure everyone has the information they need. Share event day details with everyone, in a clear, concise way. This is likely the message volunteers will refer back to on the morning of the event, so the easier it is to read and recall the better.
Include details like:
- Arrival time and which entrance: Arrival times vary by role — Referees, Judges, and Inspectors usually arrive before general volunteers. Tell each person their time rather than one time for everyone.
- Parking: Where to park, what it costs, and anything the venue restricts.
- What to wear: Reminders like closed-toe, comfortable shoes; a note that judges should avoid team-specific clothing; and any other dress code notes for your venue. Add anything your venue requires and note whether you are providing a shirt.
- Food: What you are providing, when, and/or whether they should bring lunch or a water bottle.
- The shape of the day: Rough start, lunch, and end times, so nobody has to guess when they can leave.
- Your day-of contact information: Tell people how to contact you on the day of the event. This may be walkie-talkie, text, cell phone, whatever works best for you. You can also include how you will communicate any last-minute changes on your end to volunteers.
Note: Your Head Referee, Judge Advisor, and Tournament Operator can get additional information like the final team count, field count, and volunteer counts so they are prepared ahead of time. You may also want to take this opportunity to introduce them to each other, so they at least have an idea of who they're looking for at the event.
After the Event
Sending a thank-you message in the days or week after the event is a great way to help foster your volunteer relationships. If possible, being specific can be more meaningful than a generic message. "Thank you for keeping the queue moving when we ran behind after lunch" tells someone you noticed their contribution, and that can help bring people back to future events you host.
If you want feedback, ask two or three questions and make it clearly optional. A volunteer who felt useful will tell you what to fix; a volunteer who felt lost will tell you that too, and both are worth knowing before your next event.
Keep the list of who volunteered and what they did. Next season, asking someone who already knows what your event looks like is a great place to start.
Talk It Through with Your Program Support Team
Your Program Support Team has seen how other Event Partners in your region handle volunteer communication, and can tell you what tends to work locally. Reach out if you are running your first event or trying something new.