A fundraising dinner, a charity run, a food drive on a Saturday. For a non-profit, these are the days that matter. They are also the days when the team looks least like a normal team.
You have a few experienced people who know how things work, a few regulars and a larger group of one-time helpers who answered a call for hands. Some of them have been with you for years. Others have never met you.
Scheduling that mix is harder than scheduling a regular weekly team. This article looks at why event days are different for NGOs, where things tend to go wrong and what the staffing side of a charity day has to settle.
Key takeaways
- A charity day has two kinds of people: leads who must be in place and helpers who can come and go.
- The two groups need different handling. Leads need a firm confirmation. Helpers need an easy way to say yes.
- Gaps at events are visible: an unattended registration desk, a stall without a lead.
- The time spent on staffing competes directly with the time spent on the event itself.
Why event days are different
A weekly team works from a routine. People know what they do and when. A one-off event has no routine.
- Mixed experience. Some people have done this before, many have not.
- Roles that matter. The person at registration, the person handling cash or donations and the person responsible for a stall are not interchangeable with a general helper.
- A fixed date. There is no second attempt. If the event is Saturday, it happens Saturday.
- People you do not usually schedule. One-time helpers may not be in your usual list, may not answer your usual channel and may not know what is expected.
- A lot to do at once. The coordinator is also dealing with suppliers, guests, setup and the budget.
The two groups you are staffing
Leads
For each area, someone has to be responsible: registration, the kitchen, the donation table, the children's corner. You need to know early that this person is committed, because the area depends on them.
Helpers
Around the leads, you want a number of extra hands. You do not need to choose each one. You need enough of them, and you need to know how many have said yes.
Treating both groups the same causes problems. Leads need a personal request and a clear answer. Helpers are better served by an open invitation with a simple reply.
Where it goes wrong
Leads confirmed by conversation
A lead says "yes, of course" in the corridor. It is not written anywhere. Two weeks later, you are not sure whether they meant it or remembered.
Helpers counted by feeling
You have a sense of how many people are coming, built from messages in several places. The sense is rarely accurate.
A mix of channels
Leads answer on the phone, regulars in the group chat and newcomers by email. You hold the picture together yourself.
Too many or too few
Open requests tend to bring in either far more or far fewer people than you need. With no limit and no count, you find out on the day.
A lead who cancels
When a lead drops out, an entire area is affected. Replacing them takes more than a quick request to the group.
Changes close to the date
Event details move. The start time shifts, a location changes, a stall is added. Every change has to reach everybody who is involved.
The week before the event
A few days out, the typical coordinator has several lists open: the confirmed leads, the helpers who said yes in one place or another and the people who have not answered at all.
The questions arrive constantly. A helper asks what time to arrive. A lead asks who else is on their stall. A late volunteer asks whether there is still room. Each one needs an answer, and the answer depends on a picture that exists mostly in your head.
By the Thursday before, you are not planning the event any more. You are keeping the staffing list alive.
What it costs
- Coordinator time. Hours of messaging and counting in the weeks before the event.
- Stress on the day. Discovering that nobody is at the registration desk when guests arrive.
- Uneven teams. Too many helpers at the entrance and none where they are needed.
- Fewer repeat helpers. People who felt confused or unneeded at an event are less likely to return.
- Money and impression. For a fundraiser, a poorly staffed event can affect what it raises and how supporters see you.
What an event staffing plan has to cover
Before the event, a coordinator needs answers to a short list of questions.
- Who is responsible for each area, and have they confirmed?
- How many helpers do we want, and how many have said yes?
- Who has not replied?
- What happens if a lead cannot make it?
- How do changes reach everybody quickly?
If these answers live in different places, you will spend the weeks before the event collecting them.
How Planify handles it
Planify's event types match the two groups.
- A leader assigned directly. A hybrid event has one leader who is asked personally and confirms with a tap on WhatsApp.
- Open spots for helpers. The same event invites volunteers from the departments or positions you choose. Helpers reply yes or no with a button.
- Minimum and maximum. You can set how many open volunteers you want. When the maximum is reached, the call closes and later replies are told privately that the spots are filled.
- A count that updates itself. You see who accepted, who declined and who has not replied.
- A nudge for the silent. You can send a reminder to the people who have not answered.
- Alerts when someone declines. On a hybrid event, a decline notifies the coordinator.
- Other event types for other needs. A structured event handles fixed roles and headcounts per position. A direct event assigns one person. Announcements reach the team, selected departments or selected positions when plans change.
You choose who leads and who is invited. Planify handles the asking, the answers and the count.
Which features you get depends on your plan.
Read next: open call vs. direct assignment: which scheduling method fits your event.
FAQ
How do you staff a charity event with volunteers?
You usually need two groups: leads responsible for specific areas, who should confirm personally, and helpers who can be invited more openly with a limit on numbers.
How many volunteers do you need for a fundraising event?
It depends on the event. Decide the number for each area and then set a limit on open invitations so you do not end up with too many or too few.
How do you manage one-time volunteers for an event?
Keep the ask simple, include the date, time and place, and give them an easy way to answer. The less they have to type, the more replies you will get.
What if the event lead cancels?
Plan for it before the event. Know who else can lead the area and how quickly you can reach them.