Creating and managing an effective volunteer program is crucial for the success of any popup village event. This wiki page provides a comprehensive guide for operators on how to structure, manage, and benefit from a volunteer program.
Volunteers can take on small, recurring, and unexpected on-the-ground tasks. The system explained in this page will help the volunteer coordinator your appoint manage day-to-day shifts, rotate volunteers, and solve issues volunteers can’t handle.
Framing and Benefits
It’s important to emphasize the importance of volunteering as part of the community culture. Consider making it a norm for everyone to volunteer at least once. Communicate benefits of volunteering like…
- a way to give back/help to the community hosting the event
- a way to meet the organizers and speakers
- A way to network with amazing people (some people literally found life-changing connections while giving tours)
- Get experience managing an event and get a behind-the-scenes look at organizing
- Get a free ticket for volunteering X% of the event time (maybe at least one shift 40+% of the days)
- Exclusive access to certain areas or sub-events.
Shift Assignment + Management
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Length of Shifts: Keep shifts reasonable, ideally around four hours to avoid volunteer fatigue and ensure they also enjoy the event.
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Scheduling: Use a volunteer scheduling system to manage shifts efficiently. Consider tools or apps specifically designed for event volunteering. For ZuConnect, we used Notion. See this template you can copy here.
Volunteer Management Hub (Template)
Role Playbooks and Training
- Role-Specific Playbooks: Develop clear, easy-to-follow guides for each volunteer role, detailing responsibilities and troubleshooting tips.
- Training: Provide asynchronous training materials and insist on diligent review by volunteers. Consider on-chain merit badges or similar recognitions to appreciate their efforts.
Coordination and Support
- Volunteer Coordinator: Appoint a paid, full-time volunteer coordinator to manage the volunteer team, answer questions, and step in when needed.
- Registration Desk: Ideally, there’s always someone at the registration desk during event hours and provide clear instructions for off-hours registration.