Volunteer shifts and hours

Post an opportunity

Open Events → Volunteers and create an opportunity, such as Saturday food pantry. Describe what volunteers will do and choose who can see it: anyone with the link, or signed-in members only.

Add shifts

Each shift has a role (for example Sorting or Greeter), a date, a start and end time, an optional place and notes, and a number of spots. Leave spots blank for no limit. Set Weeks to add the same shift on several weeks in a row. Times are in your organization's time zone.

Take sign-ups

Click Publish. The opportunity appears at /volunteer on your site, and a Volunteer link shows in your site menu and on members' portal while there are open shifts. Members sign in and pick a shift. When a shift is full, the next person joins its waitlist, and the first person waiting moves in automatically when someone cancels or you add spots. Members can cancel their own sign-up until the shift starts. You can also set dates for sign-ups to open and close, and Close sign-ups at any time.

Emails

Volunteers get an email when they sign up, join the waitlist, move off the waitlist, or when you cancel a shift. They also get a reminder about a day or two before the shift.

Track hours

After a shift, open it under Past shifts and mark each person Attended or No-show. Leave hours blank to count the whole shift, or type the hours they actually gave. Totals show on the Volunteers page, on each member's page, and on the member's own volunteer page. Download hours (CSV) gives every sign-up with the hours served, ready for grant reports or a year-end thank-you.

Good to know

• Only members can sign up themselves. To add someone else, add them as a member first, then use Add someone on the shift.
• Staff can add people to a full shift; the spot limit only applies to self sign-ups.
• Volunteers use the Events permission: anyone on your team who can edit events can manage shifts.