SignUp.com will successfully help you manage events of all sizes. Some of our largest groups coordinate anywhere from 500-25,000 volunteers and 200,000+ participants for their carnivals, charity races, service days, and music/art festivals. How you set up your SignUp(s) depends on your community, support and management structure.
Organizing any large event is definitely more art than science. Two popular options for coordinating volunteers for large events are Central Shift SignUp and Job-Specific SignUp.
Option 1: Central SignUp
This option is great for you if you have:
- 1 Primary Organizer (with optional Assistant Organizers)
- Fewer than 200 volunteers
- A limited number of shifts
- Volunteers are generally open to working various jobs during your event
With this option you will put all your volunteer needs on the same SignUp. The SignUp will automatically sort by shift time and Participants will scroll through to find the assignment Spot(s) that are best for them.
Participant View Mobile:
Please review our quick video on How to Plan Shifts for your SignUp and learn about using our mobile on-site Participant Check-in.
Option 2: Job-Specific SignUps with Group Page
This option is great for you if you have:
- 1 or more Primary Organizers (with optional Assistant Organizers)
- More than 200 volunteers
- Multiple shifts
- Volunteers have preferences for where they pitch-in or certifications are required
If you have multiple organizers recruiting participants or have a large number of volunteers who expect to help, we recommend splitting your activity into more than one SignUp (by job, booth-type, location, required certification, or task), and then posting all the SignUps on one common Group Page. (A Group Page is one web page with 1 URL hosting multiple SignUp links.)
This option makes it easier for participants to see where help is needed and find their preferred job and shift without scrolling through hundreds of options.
Group Page:
Follow these steps to create a Job-Specific SignUp:
- Create Multiple Signup Sheets - For example, for a large community festival, you could create individual SignUp sheets by volunteer areas/teams. If your different teams have the same shifts/needs, then create one SignUp as a template and rename it for each area. This help article will come in handy: Can I use plans from an existing SignUp to create a new SignUp?
- Ticket Booth
- Concessions
- Garbage Clean-Up
- Parking
- Medical Services (certification required)
- Children's Tent
- Volunteer Appreciation Party
- Link all your SignUps to an event Group Page and then invite participants with a shareable Group Page URL or SignUp Button embedded on your website. The quick video in this article explains how: Setting up a Group Page.
Note: Our Premium service offers large event Organizers extra planning power including adding Assistant Organizers, Extra Registration Fields, Waivers, Advanced Reporting across activities, and more. Please see a complete feature list and compare plans and pricing here.