tips

Improve Event Registration: 4 Tips for Volunteer Managers

Guest Blogger

Your volunteers keep your nonprofit running, but events often showcase just how vital volunteers can be. At virtual, in-person, and hybrid events, volunteers handle responsibilities that often go overlooked but can make all the difference in how your nonprofit’s supporters view your organization. 

Event registration is one of those key components of effective event management that often goes unnoticed when done well but can leave a bad impression when done poorly. Guests who get caught in long lines or experience extensive waiting times likely start your event with negative feelings that can affect their entire experience. 

Thankfully, with proper volunteer management, you can avoid this situation almost entirely. When armed with the right event registration software technology, your volunteers can improve your event registration process for your guests. The information collected from your registrations can also be used to inform how you manage your volunteers, creating a better experience that will encourage them to help out at your next event. To help your nonprofit make the most of both your registration software and your volunteers, this article will explore how to:

  1. Streamline Online Registration Processes 
  2. Staff Volunteers at Registration Tables
  3. Volunteer Check-in 
  4. Use Registrations to Organize Your Volunteer Approach 

How you implement these tips will depend on your event’s size, your volunteers’ specific needs and skill sets, and whether your event is virtual, hybrid, or in-person. Consider your upcoming events and adapt these practices to meet challenges and rise to opportunities relevant to your situation. Let’s get started. 

1. Streamline Online Registration Processes 

Online registration for virtual events is often a two-step process. Guests first sign up on your website, then are formally checked in at the beginning of the event to gain access to your event. Both steps of this process can be streamlined to improve guest experience, and your volunteers can help.  

Your registration software can carry over key information from your guests’ initial sign-ups on your website to your event software. Software that automatically syncs information from the initial sign-up stage to check-in at your event reduces data entry and allows volunteers to quickly access everything they need to get attendees registered quickly and efficiently. 

For example, if you’re hosting an event at a campsite, National Park, or other location that requires a waiver, your volunteers will need to find specific waivers to confirm each guest has correctly signed the appropriate documents. With hundreds of guests (or even just large parties arriving at the same time), online waivers that require an online search dramatically outpace the speed of sorting through piles of paper waivers by hand. 

Practices like the example above help guests get to your event faster, and they place less of a burden on your volunteers. Remember, while you’re trying to create a positive experience for your guests, you also need to create a positive experience for your volunteers. 

Events that have unnecessary busywork or result in guests venting their frustrations to volunteers reduce the chances that your volunteers will want to come back for your next event. 

2. Staff Volunteers at Registration Tables

No one likes long lines, especially at registration and check-in tables. If you’re hosting in a small event space, long lines not only frustrate guests trapped in them, but they also cause other guests to have to walk around them to reach other parts of your event. 

Fortunately, you can prevent this problem with a simple solution: staff more volunteers at your registration tables. For smaller teams, consider staffing more of your volunteers at your registration tables during the beginning of your event when you’re likely to have the longest lines, then transition them away to other responsibilities once lines become more manageable. 

However, it’s not enough to just sit your volunteers down at a table and tell them to start helping guests. You can create a more professional experience for your guests and help your volunteers feel prepared by: 

  • Holding a volunteer orientation. No matter what they’re doing at your event, all of your volunteers should attend an orientation before joining into your nonprofit’s activities. Orientations allow you to set expectations and outline basic responsibilities and practices that all volunteers should know when interacting with donors. If volunteers have questions, this is also an opportunity to answer those inquiries, identify potential holes in your volunteers’ knowledge, and find solutions before the event begins.
  • Training volunteers how to use your software. If you need your volunteers to use your registration software, teach them how to use it. To streamline the process, you can create virtual training materials and check in with them afterwards to answer questions. Remember to explain both normal processes and warn them in advance of any technical issues that might occur to prevent potential panic later on. 
  • Stationing a supervisor nearby. Visible volunteer managers let your volunteers know that your nonprofit cares about their contributions, while also providing a lifeline if anything does go wrong. This is especially important when interacting with donors because any problems that arise need to be addressed both quickly and professionally. For example, if a volunteer can’t locate a guest’s information in your system, calling in a supervisor to smooth over the situation is always better than leaving a volunteer to struggle. 

Remember to thank your volunteers for all of their hard work throughout your event. Retaining volunteers can lead to a sustainable base of reliable supporters you can call on in the future. Volunteers who have worked at multiple events will also be more familiar with your nonprofit and can help lend new volunteers a hand if your volunteer manager is preoccupied. 

3. Volunteer Check-in 

Like your guests, your volunteers need to be accounted for, too. Checking in your volunteers is more than just taking a headcount as it gives your volunteer managers an opportunity to review and keep track of everyone working with during the event. 

As Regpack’s guide to virtual event registration explains, virtual registration software isn’t just for your attendees, but for your team as well, especially during virtual events. Volunteer managers need to have a way to stay in close contact with volunteers. The challenges presented by remote, virtual events can be overcome by starting your event with a personal check-in of every volunteer to make sure they’re ready and can easily get in touch with their supervisor. 

Oftentimes, volunteers also need certain information tracked, such as their hours. Some volunteers need hours tracked in order to earn tax breaks or for other responsibilities that require a certain amount of volunteer time. However, your organization can also benefit from logging volunteer hours if your volunteers are eligible for volunteer grants. 

Volunteer grants are donations made by your volunteers’ employers in response to their charitable work, making these grants essentially free money your organization can earn after your events. 

While some corporations require volunteers to work a certain number of hours before becoming eligible for a volunteer grant, according to Double the Donation other companies offer grants per hour worked, meaning you can earn grants from all of your eligible volunteers after a single event. Record your volunteers’ hours, help them discover if they qualify, and provide any assistance they need for to fill out their grant applications. 

4. Use Registrations to Organize Your Volunteer Approach 

While some guests may first register when they arrive at your event, the majority will register ahead of time. Some events are even pre-registration only, requiring guests to sign-up by a certain date. 

Collecting this information ahead of time allows your event planners to distribute and organize resources based on your expected number of attendees. Volunteer managers should also use this data to help determine how they’ll organize and prepare volunteers by considering:

  • How many volunteers are needed. If you have more guests, you’ll need more volunteers to help run your event. This may seem rather obvious, but it becomes more complicated when hosting virtual and hybrid events. For example, at a hybrid event, registration data will inform you how many guests are attending virtually and in-person, requiring your volunteer manager to divide volunteers to adequately assist both groups. 
  • What training volunteers need to receive. While many details of your event should be decided before opening up registrations, headcounts can give your nonprofit a clearer understanding of your event’s scope. From there, volunteer managers can determine how many volunteers need to be trained on which tasks and plan accordingly. 
  • How volunteers want to contribute. Volunteers want to give, but they also want to help in a way that’s meaningful to them. Registration data can inform your nonprofit if you have the freedom to let volunteers pick and choose what activities they want to help with, or if you’ll need to take a more structured approach to ensure all aspects of the event are covered. 

If your nonprofit or association has a membership program, you can collect even more specific data about your guests to help organize your volunteer approach. Some membership software allows organizations to send surveys to their members, meaning you can directly ask guests if they prefer a hands-on or hands-off approach for various activities. This will help inform your training strategies for volunteers. Guides like this one can help provide a starting point for understanding how to make the most of your membership software to support both your events and volunteer managers. 

Your volunteers are one of your nonprofit’s most valuable support bases, and with proper management they can improve nearly every aspect of your events, starting with your registrations. Keep in touch with volunteers from check-in to check-out at your events, and always remember to say thank you afterwards!

About the Author: Asaf Darash

Asaf Darash, Founder and CEO of Regpack, has extensive experience as an entrepreneur and investor. Asaf has built 3 successful companies to date, all with an exit plan or that have stayed in profitability and are still functional. Asaf specializes in product development for the web, team building and in bringing a company from concept to an actualized unit that is profitable.

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Exploring Your Toolkit: Little Known Features in VolunteerLocal

Isabel Reed

We all know the saying, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!” Luckily, VolunteerLocal equips volunteer coordinators with a whole toolkit to manage, schedule, and communicate with volunteers. Today, we’re showing some love to a small batch of often-overlooked features with big impacts.

Search Tool

Where to find it: Volunteers > Search

This one is fairly well known. However, did you know that you can search for volunteers not only by their name and email address, but also by keyword? As long as the information exists in their volunteer profile, you can zero-in on it using the Search tool. 

Scheduled Messages

Where to find it: Volunteers > Communication

Write up your email (or text message), then click “schedule for later” to send the email at a date and time that you indicate. For example, let’s consider reminder emails. Before, you’d need to create a reminder for yourself, just to remind your volunteers of an upcoming shift! Ironic, huh? 

With our “schedule for later” option in the Communication tools (email and SMS), you can schedule all of your reminder emails in one sitting. 

Hidden Fields

Where to find it: Events > Your Events > Volunteer Information

The volunteer information page allows you to create a custom registration form. Collect any information you need from your volunteers upon sign up — their name, phone number, emergency contact, and just about anything else you can think of!

However, you can also create “hidden” fields in this volunteer information form. These fields cannot be seen by the volunteer — only you and other admin users on your account! For example, you might want to take notes on a volunteer as you discover their skills and interests. Or perhaps you want to mark whether they’ve been approved for certain volunteer positions. All of these fields can be created as a private, hidden field.

Volunteer Profile Options

Where to find it: Account > Settings

Make your volunteers’ profile feel like home! Customize the header content of every volunteers’ profile, complete with a warm thank-you, further instructions, or more information about your organization.

Cancelled Volunteer Reports

Where to find it: Home > Dashboard > Customize Your Dashboard

When this feature is enabled, you’ll be able to review a report of all volunteers who cancelled their signups, along with the event/job/shift they cancelled, and the timestamp of the cancellation. This way, you can consult these records anytime you need to track a volunteer’s cancellation history. 

If you’d like to learn more about any specific tools and features in VolunteerLocal, send us an email (hello@volunteerlocal.com)! We’ll show you exactly how to make magic happen with that tool in your tool kit. 

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Wisdom of the Crowd: 5 Things Nonprofit Organizations Wish They Knew 3 Months Ago

Stephanie Kanak

Thank you to DonorPerfect for sharing this article with our community! Read the original article here.

If you had a time machine and could go back to before coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the world, how would you prepare? What would you do differently? We surveyed over 700 nonprofits to find out what advice they’d give themselves and others about fundraising in the new normal. Here’s what they told us:

1. Set Up Better Data Collection Standards and Regularly Audit Them

Many nonprofit organizations have made the transition to working remotely due to COVID-19 health concerns. They depend on the quality of the data collected in their donor management system. Duplicate addresses, missing data, and outdated contact preferences can hinder your ability to connect with your donors. Like you, many of your constituents are also working from home, using their personal cell phones and email addresses. Are you reaching these donors effectively, or are you frustrated because you’re unable to contact a percentage of your donor base? The bottom line: if you can’t reach your donors, you can’t solicit them. If you haven’t done so already, update your procedures to collect contact methods and donor information that will facilitate virtual fundraising. The good news is that DonorPerfect’s flexibility allows you to easily customize your system to collect and organize your data to fit your organization’s needs best.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us they are making the most of the data in their DonorPerfect system to fundraise during COVID-19:

“Our strategy is to build a strong relationship with individual donors through our DP database, learn about their giving patterns, and establish appeals related to those patterns.”

“Make a plan to segment your constituent base and decide who from your organization will make personal contact with your constituents.”

ACTION ITEM:

What data collection improvements can your nonprofit make to improve virtual fundraising?

2. Take a Balanced Approach With Your Revenue Streams and Include Digital Fundraising

Many nonprofits rely heavily on in-person fundraising. The organizations we surveyed said they’re now focusing on a more balanced approach that includes a mix of in-person, virtual and digital fundraising components.

Virtual Fundraising and In-Person Events Can Co-Exist

Future events, for example, may include in-person opportunities, like a 5K run, but also provide avenues for anyone who wants to participate by offering a virtual component, such as a virtual 5K where participants run on their own between specific dates. The key is to find ways to engage with off-site participants so that they feel like they are part of the event. This might include sending t-shirts and other event goodies to participants as well as “virtual-only” type Zoom kickoffs or online challenges.

PRO TIP:
Thinking about hosting a virtual event? See how this NPO moved their fundraising event online.

Work with Existing Partners In New Ways

Don’t be afraid to reach out to event sponsors, grant funders and major donors to see if they’d be willing to work with you on how unspent funds are allocated, such as event table sponsorships. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed did that with great success. They were surprised that these partners still wanted to help and were okay with re-allocating those funds to other program needs, such as moving event table fees to sponsor online auctions.

Build A Multichannel Donor Strategy

A balanced fundraising strategy also includes a plan for multichannel donor engagement. Your supporters often engage with your organization using more than one channel. They give online through your website and emails. They like and share your social media posts. They attend your fundraising events and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Pair your website, emails, and social media campaigns with a variety of ways for donors to support your cause that is quick and easy, not only for your donors to engage but also for you to manage.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us that they are adapting their fundraising efforts to be more balanced during and after COVID-19:

“Get digital! Although this has been a big hit to our traditional operations, it has granted us the opportunity to strengthen our communications work! Look for ways to grow in the meantime!”

“We’re establishing a strong social media following and developing a reliable digital marketing plan that ties donors to online giving platforms like our website.”

“Changing your narrative. If fundraising via events, instead find creative ways to continue to raise funds virtually.”

“We have been successful with pleas explaining our loss of revenue due to canceled fundraising and adoption events. We solicited sponsors for our biggest event and were able to raise almost as much as we netted in the past.”

“We looked at all of our current grant and major donors, and, if there were funds unspent from each of their gifts, we asked if we could redirect it to our COVID-19 response. Everyone has agreed.”

ACTION ITEM:

How balanced are your revenue streams? Could your organization have a better mix of in-person, virtual, and digital fundraising components?

3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Technical Support Team

Now, more than ever, your donor management software is a lifeline to maintain good donor relationships. If it’s not working, or you are struggling with how to do something within the software, you want an experienced support team that’s there for you. DonorPerfect has the best support in the industry. Not only are they incredibly knowledgeable, but they were working remotely immediately as soon as the crisis hit. The transition was seamless. As a result, the nonprofits we serve were running remotely and ready to meet the challenges they faced.

SURVEY SAYS:

The NPO’s we surveyed told us that reliable IT support was crucial to getting their nonprofits up and running as the cornonavirus pandemic began.

“Have up-to-date IT infrastructure to enable secure remote work for employees. As long as they can continue doing their jobs, it gives the organization the best chance to get their message out and, hopefully, continue to raise funds.”

“I have never had a better tech support experience in the CRM industry. Every chat, call, or email is responded to almost immediately, with courtesy, professionalism, and best of all, knowledgeable solutions.”

ACTION ITEM:

Transitioning to remote work and virtual fundraising can be a challenge. Get the support you need from this list of resources to help nonprofits during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

4. Have a Solid Donor Stewardship Plan in Place

How do you engage with supporters so that they become more invested in your organization’s work? If you don’t have a plan in place for thanking, communicating, and interacting with donors regularly, it will be more challenging to get them to respond during a crisis. Many organizations we surveyed saw the value of having a solid donor stewardship plan in place and are concentrating their efforts to pay more attention to this in the future. Here are two areas in your donor stewardship plan to focus on in the next few months:

Communications

Plan specific touch points to communicate with donors regularly, and not just once a year when you send tax letters. This will engage your donors and involve them in your organization’s work. Focus on creating personalized (segmented) communications that update donors on the impact of the campaign they’ve supported.

Engagement

Brainstorm ways to get donors actively involved with your organization through events, surveys, and volunteer opportunities.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s what NPOs told us about their renewed focus on a strong donor stewardship plan:

“Be flexible on everything except the value of stewardship; it’s important to provide stewardship more than ever.”

“Much comes down to the relationship groundwork laid in the years before events like this. Even so, continue to meet the needs of your donors first. Reach out to them, check on them regularly. Let them know what you are doing to face the financial difficulties, and thank them for their efforts in getting you this far. Be honest about your needs. Be transparent.”

“Focus first on non-fundraising messages – we are here and doing ok, how are you? what can we do to help you? Then build upon those good messages before asking for money”

“Find creative ways to thank your donors. We had yard signs made and delivered them to donors. We also called and thanked every donor.”

ACTION ITEM:

Do you have a plan to thank, communicate, and interact with donors on a regular basis? What touch points will you put in place to engage donors? Follow these tips to connect with donors and gain the confidence to fundraise in today’s environment.

5. Investing in Yourself Pays Big Dividends Down The Road

When you’re busy working towards fulfilling your nonprofit’s mission, it can be easy to forgo the time needed to invest in “auxiliary” tasks that build your skills and fuel your mission. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed regretted not taking time to pursue training, practice using tech tools, or sharpen other skills that help them be more productive. These were skills that would have made the transition after COVID-19 began much smoother. Moving forward, they plan to refocus those efforts and commit to the importance of investing in yourself.

PRO TIP:
Take advantage of the free training that DonorPerfect offers. Our Foundational Series is a collection of 15 free, live webinars that takes you through basic and intermediate functions in DonorPerfect.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how the organizations that we surveyed are re-prioritizing their time in ways they didn’t before:

“Use this time to build a strong foundation and to do research. To prep for anything you might have in the future (events, or transitions).”

“Turn your worries into fueling your creativity. Now is the time to try new things, and if it doesn’t work, at least you tried. Listen to ALL members of your team and overall organization. Again, get creative and just GO! I think donors will appreciate at least the effort, even if they can’t give.”

“Appeal to your supporters. Remember, you are TRYING to work from home in a crisis. Cut yourself some slack. Now’s the time to be creative and remember your mission.”

“You have to re-create your fundraising plan and adjust it to our new reality and environment. Participate in webinars for education and support from other fundraisers.”

“Learn what your niche is and how you can continue to provide services and programs within the restraints. don’t wait for the crisis to be over.”

“Never waste a good crisis; figure out what you can do that will help in the future. How can you get an ROI in the digital literacy skills we are all developing?”

ACTION ITEM:

What new skills have you learned through your experiences in the last three months? What new skills do you want to cultivate?

BONUS: The Brighter Side of the COVID-19 Crisis

One surprising thing that came out of the COVID-19 crisis for many nonprofits was how much their donor community loves them and wants to support their efforts. Constituents facing substantial economic challenges are coming forward to rally behind the missions of the organizations they love and admire. Not only are they providing financial support, but they are stepping up with creative and resourceful ways to volunteer and collect in-kind donations for program areas. People want to know how to make a difference right now. Make it clear how they can help and demonstrate the critical impact it has.

SURVEY SAYS:

NPOs repeatedly shared with us how their constituents were generously supporting their missions above and beyond what they anticipated:

“Remain calm. Some people will think fundraising for anything other than pandemic relief is crass. They are wrong, and your mission-aligned donors will understand.”

“People will still give! They are sitting at home wondering how they can help from afar, and donating is still an option! Use your social media and email campaigns wisely. Everyone is glued to a screen right now, so give them the opportunity to use it for good and donate.”

“Donors want to give; they just need to know WHAT for and HOW. Keep your communications open with your community.”

“Continue to ask for donor support. They are engaged and looking for ways to help. They want to hear from you to know your needs and how they can help meet them. Be thoughtful in your messaging, but be transparent and honest.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over whether or not to ask – let the donor decide. However, be authentic about what your need is. Don’t overstate it, or you’ll lose credibility. All your targets will be off – that’s okay. We’ll all feel the impact next year too. It will take time to get back to where you were – take time to celebrate the little wins along the way.”

ACTION ITEM:

Should you move forward with your planned fundraisers or change course? If you’re feeling stuck, do this ONE thing to keep funds flowing into your nonprofit today.

The Last Word

Of all the survey responses we received, this sentiment was probably the most important:

“It’s tough! We are all in this together. It’s ok to be stressed!”

Thank you to all the nonprofit organizations that responded to our survey and took the time to provide us feedback and encouragement. We are in awe of all that you do for the communities you serve and are honored to partner with you every day, especially now during this difficult time. It is truly inspiring to watch the creative and inventive ways with which you’ve approached this crisis. When we’re on the other side of COVID-19, we have no doubt that this industry will be stronger and better than ever. So go out there and keep doing what you do the best. You’ve got this!

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