Event volunteer schedule
An event volunteer schedule that holds together on the day
Break the day into shifts, set how many people each job needs, and FairTurns puts your helpers into the gaps without booking anyone in two places at once. On the day, everyone checks the same link.
Free, with no limit on people or dates. No card.
Sixty helpers, one Saturday, and a spreadsheet with twelve tabs
The fair is in five weeks. The committee has a list of sixty names from last year, a whiteboard photo of the site map, and a spreadsheet where someone has put Tomás on the car park and the plant stall at the same hour. Half the names have no email. The other half said “put me anywhere” and then asked which shift they were on, twice.
One-day events go wrong in predictable ways: the gate is short at 9 am when the crowd arrives, three people turn up to pack down when twelve are needed, and the same eight committee members end up working from set-up to sunset. Most of that is visible on paper weeks ahead, if the paper is something everyone can see.
FairTurns treats each shift as a date with a time and a headcount. You see the gaps, the clashes and who has already done a long stint, and helpers see their own shift on their phone.
How FairTurns runs the event roster
Each job as a team
Make teams for Gate, Car park, Raffle, Kids’ zone and Pack-down, each in its own colour, so the day reads at a glance on the calendar.
Headcounts per shift
Give a job a headcount, such as Car park needing 4, and every shift for it has four places to fill.
One person, one place
Within your event, Fill never puts a helper in two jobs at overlapping times. Booking someone twice by hand asks first and shows where they already are.
Fill the gaps
Put your team leaders on by hand, then press Fill. Each empty place goes to whoever has had the fewest turns, so the keen ones aren’t on all day.
Late changes
When ten helpers pull out the week before, untick them and Redistribute. It shows who gains and loses a shift before anything moves.
The link on the day
Put the public roster link in the helper email and on a sign at the information tent. It opens on any phone with no sign-in.
Set it up
- 01
Create the event
Create an organisation for the fair and a team for each job.
- 02
Set the headcounts
Add positions with the number of people each shift needs.
- 03
Add helpers
Paste last year’s list, add people by name, or share a join link with this year’s volunteers.
- 04
Add the shifts
Click the event day, add each shift with its times, and choose Just this once.
- 05
Fill and share
Place your leaders, press Fill, then share the link two weeks out.
When you want it to run itself
Pro emails each helper who has accepted an invitation the schedule and a reminder before their shift. Anyone who can’t make it says so from the email, and FairTurns puts the next helper in line on and asks them, so the coordinator isn’t ringing round on Friday night.
A$1 a month per organisation, paid 1 to 5 years at a time. See Pro and pricing
Good to know
- Keep shifts to two or three hours. People happily do one shift and a cuppa; very few want to stand at a gate for six hours in the sun.
- Roster one or two more people than you need for the opening rush and for pack-down. Somebody always gets a flat tyre.
- Helpers don’t pick their own shifts. You put them on, and they can say which days they’re away. It’s a roster, not a sign-up sheet.
- A shift has a name and times only. Put the meeting point or the job detail in the team or position name, such as “Gate, meet at the blue gazebo”.
Questions
Can I roster a festival that runs over three days?
Yes. Add each day’s shifts as single dates, or as a repeat if it is every weekend. Fill shares the turns across the whole festival and never books a helper into two shifts at the same time within your event.
What if helpers volunteer for more than one event a year?
Keep them in the same organisation and add each event’s dates. Turns booked shows how many shifts each person has had across the year, so the same people aren’t asked every time.
Do helpers need an account to see their shift?
Helpers can see the whole schedule from the public roster link without an account. People with an account also see their own next shifts first when they sign in.
Can I print a run sheet for the information tent?
Yes. Print the public roster, in list view, for the morning of the event. The link always shows the latest version if anything changes after you print.
Does it cost anything for a one-off event?
The roster is free for any size of event, with no limit on helpers or shifts. Pro is A$1 a month and is bought 1 to 5 years at a time, so it suits groups who run events every year.
Free templates and guides
Volunteer roster template
A volunteer schedule with shifts, roles, a contact column and a spot to tick in on the day.
How to make a volunteer roster
Roles, headcounts, away days and a roster people can check: a volunteer roster that lasts the season.
When someone can’t make it
What to do when someone drops out of a shift: who to ask, what to say, and how to stop it every week.
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Venues and events
Bar, floor, door and pack-down for every function, handed out across your casual pool and shared by link.