Volunteer at an event

Some events recruit volunteers — door crew, setup, cleanup — directly on the event page. This article covers signing up, what the statuses mean, and how shift reminders work.

Find the volunteer sign-up

On the event page, click Volunteer in the action bar. A sheet opens listing every role the organiser is recruiting for, with a short description and a spot counter:

• Open spots — no limit set, everyone who's approved gets in
• 2 / 4 — confirmed volunteers out of the total needed
• Full — every spot is taken by a confirmed volunteer

Pending applications don't count towards the spot counter — only confirmed volunteers do.

The button only appears on published, upcoming events where the organiser has enabled volunteering. If you don't see it, the event isn't recruiting.

Pick roles and shifts

Roles either have time-boxed shifts (grouped by date, with start and end times) or take sign-ups for the whole role. Tick Select on each shift or role you want — you can apply for several at once.

Full shifts stay selectable, labelled Full — you'll be waitlisted. Applying to one puts you on the waitlist rather than rejecting you — more on that below.

Sign up

You can volunteer with or without an account:

• Signed in — the sheet shows Submitting as with your name and email; nothing to fill in.
• As a guest — enter your email (required) and optionally your name.

Click Add phone or note (optional) to leave a phone number or a note for the organiser. Once you've entered a phone number, a checkbox appears: Text me a reminder before my shift. Ticking it opts you in to up to 2 texts per shift (24 hours and 1 hour before). Leave it unticked and you'll still get email reminders.

If the event requires a volunteer waiver, the waiver text appears above the Apply button with a checkbox: I have read and agree to the volunteer waiver. Apply stays disabled until you tick it. If you're signed in and already accepted the current version of this event's waiver, you'll see Waiver already on file instead — no need to sign again. Waivers for volunteering work the same way as waivers at checkout.

When you're ready, click Apply.

What happens after you apply

Each shift you applied for gets its own result:

• Confirmed — "You're in — this spot is confirmed." The organiser auto-approves sign-ups and the shift had room. You're done.
• Pending review — the organiser reviews each application; you'll get an email when they decide.
• Waitlisted — "Currently full — you're on the waitlist. We'll email you if a spot opens." The shift was full when you applied, so your application stays pending until the organiser frees a spot or raises capacity.

You'll receive a confirmation email either way. If you signed up as a guest, that email includes a link to finish creating an account with the same address, so you can track your sign-up on the event page.

Reminders before your shift

Confirmed volunteers on a shift get reminders 24 hours and 1 hour before it starts:

• Email — always
• In-app notification — if you have an account
• Text message — only if you gave a phone number and ticked the SMS opt-in

You can change your mind any time: reopen the Volunteer sheet on the event page and toggle Text me shift reminders on your existing sign-up row.

Add your shifts to your calendar

On a confirmed, time-boxed sign-up you'll see Add to calendar, which downloads that single shift as a calendar file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, or anything else that reads .ics.

To keep every shift in one place, use Subscribe to my volunteering. It gives you a personal calendar feed URL covering all your upcoming volunteer shifts across every event; add it once and new shifts appear automatically as you sign up.

Withdrawing

Sign in, open the Volunteer sheet, and click Withdraw next to any sign-up that's pending or approved. Withdrawing frees your spot for the waitlist, and you can re-apply later if your plans change again.

What can go wrong

• "You already signed up for this role." — one application per role per email address. Check the sheet for your existing sign-up and its status.
• "Volunteer sign-ups are currently disabled for this event." — the organiser switched volunteering off after you opened the page.
• Not selected — the organiser declined your application. They may have included a note in the email; spots are often capacity-driven, so it's worth trying another role or event.

To find more events looking for help, see find events.