For Event Organisers

Key information for event organisers

• Advertise for event volunteers
• Key tips when planning to engage volunteers
• How to assign volunteers: Event volunteering roles
• Tips for holding orientation sessions
• Compulsory insurance requirements

Volunteers come from all walks of life and are ready to lend a hand for a good cause.

Advertise for event volunteers

Are you a not-for-profit organisation and holding an event or are you involved in a not-for-profit fundraising event? Members of The Centre for Volunteering can advertise their event and their request for volunteers through the Volunteer Referral Service and on GoVolunteer for free! Complete our online job advertisement form making sure to include the details of your event, how many volunteers your need and what they will be doing.

Juliana Collins, Community Volunteer Coordinator, Manly Council wrote...

Thank you so much for your support in assisting me with volunteers for our Manly Jazz Festival - I can't express how appreciative I am!!! We had such a fantastic result with some amazing volunteers assisting us, we had a total of 38 volunteers during the 3 day event and 13 of these were Event Volunteers from Volunteering NSW, with many other enquiries that we simply could not fit on the roster!!!! It was an amazing outcome, we will definitely use your Event Database again especially for such large scale events, the $50 would definitely be money well spent.

It was useful having volunteers who have been exposed to the event environment before, our events team provided fantastic feedback, even stating we had the best bunch of volunteers this year EVER.

Historic House Trust wrote of our event matching service...

"... our volunteer target for this event has been reached. I would particularly like to thank [The Centre's Events Team] for their assistance. We received an outstanding response once the email was sent out from The Centre for Volunteering and I attribute our rapid success in achieving our recruitment goal to the use of this service.

If you're not a member of The Centre for Volunteering, find out how you can become a member today.

Key tips when planning to engage volunteers

When organising an event, there are some vital things to keep in mind when involving volunteers.

Tip 1: Contact The Centre for Volunteering and Events.nsw.gov.au to inform them of your upcoming event.

Tip 2: Volunteering is a not-for-profit activity and is not a substitute for paid employment. Volunteers expect no financial rewards, but their time and experience deserve recognition and gratitude.

Tip 3: Volunteers should be informed clearly of what's going on at all times before, during and after the event.

Tip 4: The Centre for Volunteering recommends that organisers appoint a volunteer coordinator to answer questions and act as a general point of contact prior to and on the day/s of the event.

Tip 5: Organisers should provide refreshments and amenities for volunteers just as for paid staff, especially for periods exceeding four hours.

Tip 6: Leading up to the event:

• Include the volunteers as part of your team - hold an orientation session, and
• On the day, organisers should ensure there are enough tasks to keep everyone occupied.

Tip 7: Insurance cover is compulsory. There is more information about this below, and The Centre for Volunteering will assist its member organisations with insurance enquiries.

Tip 8: Volunteering is an activity performed in the not-for-profit sector only, it is not a substitute for paid work and very importantly, volunteers do not replace paid workers nor constitute a threat to the job security of paid workers.

How to assign volunteers: Event volunteering roles

To help organisers plan their engagement of volunteers, here are some of the roles volunteers can fill during major events:

• Spectator services
• Information booths
• Marshals
• Drink stations attendants
• Handing out pamphlets
• Selling buttons/badges/ raffle tickets
• Time keepers (e.g. swimming)
• Pre-event office assistance, registration etc
• Logistics
• Packing sample bags prior to an event

Tips for holding orientation sessions

Some issues you should inform volunteers about include:

• The nature of the event
• Their duties
• What tasks they are required to do and how to do them
• Avenues for support (such as contact points)
• Reimbursement (such as for travel)

Remember, volunteers are there to help and if something is promised, the event organiser should honour that promise and deliver.

Compulsory insurance requirements

It is mandatory for organisations to possess insurance that protects volunteers from risk at events. You should be familiar with all the clauses of the policy and provide details to your volunteers early on. The Centre for Volunteering will request this be confirmed before advertising your need for volunteers on our website.

When volunteers participate in an event they become part of your workforce, just as paid employees are. Notwithstanding insurance, proper health and safety practices should be in place to minimise the risk to volunteers, paid staff and spectators.

Listed below are some of the types of insurance needed:

• Personal Accident Insurance
• Public Liability Insurance
• Directors' and Officers' Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Motor Vehicle Comprehensive Insurance
• Property and/or Contents Insurance

Organisers should seek professional advice in determining specific policies to cover the above.