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Communicate with Registrants

Goal: Keep your registered volunteers informed — confirmations, reminders, last-minute changes, and post-event thanks — without sending anything that doesn't need to go.

What gets sent automatically​

Some communications are tied to actions and go out without you doing anything:

  • Registration confirmation — when a volunteer registers
  • Approval/rejection — when their pending registration is decided
  • Invite emails — when you invite people to the event

The content of these comes from your Communications templates. Customize the templates so they speak with your affiliate's voice.

What you send by hand​

Anything else — reminders, schedule updates, last-minute logistics — is sent on demand from the event's notifications panel.

Choose your audience​

When sending, target precisely:

  • All registrants — broad updates that affect everyone
  • Approved registrants only — when you don't want pending or rejected people to receive it
  • A specific slot or shift — last-minute change for the morning crew only
  • Waitlisted volunteers — when a slot opens up

Wrong audience is the main cause of confusing communications. Check the recipient filter before you send.

Preview before sending​

Always preview. The preview shows the message as a recipient will receive it, with merge fields filled in for one example person. Catches:

  • Broken merge fields
  • A wrong template selected
  • Placeholder text that didn't get filled in

Track delivery​

The event's notifications history shows every message sent — who received it, who opened it, who replied or bounced. Use this when:

  • A volunteer claims they didn't get a confirmation (look up their bounce status)
  • Triage'ing why an event is undersubscribed (did the invite even go out?)

Volunteer-side view​

Volunteers see their event-specific communications in their account under their event registration — useful for them to find a confirmation or reminder they may have lost in their inbox.

Don't over-communicate​

Three messages for one event is a lot. Five is too many. Save your sends for what's actionable.