Coordinate Tasks on Event Day
Goal: Break the day's work into named tasks, assign them, and let volunteers see what they're responsible for or pick up something open.
Why use event tasks
Slots tell you who's coming and in what role. Tasks tell you who's doing what during the event. They're optional, but for events with a lot of moving parts they save you from coordinating verbally on the fly.
Examples:
- "Pick up donuts and coffee at 7am"
- "Drive supply truck to site"
- "Lead morning safety briefing"
- "Frame the front porch"
- "Photograph the dedication ceremony"
Create tasks ahead of the event
Define tasks with:
- Title — short, action-oriented
- Description — enough that someone unfamiliar with the event could pick it up
- Priority — what gets done first if time runs out
- Visibility — whether volunteers can see and self-claim the task, or whether it's coordinator-only
Most affiliates create the recurring set of tasks once and copy/adjust per event.
Assign tasks
You can assign a task in two ways:
- Pre-assign to a specific volunteer (or a small group) — best for skilled or critical work
- Make available for self-claim — volunteers who arrive and finish their primary slot can pick up an open task
Self-claim works well when you have more capacity than primary work and want to keep the day productive.
On the day
The day-of dashboard shows tasks alongside check-in counts. Coordinators can:
- Mark tasks complete as they finish
- Reassign if someone didn't show up
- Add tasks on the fly when something unexpected comes up
Volunteer-side experience
Volunteers see their assigned tasks under My Tasks for the event, and any available self-claim tasks under Available Tasks. See Pick Up and Complete Tasks for the volunteer's view.