Your Event Checklist: What to Set Up Before Going Live

Getting Started Guide

1. Volunteer Signup
2. Event Checklist
3. Day-Of
4. Retention
5. Promotion

You’ve created an event, but before you share it with the world, let’s make sure it’s ready. This checklist takes about 10 minutes and ensures volunteers have everything they need to say “yes” and show up.

The Essential Checklist

Open your event in Serve.Love and work through these items:

Event detail screen in Serve.Love showing event overview — Click to enlarge: Your event detail screen — this is where you’ll check everything

1. Event Title

Your title is the first thing volunteers see. Make it clear and specific:

Good: “Food Bank Sorting – Saturday Morning”
Less clear: “Volunteer Opportunity”

Include the type of work when possible. Volunteers want to know what they’re signing up for at a glance.

2. Date, Time, and Location

Double-check these basics:

Date – Is it the correct day?
Start and end time – Be specific. “9am-12pm” is better than “morning.”
Address – Full street address so the map link works correctly
Location notes – Where to park, which entrance to use, who to ask for

3. Event Description

Answer the questions volunteers are thinking:

What will I be doing?
Why does this matter?
Do I need any skills or experience?
What should I wear or bring?
Will there be breaks, food, or water?

Keep it scannable. Short paragraphs and bullet points work better than walls of text.

Edit event screen showing title, description, and settings — Click to enlarge: The edit screen where you update event details

4. Event Image

Events with images get significantly more signups. A photo helps volunteers picture themselves there.

Best option: A photo from a previous event showing real volunteers at work
Good alternative: A photo of the location or the people you serve
Avoid: Stock photos that feel generic or staged

Don’t have a photo yet? That’s okay for your first event – just make adding one a priority for next time.

5. Volunteer Spots

How many volunteers do you need? Set a limit that makes sense:

Too few and your event fills up before you can promote it
Too many and there may not be enough work to go around

When in doubt, start smaller. You can always increase the limit later, but disappointed volunteers who showed up with nothing to do won’t come back.

6. Shifts (Optional)

Need volunteers at different times? Set up shifts instead of one big time block:

Morning shift: 8am-11am (10 spots)
Afternoon shift: 1pm-4pm (10 spots)

Shifts help you maintain coverage throughout the day and give volunteers flexibility to pick times that work for their schedules.

For simple events where everyone arrives and leaves together, you don’t need shifts – the default single time slot works fine.

7. Custom Signup Form (Optional)

Need information beyond name and contact details? Attach a form to your event:

T-shirt size – if you’re giving out shirts
Dietary restrictions – if you’re providing food
Emergency contact – for outdoor or physical activities
Skills or certifications – if the work requires them

Keep it short. Every extra question adds friction. Only ask what you actually need.

8. Event Status

Check the status dropdown in your event settings:

Draft – Only you can see it. Use this while setting up.
Active – Visible to volunteers and accepting signups.

When you’re ready, switch to Active. Your event won’t appear in searches or accept signups until you do.

9. Visibility Settings

Who can find this event? You have three options:

Public – Visible in all searches: map search, organization search, and external APIs. Anyone looking for volunteer opportunities in your area can discover it.
Private – Visible when users search your organization directly, but hidden from the general map search and external APIs. Good for events you want existing supporters to find, but not the general public.
Unlisted – Only accessible via direct link. Hidden from all searches. Use this for invite-only events or when you’re promoting through your own channels (email, social media) and don’t need discovery.

Made a Mistake? No Problem.

Events can be edited anytime—even after they’re live. Changed the start time? Updated the location? Just edit and save. Volunteers who already signed up will see the updated information.

If you need to start over completely, just delete the event. No penalty, no complicated process. Create a new one when you’re ready.

Delete event button location — Click to enlarge: The Delete button in your event actions

Canceling an Event with Signups

If volunteers have already signed up and you need to cancel, notify them first. Don’t just delete the event and leave people wondering.

The easiest way: use the Communications tab on your event to message everyone at once.

Communications tab for sending messages to all event volunteers — Click to enlarge: The Communications tab lets you message all signed-up volunteers

Need to message specific volunteers? Use Selected User Actions from the Volunteers tab. Select who you want to contact, then choose your messaging option.