Volunteers at live events are incredibly valuable!
Great volunteers will help set a positive tone and create an energetic environment for the event. They are that memorable, smiling face of the event as guests and attendees arrive.
When your attendees need support, volunteers often jump in to answer questions and meet needs throughout the event.
Recently, Raise a Dream was a sponsor of the Global Influence Summit (GIS) where I presented on sponsorship, along with being one of the GIS co-founders and co-hosts.
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The live event volunteer team at the Global Influence Summit was outstanding! They created an experience for the attendees… not just a welcoming environment. As an event host, I found their support crucial. The tasks that the volunteers took on pulled the organizers and speakers out of the role of event management.
One such valuable volunteer, Ashley Meadahl of Premiere Event Management (PEM), was one of our amazing sponsors of the event. She took on the role of acting as the event point person, which is an essential live event role.
Think about your next event. Where is there opportunity to bring in volunteers to add value and provide support? What roles could your volunteers play? How could your volunteers support your sponsor recognition and enhance the event experience?
For example, often your sponsors will want to engage their staff as volunteers at your event (you can learn more about sponsorship and collaboration through our complimentary ebook HERE).
10+ Critical Roles Volunteers Can Play at Your Next Event
The Global Influence Summit Volunteer Team took on a number of critical and collaborative volunteer roles including:
- Welcoming and greeting attendees
- Manning the registration table
- Putting together the name tags
- Answering questions from attendees throughout the event
- Holding space for the attendees to experience optimal transformation
- Managing distractions (doors opening and closing)
- Supporting the speakers
- Leading the raffle ticket sales and fundraising component (for charity)
- Microphone running during the event
- Putting together the attendee welcome bags
- Packaging up and displaying the raffle gifts
- And a whole lot more!
Keep in mind that your volunteers will be most successful in supporting your event when you support them first. We held a couple of pre-event calls for the volunteers so that they could get to know one another, understand the flow and details of the event, and get to know the organizers and event planner. This was a definite “must do again” activity.
As you plan your next event or conference, consider the opportunity for collaboration and the value that volunteers bring to the event. It takes a team to raise a dream.~ by Charmaine Hammond