There is a relatively new arrival in web-based software available to people who are managing scheduling and communications with volunteers (this is available to anyone- school teachers, non-profits, coaches, you name it)  It’s called VolunteerSpot.com.  It’s not a sophisticated volunteer management tool- there are no features for tracking interests, skills and availability for instance.  It won’t track hours and spit out pretty reports on volunteer involvement.  And it doesn’t really track contact information, except e-mail.  But it’s a great tool for getting people to sign up for shifts or for “what to bring”. 

As a volunteer manager who has handled numerous multi-day, multi-shift events, scheduling was always the most time consuming and tedious part of managing event volunteers.  I kind of wish I’d had access to a free online scheduling utility like VolunteerSpot.com.    If your grappling with volunteer scheduling in your organizations, you might want to check this tool out.

There are also other scheduling tools available- some free and many low-cost: 

ChurchDirector.com’s free basic account allows for a single team, up to a maximum of 10 total users (team members);  upgrades start at $5.95/month.

Famundo.com offers unlimited free online calendars to all community organizations;  file storage for sharing documents is included.

MyCharityManager.com is a feature-rich free web tool that lets you track volunteers, events, and donations all in one place.

MyVolunteer.com starts at $4.95/month, and they’re currently offering a time-limited special where you can get 3 months service free.

WhenToHelp.com the Lite version is limited to 250 volunteers and 100 shifts per week, but that should give plenty of leeway for many small non-profits.