Volunteers

Volunteers make the event easier to run and better for everyone in the room. They’re also hard to find at first. Design your meetup so you can run it alone, because for a while, you probably will.

What volunteers do

Before the event, a single person can help with several things: social media posts, scouting speakers, reaching out to potential sponsors. RubyMX has one dedicated person who handles social media and a small group of rotating volunteers who also help find speakers and sponsors between events.

On the day of the event, roles split more clearly:

• Registration: someone at the door checking in attendees while the rest of the team sets up
• Tech setup: getting slides and streaming running before doors open
• Host: the person running the event, introducing speakers, keeping time
• Floor support: welcoming late arrivals, answering questions, keeping the room running smoothly

Three people is a good number for the day. It’s enough to cover the basics without the coordination overhead of a larger group.

Finding volunteers

Ask at the end of every event. A brief mention, that you’re looking for people to help and what that involves, is enough. Some attendees are already thinking about it.

It may take a while before anyone steps up. That’s normal. Keep asking.

What they get

Swag, if you have it, is a small way to say thank you, but nobody volunteers at a community meetup for swag. They do it because they believe in what the meetup is for. Acknowledge that. Thank them publicly, by name, at the event and in your posts. That matters more than any physical reward.