Running a Street Appeal

Overview

This playbook walks you through running a national street appeal with PurposeTech Mobilise. It's structured as an 8-week countdown to appeal day, based on patterns from organisations like Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, Child Cancer Foundation, and Assistance Dogs NZ Trust.

What you'll have by appeal day:

• A branded volunteer portal with self-service signup
• Regional coordinators managing their own areas
• Full site coverage tracking across all collection points
• Automated communications keeping volunteers informed
• Day-of tools for managing no-shows and walk-ins

Week 8: Planning and platform setup

Define your campaign structure

Map out your geographic hierarchy before touching the platform:

1. Regions — typically aligned with major cities or council boundaries
2. Areas — suburbs or zones within each region, each managed by an Area Coordinator
3. Sites — individual collection points (intersections, malls, supermarkets, etc.)

See How It Works for details on the geographic hierarchy.

Create the campaign

1. Set up a new campaign with your appeal name and date
2. Import your sites via Bulk Operations — most charities reuse last year's site list with updates
3. Configure shift patterns — most street appeals use 2-hour shifts across the day (e.g. 6am–8am, 8am–10am, 10am–12pm, 12pm–2pm)

Set up coordinators

1. Create user accounts for each Regional or Area Coordinator
2. Assign them to their respective regions/areas
3. Coordinators get their own dashboard view filtered to their area

Checklist

• Geographic hierarchy mapped
• Campaign created with appeal date
• Sites imported (reuse last year's list if available)
• Shift patterns configured
• Area Coordinator accounts created and assigned

Week 7: Branding and communications

Brand your volunteer portal

1. Upload your logo and brand colours under Custom Domains & Branding
2. Set up your custom domain (e.g. volunteer.yourcharity.org.nz)
3. Write the campaign landing page copy — what the appeal is for, why it matters, and how to sign up

Prepare email templates

Configure automated emails for:

• Welcome/confirmation — immediately after signup
• Shift reminder — 48 hours and 24 hours before appeal day
• Day-before briefing — what to bring, where to go, what to expect
• Post-appeal thank you — sent the day after, including impact stats

Prepare recruitment materials

• Draft social media posts with your portal URL
• Prepare email templates for your existing volunteer database
• Create assets for corporate partners (many corporates adopt sites as team-building)

Checklist

• Branding configured
• Custom domain set up and working
• All email templates written and tested
• Recruitment materials prepared

Week 6: Open registration and recruit

Launch volunteer registration

1. Open your campaign for registration
2. Send email invitations to your existing volunteer database
3. Post across social media channels
4. Reach out to corporate partners for "Adopt a Site" team registrations

Engage returning volunteers

If you've run previous appeals, import your past volunteer data and send targeted re-engagement emails. Returning volunteers are your most reliable — they already know the drill.

Monitor early uptake

• Check the admin dashboard daily for registration numbers
• Use coverage reports to track which areas are filling up
• Identify areas that need extra recruitment focus

Checklist

• Registration opened
• Invitations sent to existing database
• Social media campaign launched
• Corporate partner outreach started
• Coverage reports reviewed

Weeks 5–4: Build coverage

Drive recruitment

• Send reminder emails to unregistered contacts
• Ask coordinators to recruit locally — word of mouth is powerful
• Post "X sites still need volunteers" updates on social media
• Target specific low-coverage areas with geo-targeted outreach

Manage coordinators

• Weekly check-in with coordinators on their area coverage
• Share coverage reports so coordinators can see gaps
• Help coordinators with any platform questions

Review site viability

• Sites with zero signups by week 4 may need to be consolidated or reassigned
• Consider adding popular overflow sites if demand is high in certain areas

Checklist

• Reminder campaigns sent
• Coordinator check-ins completed
• Low-coverage areas identified and targeted
• Non-viable sites reviewed

Weeks 3–2: Confirmation and logistics

Confirm volunteer details

• Send a "please confirm your shift" email to all registered volunteers
• Follow up with anyone who hasn't confirmed
• Manage waitlists — promote waitlisted volunteers into any cancellations

Prepare collection materials

• Order and distribute collection buckets, branded vests/t-shirts, and signage
• Prepare site packs with instructions for each collection point
• Coordinate with council/mall management for any permits needed

Brief your coordinators

• Hold a coordinator briefing (virtual or in-person) covering:
  • Day-of logistics and timeline
  • How to use the roster management tools on appeal day
  • Handling no-shows, walk-ins, and emergencies
  • Collection and cash-handling procedures

Checklist

• Confirmation emails sent and responses tracked
• Waitlisted volunteers moved into cancelled slots
• Collection materials ordered and distributed
• Site packs prepared
• Coordinator briefing completed

Week 1: Final preparations

Send day-before communications

• Volunteer briefing email: shift time, site address, what to bring, who to contact if they can't make it
• Coordinator briefing: final rosters, emergency contacts, collection procedures
• Weather contingency plan: communicate any changes due to weather

Final coverage check

• Run a final coverage report — identify any last-minute gaps
• Have a standby list of flexible volunteers who can fill gaps on the day
• Ensure all shifts are assigned and no sites are uncovered

Prepare day-of tools

• Test the roster management interface on mobile
• Make sure coordinators can access their dashboards
• Set up any check-in processes at key sites

Checklist

• Day-before briefing emails sent to all volunteers
• Coordinator briefing sent with final rosters
• Weather contingency communicated (if needed)
• Final coverage check completed
• Day-of tools tested on mobile

Appeal day

Morning

• Coordinators arrive early to set up key sites
• Monitor real-time attendance via the admin dashboard
• Handle no-shows by reassigning from waitlist or standby volunteers
• Process walk-in volunteers through the platform

During the appeal

• Track collection progress in real time
• Coordinators manage their areas, flagging any issues
• Handle shift changeovers — make sure relief volunteers know their handover time

End of day

• Coordinators confirm site closures and collection completion
• Begin collection reconciliation
• Send a quick "thank you for today" message to all volunteers

Post-appeal: Reporting and follow-up

Within 48 hours

1. Send a thank-you email to all volunteers with headline results (total raised, number of volunteers, sites covered)
2. Run your post-event reports:
   • Attendance vs. registration rates
   • Coverage by region and area
   • No-show rates
   • New vs. returning volunteer breakdown
3. Export data for your annual report or Salesforce sync

Within 2 weeks

• Gather feedback from coordinators on what worked and what didn't
• Identify sites that consistently underperform for next year's planning
• Document any process improvements for the next appeal
• Update your volunteer database with new contacts

Checklist

• Thank-you emails sent
• Post-event reports generated
• Data exported/synced to CRM
• Coordinator feedback collected
• Lessons documented for next year

Resources

• Street Appeals Use Case — platform capabilities overview
• Shift Booking — how shift management works
• Volunteer Management — managing your volunteer database
• Reports & Data Exports — available reports and export formats
• A Practical Guide to Running a Successful Street Appeal — our comprehensive resource guide