Help/Volunteers/Bring in your volunteers
Bring in your volunteers
Add the people who already volunteer with you. A name is enough to start recording their shifts and hours.
Updated October 2026·2 min readFor owners, admins, staff and coordinators
Add a volunteer
Open Volunteers, then People
Press Add volunteers.
Enter their first name
Last name, email, phone and programs are optional.
Add an email if they will sign in
Either way, they are on your list straight away. With an email, they show as Invited and Ember sends an invitation.
Press Add volunteer
Ember says whether an invitation went out.
Good to know
- To add or fix an email or phone later, open the volunteer in People and press Edit contact. Once they sign in to Ember, their contact details are theirs to change. Adding someone a second time makes a second record.
- People who sign up through your public page join your list once you mark them at the shift, move them up, or confirm them into a role.
- A volunteer who has never used Ember needs a few steps to sign in the first time. Send them a volunteer can't find where to sign in.
- Anyone can be added with just a name, so volunteers without email are still counted.
Common questions
Can I import a spreadsheet of volunteers?
Yes. Press Import a list on the People tab. Everyone imported goes on your volunteer list as active, and nobody is emailed. Someone already on your list is matched, and only their blank details are filled in. If it goes wrong, press Undo this import. Past hours come in separately: see record volunteer hours.
The invitation email didn't send.
They are still on your list. Send them the steps to sign in yourself, using the email you added.
My volunteer says they can't sign in.
See a volunteer can't find where to sign in.
It says to confirm my email first.
New accounts confirm their email before sending invitations. You can add the volunteer without an email for now.
Not using Ember yet?
Ember brings your programs, volunteers, grants and donors into one place. Made for nonprofits like yours, and free if your budget is under $50K a year.
No card to sign up · Unlimited users included