The great mini donut migration...
“Free passes don’t create commitment. Purpose does.”
The Great Volunteer Vanish Act
You know the ones.
They roll in at 8:59 with “helping hands” and hearts full of hype, ready to “give back to the community.”
By 9:17, they’ve got their free pass, a bag of mini donuts, and are sprinting toward the midway like it’s a cardio challenge sponsored by corn dogs.
You see them later, waving from the Ferris wheel, still wearing the volunteer badge you printed at 2 AM.
Meanwhile, your core crew is knee-deep in extension cords, arguing over where the extra garbage cans went, and wondering why this always happens.
Spoiler Alert:
It’s not about flaky volunteers. It’s about what we trained them to expect.
The Hard Truth: We Trained Them Wrong
Every fair has a “donut generation” of volunteers
Sweet. Enthusiastic. Gone in sixty seconds.
And the shitty truth: we taught them that perks are the way.
We bribed them with
- Free Passes
- Free Food
- Free Access
Instead of purpose, ownership and belonging.
We said: "
Anyone can volunteer."
But we meant: Please, good lord, just show up."
When we recruit for convenience, we get chaos.
When we recruit for purpose, we build legacy.
From Warm Bodies to Working Systems
Here’s what changes everything: skill-based recruitment.
Stop treating volunteer sign-ups like door prizes.
Start treating them like team onboarding.
Instead of:
“Who wants to help?”
Try:
“Who loves design and could own our signage?”
“Who’s calm under pressure and could lead the livestock gate?”
“Who secretly runs their family’s group chat like a Fortune 500? Congratulations, you’re now the new communications lead."
When you match skills to systems, people feel useful, not used.
And when volunteers feel seen, they stick around longer than the donut sugar rush.
Grab the Volunteer Coordinator Toolkit, your plug-and-play setup for skill-based recruiting, onboarding, and volunteer scheduling.
Start Building Your Volunteer System
What Calm Actually Looks Like
Picture this:
Fair morning. The crew’s calm. Everyone actually knows their role.
No donut dash disappearances.
Because no amount of caffeine can fix a system that's missing parts.
If your volunteer team looks more like a midway lineup than a mission-driven crew... it’s time for a reset.
Start with the Volunteer Coordinator Toolkit.
Stop recruiting warm bodies and build a team that stays.
Let's Get to Work
Kryssie ❦
PS. Other ways to work together
- Book a Fair Audit consult: map your chaos and build clarity.
- Grab the Fair Audit Survival Guide: free eBook + audit worksheet.
- Legacy Survey: Help Shape the Future of Fairs Across Canada.
