FAQ’S 

The first step is to create a family account right here on this site.

In order to sign up for any activities, each member of your family must be registered with us.

If you think Grandma or your college kid home on break might like to join you to volunteer at some point, make sure to add them to your family account, too!

And make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter!

Once you're registered, check out the monthly calendar and/or the list of activities, then simply click on the activity you're interested in, see if the timing, location, and age limits work for your family, and then sign up!

Pay attention to how many spots we ask you to sign up for - sometimes it’s one per family, sometimes it’s choosing how many projects you’d like to pick up.

For an in-person event, make sure to click the box next to each person who will be attending.

The week of the activity, we'll email you all of the info that you need, whether it's parking and dress requirements for an in-person event or when and where to pick up materials for an at-home activity.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out about upcoming public events.

We welcome families of all ages, shapes, and sizes! Some in-person activities will have an age minimum, this is set by our nonprofit partners and will be communicated in the signups.

For at-home activities, all ages are welcome to participate, but we do ask that parents supervise younger children closely to ensure that we are giving quality materials back to our nonprofit partners.

Kids ages 16+ may attend without an adult but will need to have a waiver signed prior to the activity.

Kids under 16 must attend with an adult or a sibling age 18 or older.

You are free to decide how often you would like to participate! Look through the list of activities and sign up for any that fit your family’s schedule and age ranges (if necessary). You will remain a member of Austin Allies and continue to receive our newsletter (if you've subscribed) regardless of participation level.

We try hard to help meet the needs of any nonprofit that aligns with our mission and beliefs who reaches out to us for support. Sometimes we do have to say no due to misalignment of missions and/or belief systems or simply because we just don’t have the resources to say yes. But, mostly, we want to help as many as we can, as often as we can!

You are always welcome to schedule your own shift with any of our nonprofit partners! However, volunteering with Austin Allies makes it so much easier to find a variety of activities on one calendar and our nonprofits often curate activities specifically for our volunteer families. We guide you through every step of the volunteer process, tell you everything you need to know ahead of time, are responsive to questions, and always have a lead at each in-person event to greet you and volunteer alongside your family.

For our at-home activities, we provide an educational component so that you and your family know who you’re helping and why! Information cards and discussion guides are sent with every activity.

Our goal is to make volunteering fun, meaningful, and easy for busy families!

Yes! Our goal is to make it easy to volunteer with our partners alongside us, but we also love for our volunteers to participate directly with any of our nonprofit partners they make a connection with!

We share additional volunteer needs outside of our own calendar all the time, simply contact the org directly to arrange a shift for you and your family. You can see a list of our nonprofit partners here.

We’re so glad you asked! Austin Allies is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and we rely on donations to be able to provide your family with a variety of fun and meaningful volunteer opportunities all year long!

There are many ways to support us - you can make a one time donation, become a monthly donor, sign up for an annual Family Sponsorship, and/or become a Corporate Sponsor. You can also attend our annual family-friendly fundraising events and tell all of your friends and family about volunteering with us!

At the end of each month, we’ll update this site and send out the upcoming month’s calendar of activities to those on our email list.

Weekly emails will go out on Thursdays/Fridays listing any activities that still have spots open and any projects or activities that we’ve recently added to the calendar.

Join our Facebook group for info about last minute needs and check this site regularly - cancellations do happen.

First, you will receive an email confirmation from this site - it may take several minutes. Confirmation emails come from notify@membershiptoolkit.com and you cannot reply. Check your spam folder if you don’t receive a confirmation email within the hour.

As the activity gets closer, you will receive an email from our team with any registration and parking info for in-person activities, pickup instructions and project directions for at-home activities , etc.

We will contact you by email and/or text message if anything changes (bad weather, cancellation of project, etc.).

For our at-home projects, the number of volunteer spots is based on the materials provided by our nonprofit partners, the materials we are able to purchase within our budget, and/or the number of completed items that have been requested by our partner organization. For in-person activities, those numbers and any age limits are set by our nonprofit partners based on their needs and available space.

Sign up on the waitlist! We do have cancellations, so if you know you’d like to participate, there’s a good chance you’ll get the opportunity!

Once a volunteer cancels their spot, we’ll notify the first family on the waitlist to see if they’re able to participate. Sometimes this happens days in advance, sometimes it’s very short notice. If you’re no longer able to participate, make sure you remove your name from the waitlist so we can use our time to reach out to families who are still available.

It depends on the activity - we will always indicate on the signup how many spots each family may sign up for.

For in-person activities, select a spot for EACH PERSON in your group unless otherwise indicated.

For at-home activities, pay close attention to the instructions - they will always say how many spots each family may choose. On this new platform, you will likely be instructed to choose one or two people from your family list (but we're still working out the bugs!). If you’re signing up more than one family (for example, you’re picking up materials for you and for your neighbor), note in the comments of your signup that you’d like to pick up for 2 families and we'll contact you for more info.

If you’re looking for an activity for a group of families or a group of kids, see the FAQ below addressing group activities.

We will follow the guidelines set by the nonprofit partners in whose space we will be working. Any specific protocols will be communicated in the email prior to the volunteer shift.

Our policy: At Austin Allies, the safety of our volunteers, staff, nonprofit partners and their clients is of utmost importance to us. If anyone in your household is ill, please do not attend and contact us as soon as possible to cancel your signup. Thank you for helping to keep us all safe and healthy.

All of the info you need will be in the signup - age limits, date & time, location, what work we’ll be doing, if an additional registration will be needed, etc.

Please read this info carefully, as we must follow our nonprofit partners’ requirements with the ages and numbers of volunteers we can bring.

Once we get closer to the date of the activity, you’ll receive an email from our team with info about parking, what to bring, what to wear, and how to register directly with the nonprofit if necessary.

Look for our Austin Allies Lead - they'll be in an Allies shirt ready to greet you!

We'll ask one member of your family (an adult) to sign in on our mobile kiosk or clipboard and answer any questions you may have. Our Lead will remain at the activity with the group the entire shift.

At each event, we love to take photos of our volunteers hard at work and having fun!

These photos are wonderful for us to share on social media to grow our volunteer network as well as to promote our nonprofit partners and brag on YOU!

At all of our in-person activities, each family signs a waiver that includes a photo release. You may always choose to decline to have your photos posted. If you choose not be photographed,we will blur your faces and we ask that you refrain from joining the group photo (or stand on the edge of the group) so that we are still able to post photos. We never post the names of our volunteer families on social media.

We understand that kids get sick and emergencies happen, but aside from these scenarios, please keep in mind that our nonprofit partners are depending on us to help them with these tasks, and it takes our team time to find a replacement, so please do your best to attend the activity you signed up for.

If you can no longer participate, cancel your signup on this page AND let us know by email of your change in plans at least 48 hours in advance when at all possible to allow us time to try to fill your spot. If you are canceling less than 48 hours before an event, contact by phone or text the Allies team member listed in your instructions email.

Volunteers who consistently no-show to events/for activities may be placed on temporary probation and not allowed to participate for 3 months.

Unfortunately, sometimes we do have to cancel - this can be due to weather for outdoor activities, lack of volunteers, or a cancellation from our nonprofit partner. In the event of a cancellation, we will contact you with the email address you provided in your signup and by text at the phone number provided if we don’t hear back from you by email. We will attempt to contact you as soon as possible after the decision is made, but sometimes this is a last-minute call (especially with weather-related issues).

We have 3 locations to pick up materials each week (unless otherwise noted):

North (Cedar Park)

Central (38th & Guadalupe)

South (Southpark Meadows)

Addresses will be listed at the top of the activities list so you can choose the one that's most convenient.

When you sign up for an activity, you’ll choose which location to pick up from and the week of the activity will be emailed info about the pick up address, time frame, and any other info you might need.

Please be mindful of pick up dates and times. Our north location is the home of one of the Austin Allies team so we want to respect their personal time and space. The Central and South locations are open Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.

Each at home activity will come with all materials needed to complete the project, information about the organization we are helping, a discussion guide to help start a conversation with your family about who you’re helping and why it’s important, an inventory sheet, and instructions for completing the activity. The discussion guide and instructions may be included digitally in your email - we will always let you know where to find this info.

It is extremely important that you read and follow ALL INSTRUCTIONS. Our nonprofit partners often have strict parameters around the items they can receive and distribute to their clients, and sometimes we are using materials provided by the organization that can be costly and time-consuming to replace. We always want to make sure we are taking work off of our nonprofit partners’ shoulders, not adding more work for them.

If you’re working on a project at home, please take photos and send them to us! We love to see our #helpingfromhome families hard at work!

Yes! With each at-home activity, we provide information about the organization we’re supporting, why the project is important, and who it will help.

We’ll also include a discussion guide with sample questions to help start a chat with your kids that will deepen their understanding of volunteerism and grow their empathy for people in our community.

Typically, you will pick up the prepped materials on Friday or Sunday from our North location, and Friday or Monday from our Central and South locations, and return the completed project the following Friday or Sunday/Monday, allowing 10 days to finish the task.

Occasionally, we have projects with a shorter turnaround time, but this will be clearly communicated in the signup and all emails related to the project.

Please be mindful of pick up dates and times. Our north location is the home of one of the Austin Allies team so we want to respect their personal time and space. The Central and South locations are open Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.

We do ask that you make every effort to pick up and drop off during the times and dates listed in the signup and in your instruction email.

We also understand that things come up and kids get sick - if you find that you just can’t make it during the time windows, send Amy an email as early as possible and we’ll work with you as best we can to arrange another time for pick up or drop off (or we may need to pass off your project to a family on our waitlist).

We understand that kids get sick and emergencies happen, but aside from these scenarios, please keep in mind that our nonprofit partners are depending on us to help them with these tasks, and it takes our team time to find a replacement, so do your best to complete the at home project you signed up for.

If you can no longer participate, cancel your signup on this page AND let us know by email of your change in plans at least 48 hours in advance when at all possible to allow us time to try to fill your spot. If you are canceling less than 48 hours before an event, contact by phone or text the Allies team member listed in your instructions email.

Volunteers who consistently fail to pick up or return materials on time may be placed on temporary probation and not allowed to participate for 3 months.

Unfortunately, sometimes we do have to cancel - this can be due to weather for outdoor activities, lack of volunteers, or a cancellation from our nonprofit partner. In the event of a cancellation, we will contact you with the email address you provided in your signup and by text at the phone number provided if we don’t hear back from you by email. We will attempt to contact you as soon as possible after the decision is made, but sometimes this is a last-minute call (especially with weather-related issues).

Our new platform allows you to track your family's volunteer hours right here on this site! Simply follow the link in the previous sentence or go to Volunteer ---> Record Volunteer Hours and enter the hours for each person that attended an event or worked on a project.

If you're using the app, simply log in and record the hours for each family member right there.

Many of our volunteers also need to track their hours for school, Scouts, college applications, etc. and we are happy to help with that! If you need a form signed, the easiest way is to scan the form, email it, and we'll send a digitally signed copy back via email. If you need the form signed in person, contact Erika for more information.

If you’re at an in-person activity and need a hard copy signed, ask the Austin Allies Activity Lead and they will be happy to do so at the end of the activity.

Tracking the number of volunteer hours we are providing to the community is crucial for our fundraising each year. Please make sure to always record the hours for EACH PERSON who attended an event or worked on an at-home project.

We’re happy to help you plan an activity for your group! Contact Erika Nowlin for more information.

Austin Allies's mission is to organize volunteer activities for kids and their families, but we have recently started a corporate volunteering program as a fundraising opportunity for our organization. In this program, we will put together a corporate volunteering activity for a suggested donation of $25 per person (to cover our staff's time in organizing the activity and the cost of materials).

Contact Erika Nowlin for more information

We’re so glad you asked! Austin Allies is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and we rely on donations to be able to provide your family with a variety of fun and meaningful volunteer opportunities all year long!

There are many ways to support us - you can make a one time donation, become a monthly donor, sign up for an annual Family Sponsorship, and/or become a Corporate Sponsor. You can also attend our annual family-friendly fundraising events and tell all of your friends and family about volunteering with us!