Volunteer management that logs the hours the 990 asks about.
SignUpGenius signs volunteers up. Sign-in sheets track who showed up. Spreadsheets try to tally hours before the 990 filing deadline. Between the three, most nonprofits lose 30 to 60% of the volunteer hours they actually delivered — and undercount their in-kind service value by tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Giving Toolbox does all three in one app: shift sign-ups, QR code check-in with timestamps, and a live hours report ready for Form 990 with the IRS disclosure footer already at the bottom. Volunteers use the phone they already carry. Coordinators see the shift fill in real time. The 990 preparer opens the app and exports.
Hours lost between three systems.
Every volunteer management question comes down to three things: did the person sign up, did they show up, and did anyone log the hours in a form the 990 preparer can use. Sign-up-only tools solve one out of three. Paper clipboards solve the second only if someone remembers the pen.
Sign-up, check-in, and hours live in three tools
Sign-up happens on SignUpGenius. Check-in happens on a paper clipboard at the door. Hours get entered into a spreadsheet weeks later by a volunteer coordinator working from memory. Between the three systems, most nonprofits lose a third of their volunteer hours before they ever make it to the 990.
Volunteer hours are 990 data almost never captured
Form 990 Part I Line 6 asks for total volunteers. Statement of Activities can include the in-kind value of volunteer service. Grant reports for restricted funds often ask for volunteer hours by program. Most small nonprofits guess at the numbers because the tracking never happened cleanly, and the guess is almost always too low.
Volunteers will not install another app just to check in
A volunteer showing up for one Saturday food-pantry shift is not going to download an app, create an account, and enter a login just to check in. They will look at the paper clipboard and sign it. The hours vanish into a coordinator's later data-entry queue that never happens. QR code check-in — scan and go — is the only workflow that survives the reality of one-day volunteers.
Built for how volunteers actually show up.
Every feature exists because sign-up-only tools, paper clipboards, and manual spreadsheet reconciliation lose volunteer hours the 990 preparer needs and the board should see.
Shift editor with program tags
One page: shift date, start time, end time, location, capacity, program tag, grant fund. Volunteers see the open spots and sign up from their phone. The shift record is the anchor everything downstream ties to.
QR code check-in and check-out
Print the QR code and post it at the check-in table. Volunteers scan with any phone camera. Timestamp on arrival, timestamp on departure. Hours calculate automatically. No app install, no login, no clipboard.
Live shift dashboard
The volunteer coordinator sees the shift fill in real time on their iPad or iPhone. Twelve spots open, four filled, eight remaining. A last-minute cancellation shows immediately so the coordinator can text the waitlist.
Hours report with IRS footer
One-tap PDF hours report formatted for the board packet with the IRS disclosure footer at the bottom noting that volunteer time itself is not tax-deductible. Columns for volunteer, shift date, hours, program, grant fund. Ready to hand to the 990 preparer.
CSV export per shift
CSV export per shift or across any date range. Volunteer name, email, hours contributed, program tag, grant fund tag. Import directly to the organization's tracking spreadsheet or send to the bookkeeper for functional expense allocation.
Volunteer mileage integrated
Volunteers who drive on behalf of the organization log mileage at the IRS charitable rate of 14¢ per mile. Mileage ties to the same shift record as hours. A volunteer session shows both time contributed and miles driven — the two ways volunteers actually give resources to the mission.
From shift creation to 990-ready hours in four steps.
No training deck. Create a shift once. Volunteers scan, hours build, the report exports.
Create the shift
Date, time, location, capacity, program tag, grant fund. One page. The volunteer coordinator sets it up when the shift goes on the calendar.
Volunteers sign up from their phone
Volunteers see open shifts in the app or via a shareable link. Sign up with a tap. Confirmation and reminder push notifications keep them on it. The waitlist fills automatically as spots open.
QR check-in and out at the venue
Print the QR code, post it at the check-in table. Volunteers scan with any phone camera on arrival and again on departure. Timestamps log automatically. The coordinator sees who is in the room in real time.
Hours export for 990
End of quarter or end of fiscal year, one tap exports the hours report as PDF (with IRS disclosure footer) or CSV (columns for the 990 preparer). Volunteer name, shift date, hours, program tag, grant fund. Ready to file.
How Giving Toolbox compares to SignUpGenius.
SignUpGenius is the market leader for general sign-up scheduling. It was built for church potlucks, school PTAs, sports team snack rotations, and volunteer sign-up. Nonprofit volunteer management needs sign-ups plus check-in plus hours tracking plus 990-ready export, all tied to programs and grants. Here is what changes when volunteer management moves into an app built for the nonprofit side.
Monthly cost
$12–$49/mo
$0
Built for
General event scheduling
Nonprofit grant reporting
Volunteer sign-ups
10 volunteer max
QR check-in and out
Basic
Hours report for 990
Manual export
Basic
Volunteer mileage
Not included
Export
CSV
Grant PDF only
Straight answers about volunteer management.
What volunteer coordinators and executive directors ask before switching from SignUpGenius or a paper clipboard.
How is this different from SignUpGenius?
SignUpGenius is a general scheduling tool built for any group organizing any activity — church potlucks, school room parents, sports team snack rotations. It handles sign-ups well. It has no hours-tracking layer for Form 990. It has no check-in system. It has no way to tie a volunteer session to a program or grant. Giving Toolbox is built for 501(c)(3) volunteer management specifically: sign-ups plus QR check-in and out plus IRS-ready hours reports plus program tagging, all in the same app the organization uses for expenses and payments.
Do volunteers need to install the app to check in?
For sign-ups, yes — volunteers see available shifts in the app on their phone. For check-in, no — the shift's QR code posted at the venue can be scanned by any phone camera and opens the check-in page in a browser. Volunteers who want the full app experience install it. Volunteers who only show up for one event use the QR code and never download anything.
How does the app track volunteer hours?
Every check-in creates a timestamp. Every check-out creates a timestamp. Hours are the difference between them, calculated automatically. The shift record ties hours to the volunteer, the program, and the grant fund (if applicable). Hours accumulate for each volunteer across shifts, exportable as a report at any point.
Are volunteer hours reportable on Form 990?
Yes. Form 990 Part I Line 6 asks for the total number of volunteers for the year. Statement of Activities can include the in-kind value of volunteer service in non-audited financial reporting. Grant reports for restricted funds often require volunteer hours by program. Giving Toolbox exports hours by volunteer, by program, by shift, with the IRS-required disclosure footer noting that volunteer time itself is not tax-deductible for the volunteer (only mileage is).
What is the volunteer limit in the free tier?
The free tier supports basic check-in and check-out for up to 10 volunteers, tied to the Community Foundation Grant Reporting Mode. Pro removes the limit — unlimited volunteers, unlimited shifts, full historical hours reporting, and program and grant fund tagging across the whole roster.
Can volunteer mileage be tracked with hours?
Yes. Volunteers who drive on behalf of the organization log mileage at the IRS charitable rate of 14¢ per mile. Mileage entries tie to the same shift record as hours, so a volunteer session shows both time contributed and miles driven — the two ways volunteers actually give resources to the mission.
Can I export hours to my accountant?
Yes. Hours export as CSV (volunteer name, shift date, program tag, hours) for direct import into QuickBooks, Aplos, or Xero. Or as a formatted PDF (with the IRS disclosure footer) for board packets and 990 preparer handoff. The volunteer hours line item flows into functional expense allocation reporting.
Volunteer hours the 990 preparer can actually use.
Download Giving Toolbox free. Create your next shift. Watch the hours build with every check-in.
Free: unlimited submissions, 100 AI receipt scans/month, single grant reporting. Pro ($34.99/mo) adds unlimited users, multi-grant tracking, fundraisers, and full 990 prep.
How this fits together
One app for the whole organization
This is one part of a mobile-first nonprofit operations app that also handles expenses, grants, events, volunteers and donors, and keeps working offline.
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