Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, completely free. Support Circle is free for everyone — organizers and volunteers alike. There are no subscriptions, no ads, no paid upgrades, and no hidden fees. Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This keeps Support Circle free to use.

Not by default. Volunteers can sign up for any opportunity directly from the shared circle link with just their name and email — no account, no app download, and no password required. It takes about 30 seconds. If an organizer turns on "Require volunteers to sign in" for their circle, volunteers sign in with Google or a free account before signing up. Volunteers who want to keep track of their commitments can also create a free account (or sign in with Google) using the same email they signed up with. Their My Volunteering page then lists every opportunity they've signed up for, and they can cancel there if plans change.

Yes. When you create a circle, you can choose to make it private. Private circles are not listed publicly and are only accessible to people you share the link with.

When you set a support circle to private, you can protect it with a 4-digit PIN. Anyone who visits the link will be prompted to enter the PIN before they can view or join. You share the PIN with your trusted group, giving you control over who participates.

Yes. By default, anyone with your circle link can sign up and is confirmed right away. If you'd like to review signups first, turn on "Require my approval for volunteers" on the Admin tab of your organizer dashboard. New signups then wait in the Approvals tab, and their spots are held until you approve or decline them. You'll get an email when a request needs your review. The volunteer gets an email saying their request was received, then another once you approve or decline it. You can turn the setting on or off anytime; turning it off doesn't auto-approve requests that are already waiting.

Yes, if you want to. By default, anyone can volunteer with just their name and email. Turn on "Require volunteers to sign in" on the Admin tab of your organizer dashboard, and volunteers will sign in with Google or a free account before signing up, so every signup is tied to a real account. You can use it together with approval, or on its own.

You can organize any kind of volunteer help — meals, grocery runs, rides to appointments, childcare, lawn care, dog walking, prescription pickups, house cleaning, laundry, errands, hospital visits, home repairs, donation coordination, and more. There's no limit to what you can create slots for.

Absolutely. Support Circle is widely used by churches, small groups, care teams, nonprofits, and community organizations. You can create a private, PIN-protected circle for your congregation or group so only your members can sign up. Create separate volunteer slots for different shifts, tasks, or events and share a single link with your community.

Yes — Support Circle works great for sports teams, clubs, and classrooms. Coaches and team managers can set up sign-up slots for snack dates, carpools to away games, scoreboard operators, field setup crews, sideline photographers, and any other help the team needs. Parents claim a slot in seconds without creating an account.

No account is required to get started. You can create and share a circle without signing in at all — you'll receive an organizer link by email to manage everything. If you'd prefer to save and manage all your circles in one place, you can sign in with Google or create your own login with an email and password. Signing in is optional and free.

You have three options: (1) No account — create a circle without signing in and manage it using the organizer link sent to your email. (2) Sign in with Google — one click, no new password to remember. (3) Create your own account — register with any email address and a password you choose. All three options give you the same core features; signing in just makes it easier to find and manage multiple circles in one place.

Yes — in fact, that's one of the most popular use cases. You can create meal delivery slots with specific dates and times, set how many volunteers are needed per slot, and share the link so people can sign up in seconds. It's a simpler, more organized alternative to traditional meal train apps.

Each opportunity has a capacity limit set by the organizer. Once all spots are filled, the slot is automatically marked as full and no further sign-ups are accepted. This prevents the confusion of two people showing up with dinner on the same night.

Yes. After signing up, each volunteer receives an email confirmation with the details of what they signed up for, when it is, and any notes from the organizer. If the organizer requires approval, the volunteer first gets an email saying their request was received, and the confirmation arrives once the organizer approves it.

Yes. A single support circle can have as many opportunities as you need. You might add 10 weekly meal slots, 3 ride opportunities, and a couple of grocery runs — all in the same circle, under the same shareable link.

No download needed. Support Circle is a fully mobile-optimized website that works beautifully on any iPhone, Android, tablet, or desktop browser. Just open the link and go.

As long as you need it. There's no expiration date on a circle. You can add new opportunities, remove old ones, and keep the circle going for weeks or months — whatever your situation requires.