Volunteer Swap and Trade

The Swap feature lets two volunteers exchange their serving assignments directly, without involving an administrator. Use it when you have a conflict on the date you are scheduled to serve and a teammate is serving on a date that works better for you.

When to Use a Swap

A swap is the right tool when:

• You and a teammate are both already scheduled on separate dates, on a team you both serve on.
• You want to trade dates with each other instead of declining and forcing a coordinator to find a new fill.
• The other volunteer has not yet declined the slot you would like to take.

If no teammate is currently scheduled for a date that works for you, decline the assignment instead, or -- if you're on Telegram -- ask your whole team to cover it (see below). A swap cannot fill an empty position; it can only move two existing volunteers between two existing assignments.

Who Can Propose a Swap

In the portal, you can propose a swap for an upcoming assignment you haven't answered yet (it's marked Needs response) -- the Propose swap link sits next to Confirm and Decline. You can trade for any upcoming assignment a teammate has on one of the teams you serve on; it doesn't have to be the same position. Team leaders can use the same flow for their own personal assignments.

Already confirmed? Use Telegram's Ask team to cover (below) or talk to your team leader.

How to Propose a Swap

1. Open My Schedule in the portal.
2. Find the upcoming assignment you would like to trade away.
3. Next to the Confirm and Decline buttons, click Propose swap.
4. A window titled Propose a Swap opens.
5. From the Their assignment to take dropdown, choose the teammate's assignment you would like to take in exchange. It lists your teammates' upcoming assignments and shows their first name, last initial, date, and position.
6. Optionally enter a short Message (optional) to give context (for example, "I have a conflict on the 13th").
7. Click Send Swap Request.

The request is now pending. Your teammate is notified, and your request shows under Your Pending Swap Requests on your My Schedule page ("Sent to [name] — waiting on a response."). Changed your mind? Click Cancel Request while it's still waiting.

Asking Your Whole Team (Telegram)

If you've linked Telegram, you can ask everyone on your team at once instead of picking one person:

1. Send /swaps to your church's bot.
2. Pick the assignment you need covered and tap 📣 Ask team to cover.
3. Every eligible teammate gets a message with an ✋ I can take it button. The first to tap takes your slot; everyone else's message changes to "Already covered ✅".

While it's open, your My Schedule page shows it as "Open to your whole team — waiting for someone to claim it." with a Cancel Request button.

What the Recipient Sees

When you receive a swap request from another volunteer, a Swap Requests section appears at the top of your My Schedule page (and the request shows under Needs your response on your dashboard). For each incoming request it shows:

• Who is asking
• The slot they are giving up
• The slot they want to take from you

You have two buttons:

You can leave the request alone if you are not ready to decide -- it stays there until you accept, decline, the requester cancels it, or the assignment date passes.

Status Transitions

A swap request moves through these states:

1. Pending -- The requester has sent it; the recipient has not responded yet. It appears in the recipient's Swap Requests section.
2. Accepted -- The recipient clicked Accept. Both assignments are now swapped. The request is closed.
3. Declined -- The recipient clicked Decline. The request is closed and no schedule change is made.
4. Cancelled -- The requester clicked Cancel Request before anyone answered. No schedule change is made.

Once a swap is accepted or declined, it cannot be undone through the portal. If a mistake is made, contact a team leader or coordinator.

What Changes on the Schedule When a Swap Is Accepted

When a swap is accepted, the system updates both volunteer assignment records so that the people are flipped between the two events:

• Both assignments are set to Pending, so each person confirms their new date.
• Reminders are sent based on the new assignments.
• The event's Serving tab and the Schedule Grid show the new lineup.
• If you downloaded your schedule to a calendar app (see iCal Calendar Export), download it again to pick up the new date.

Limitations

• Swaps only work between two existing assignments. They cannot leave a position empty or fill an empty position.
• You cannot swap with yourself.
• You cannot swap an assignment that has already been declined.
• The swap dropdown only shows assignments on teams you serve on; anything else needs to be coordinated through a team leader.
• In the portal, Propose swap is only offered while your assignment is still pending.

Best Practices

• Reach out first. A quick message before sending the swap request makes acceptance more likely.
• Use the message field. A short reason ("I have a work trip that weekend") helps the recipient decide.
• Accept or decline promptly. Leaving a swap pending for too long blocks both schedules from settling.
• Update your availability afterward. Once a swap goes through, block the date you couldn't make in My Schedule → Availability so coordinators know about the conflict.