Short & Sweet: 20 Ad hoc & Micro Volunteers Roles

Here’s our May “Top 20”! This time we’ve culled 20 top Micro & Ad hoc Volunteer Roles from our inventory of ideas. These are volunteer opportunities that are focused (with a specific purpose), short term (less than 6 months), and often quick (one and done). Check out this post for a description of ad hoc and to this post for micro.

Why this list? More than ever our members are facing time constraints and burn-out. Finding small meaningful ways they can engage with our associations increases the likelihood of loyalty and retention. Bonus, it gives the association additional feedback, input and intel.

We’ve categorized our list into 5 categories, and it is no where near exhaustive. Indeed, we’ve only scratched the surface! So, without further ado … here are 20 easy to do micro and ad hoc volunteer roles:

Connect with Members:

  1. Provide mentoring, coaching, tutoring for members. The heart of membership is building relationships and what better way than by sharing experiences and professional advice. Invite members to be on the “list” for member referrals.
  2. Recruit and welcome new members. The welcome wagon goes digital! A quick call or email to say hi and welcome to the association. Maybe go one more step and be a new member buddy (one-time at an event or short-term job).
  3. Share the buzz to drive member voting, participation, sponsorships, etc.
  4. Host a special member event such as a Day of Service or an informal meet-up.

 

Represent the Association:

  1. Open doors to secure funding through sponsorships and/or partnerships. One outreach can open doors to much needed resources for programming and activities.
  2. Testify or present on behalf of the association to legislative or regulatory body. Could be as simply as contacting your representative regarding issues relevant to your association.
  3. Serve as campus liaison (or company or large institutional member). Be a point of contact for anyone interested in learning more or connecting with the association. Smaller step is simply be a guest speaker at a college or high school class or give a presentation at sister organizations.
  4. Provide a testimonial on why you are a member/volunteer that can be shared on website, social media or at an event.

 

Share Your Input and Knowledge:

  1. Serve as a writer, copy editor or reviewer: Contribute (as a guest writer or featured writer) to online blogs and/or publications. Write proposals/grant applications or business plans as needed. Serve on a writer’s pool to give comments and ideas as needed.
  2. Share your expertise in a specific area: Participate as a presenter/panelist at an event or facilitate discussions on list serv or e-community.
  3. Review proposals for conferences, projects, papers for publication etc. Analyze data. Review accreditation or certification applications.
  4. Participate as test audience for videos, training programs, et al. Be a product tester/beta-test products, website, tests.

 

Create & Curate Content:

  1. Serve as recorder: Capture notes at a session round table or throughout a meeting to share.
  2. Start or contribute to social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Respond to social media posts. Provide live Twitter chatter during meetings.
  3. Moderate chat on webinar.
  4. Report on issues or trends. Help by identifying and assisting in addressing and/or tracking issues of future importance to the profession.

 

Assist at Events:

  1. Serve as an ambassador: Greet and/or check in attendees when they arrive. Serve as speaker host to greet and make sure they have what they need.
  2. Help with logistics: Arrive early and/or stay late to help with assembly and disassembly of the event space. Serve as runners to help as needed (e.g., walking the mic around, restocking materials, handing out materials). Create the event playlist and run the soundtrack.
  3. Help with presentations/sessions: Serve at table moderators. Run a quiz or other attendee engagement piece. Monitor the sessions for any issues, needs.
  4. Capture the essence of the event via photos, videos, blogging. Feed to the web team to be shared on the web.

 

What are your favorite micro or ad hoc tasks?