[Organizers] Volunteers

[Dugan Murphy via Organizers]

Hi, David,

I run a weekly (49 dances per year minus weather cancellations) Thursday
night contra series in Portland, Maine.  We started in June and we've had
about 70-100 dancers each week since then.

Our in-dance volunteer structure is largely based on Will Loving's
structure for the weekly contra series in Amherst, Massachusetts.  We have
five volunteer positions at each dance: setup/breakdown (shows up an hour
before the beginner lesson and stays 30 minutes after the last waltz to
arrange and breakdown signage, tables, fans, sound baffling blankets, etc),
3 greeters for the door (one hour each), and one dance manager (makes sure
the performers and all the other volunteers have what they need, counts the
money, pays the band, etc).  Each of these volunteers is offered free
admission in exchange for their service.

Because so much of the value that our in-dance volunteers bring is that we
can rely on them showing up, they are only offered free admission if they
sign up ahead of the dance.  Some dancers help out anyway, which is a
bonus.  We tell those dancers that if they want to get in free next time,
they can get in touch about a volunteer slot.

We keep track of dancers who offer to volunteer so we can make these
arrangements.  When new people express interest, we add them to the list.

Our dancers have have expressed appreciation for the training documents we
offer them in advance of their service so it is very clear what they are
and are not responsible for.  These documents are also largely based on
similar materials used in Amherst.

Here's our guide for greeters:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CkWK5swVLJejYfUdcDwMeJHUzjKCdYPtD4YB5cSxtv0/edit?usp=sharing

Here's our nightly checklist, which includes actions by setup/breakdown
volunteer, dance manager, and greeters:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m1HNwV2pzx0n6qqoueuD4KQlhXYSVVneez538_H0mhw/edit?usp=sharing

As our series matures, I am finding it easier to recruit volunteers at the
same time that it is becoming more common that dancers help out without
being asked.  Though it is becoming more common that dancers show up early
and stay late to help without being asked and though it is becoming easier
to recruit a greeter on the fly when someone doesn't show up, I really
appreciate having volunteers for each evening worked out in advance.

I'm thinking about your concern, David, of removing the financial incentive
to volunteer by changing to a pay-what-you-can system.  Keep in mind that
financial incentive likely is not the motivation for dancers to volunteer.
Most of them likely also carry some degree of responsibility to help the
series prosper.  Many also likely appreciate the opportunity for extra
socializing.  Those benefits of volunteerism won't go away with a
pay-what-you-can system.

Dugan Murphy
Portland, Maine

dugan at duganmurphy.com
www.DuganMurphy.com
www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com
www.NufSed.consulting

Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2017 17:46:21 -0500
From: David Chandler via Organizers
Subject: [Organizers] Volunteers

I'm interested in how other groups handle in-dance organizational tasks -
collecting admissions, putting out refreshments, sound and perhaps checking
shoes at the door. Do you use volunteers? Pay people? If volunteers, do you
have a structured corps of volunteers you rely on or just ask for
volunteers as needed? It would be very helpful if you mentioned how
frequently you have dances, and roughly how many attend your dances.

We (Country Dance New York) have a pretty formal system, and put on roughly
80 dances a year (weekly Tuesday and Saturday 9.5 months a year), getting
roughly 40-50 for English and 60 plus for contra. Some people volunteer for
only one or a few dances, but a lot of the work is done by "full-time
volunteers," who do at least 8 tasks during the fall and/or spring. In
exchange for this they get in free to every event. The tasks are also
pretty structured - only members can work the door in order to increase
security of funds, and attendance is kept on an iPad using Square so there
is some training involved; refreshments involve buying food, refilling
water pitchers and putting out a number of different things to eat at the
break, then washing dishes and cleaning up. Volunteer coordinators line up
people for each task in advance. In general this works very well - tasks
get done, and volunteers who are short on cash can get in free. The
downside, in my view, relates to our feeling dependent on the system and
thus reluctant to consider other options for fear we would lose our
volunteers. In particular, some have suggested that it would be more fair
to lower our admission rate for those most likely to be in need (students
in particular), or to go to a "pay what you can" system of some sort. The
reports I've read suggest that "pay what you can" usually works out well,
with perhaps increased attendance and no loss of income. However, we can't
do that because if people could get in by paying what they can the
incentive to be a volunteer would vanish and we are afraid we would not be
able to get things done (or a very small group would have to do them, and
burn out since we have so many dances). However, I have heard rumors that
other dances don't have such a structured volunteer system and still manage
to get these in-dance tasks done. I would love to hear how you manage
getting tasks done with volunteers, especially if you have a "pay what you
can" or very reduced rate for those in need.

Thanks!

David
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