Hello and welcome! You’re probably curious about volunteering and it’s role in Minnesota Furs, or maybe even here to become a volunteer yourself.
Why Volunteer? Minnesota Furs is at its heart a volunteer-run not for profit organization. Everyone from the board of directors, to the staff, to the voting body themselves volunteer their skills, energy, and time to keep the group running. From hosting events to cleanup at picnics and especially helping out at Furry Migration, volunteers can be found everywhere. Being a volunteer doesn’t just help keep the group afloat and running smoothly. Volunteering has benefits for you, too! The best way to become a voting member and help decide both the board of director and the direction of the group requires that you volunteer at least 20 hours each year. Additionally, everyone who wants to run for the board of directors have to obtain voting status first. So if you want to keep Minnesota Furs going, see more events, and maybe even become staff or a board member, volunteering is how it happens.
Volunteers have benefits they earn too! While we hope to announce many more in the future.
How To Earn Volunteer Hours There are many ways to earn volunteer hours:
- Volunteer at Furry Migration – a convention takes enormous effort and untold amounts of man-hours to pull off. A for-sure way to get all 20 volunteer hours, and quick, is to help at the convention.
- Run an Event – Minnesota Furs is a social group. This means we get together and hang out. Be it a sushi dinner, a picnic, a bowling night, a movie out, or just getting together to party and game – each of these are valid events our members can and have put on. This allows the event host to gain volunteer hours, and anyone who assists them.
- Assist at an Event – Many events require only a single person to coordinate them. But others, such as picnics or seasonal parties, require the efforts of several individuals. By helping the event host, they will submit your volunteer hours along with their own for the event! This may be things like helping manage food at a picnic, cleanup or prep at a holiday party, being a photographer at one of our photo shoot events, or more.
- Become a Staff Member – Minnesota Furs has several staff positions at any given time. While the board is full of capable individuals, they can’t do everything! Volunteers help by managing social media, monitoring the forums, coordinating events and even other volunteers to pull earn hours.
- Other – Sometimes there are oddball tasks needed to be done. Whether it’s helping with some paperwork, moving items, helping with an election or other task, these can all earn hours as well. Keep your eyes peeled for these unique volunteer opportunities and don’t forget to check our help wanted page!
Resources for Volunteers
Volunteering is more than just the work. It’s not you alone, or just you and the other volunteers. The Minnesota Furs staff takes a keen interest and desire in helping the volunteers get their work done. How? First off, is feedback. The board of directors and staff members want volunteering for you to be an enjoyable process. If you can think of a way to make volunteering more useful, and reach broader ranges, you can tell us, and we’ll see what we can do to make it come true.
Another big thing is the growth of skills. Minnesota Furs staff have learned many unique skills during their tenure in assisting the organization and in their life outside the group. These skills are things they can help impart to volunteers, and cultivate growth in many ways. Maybe you are looking to get a better understanding on finances and how to track formal budgets. The Treasury department can use your skills and help teach you the finer points of budgeting for an organization. Leadership skills something you want to know more about? Talk to the Event staff, whom can help you learn as you volunteer about situation management, enhance your people skills, and go from there. If you work with the Secretary and our “Furry Resources” staff, you can enhance your writing skills. Public Relations? Why, contact the Web/IT team to volunteer in helping manage our social networks and websites, gaining valuable experience in the process. These skills will carry over not just into other areas of the Minnesota Furs community but out into your life beyond furry, and stick with you forever.
So what are you waiting for? Please volunteer today!
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please email the volunteers leaders!
