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Volunteer onboarding

Status: Draft, pre-formation. Onboarding in this document refers only to volunteer onboarding (committee, event, project). Director onboarding lives in governance/board-onboarding/. Staff onboarding is part of the Administrator and Bookkeeper engagement letters.

The onboarding flow has five gates. A volunteer cannot be assigned a role until they have passed every gate that applies to that role. The Volunteer Program Lead owns the gates; the role's named supervisor signs off at the end.

  ┌────────────┐   ┌────────────┐   ┌────────────┐   ┌──────────────┐   ┌────────────┐
  │  Apply &   │ → │  Screen    │ → │ Acknowledge│ → │ Orient &     │ → │ First 90   │
  │  Match     │   │  & Vet     │   │ Policies + │   │ Train        │   │ days       │
  │            │   │            │   │ Sign Agmt. │   │              │   │ check-in   │
  └────────────┘   └────────────┘   └────────────┘   └──────────────┘   └────────────┘

Gate 1 — Apply and match

Application form (live)

The live application is hosted on the Guild website. It collects:

  1. Name, preferred name, email, city/state
  2. Active member status (Friend of the Guild, Community Education Member, Certified Ganjier Member; or "applying"; note any additional tiers if adopted by the board)
  3. Roles they are interested in (check from the role catalog)
  4. Relevant experience or credentials, freeform
  5. Time available per month
  6. Any conflicts of interest the volunteer is aware of (paid roles, board seats elsewhere, family interests)
  7. Two references (name, email, relationship); waived for committee volunteers who are existing members in good standing
  8. Acknowledgement that they have read this onboarding flow and the program README

Matching

The Volunteer Program Lead receives every application. Within five business days:

  • Reviews the application against open roles
  • Confirms the role is currently posted and the named supervisor still wants to recruit
  • Sends the application to the supervisor (committee chair, event lead, or project sponsor)
  • Sends an acknowledgement to the applicant with timeline and next step

If the application is for a Sensitive role and the applicant is unfamiliar to leadership, the Lead may request a short conversation before passing the application along.

Outcome of Gate 1

Outcome Volunteer experience
Move to screening "Thank you for your interest. Your application has been forwarded to the [committee/event/project] supervisor. Next step: a 20–30 minute conversation."
Hold for a future opening "We do not have an open match for your interests right now. We will keep your application on file for 6 months and let you know when matching openings post."
Decline "We are not able to onboard you for this role. Thank you for your interest in the Guild." (No reasoning required, but the Lead documents the reason internally.)

Gate 2 — Screen and vet

Conversation

The supervisor (or a designee with the Lead present) holds a 20–30 minute conversation:

  • Confirms the volunteer understands the role's purpose, duties, authority limits, and time commitment
  • Discusses any disclosed conflicts and any not-yet-disclosed potential conflicts
  • For Sensitive roles, walks through specific risks (financial information, complaint information, lobbying disclosure, member PII)
  • Answers the volunteer's questions and gives them a graceful exit if the role no longer fits

Reference and identity check (Standard and Sensitive roles)

Risk profile Checks
Low Confirm membership status; light identity check (the email matches the member record)
Standard One reference contacted; membership confirmed; conflict disclosure reviewed
Sensitive Two references contacted; membership confirmed; conflict disclosure reviewed by the Volunteer Program Lead and at least one director who is not the supervisor

The Guild does not run criminal background checks for volunteer roles in Year 1. If a future role requires one (for example, working with minors at an educational event), the policy is updated by board action before that role is recruited for.

Outcome of Gate 2

The supervisor sends the Lead a one-line decision: proceed, hold, or decline, with a short internal note. The volunteer hears back within five business days.

Gate 3 — Acknowledge policies and sign agreement

Before the volunteer takes on any work:

Signed acknowledgements are recorded in the Guild's volunteer record and surface on the Secretary's January list per the compliance calendar.

Gate 4 — Orient and train

Universal orientation (every volunteer)

A 45-minute orientation, delivered live or recorded, covering:

  1. The Guild's mission, why it is a 501©(6), and what that means in practice
  2. The org chart at governance/roles/README.md — who does what
  3. Authority and limits — what every volunteer can and cannot do
  4. Where to escalate concerns (supervisor → Volunteer Program Lead → Whistleblower channel)
  5. How recognition works (see recognition-and-offboarding.md)

Role-specific training

Each role has a specific training plan, which the supervisor confirms is current at the time of recruitment. See training-and-supervision.md.

Outcome of Gate 4

Supervisor signs a one-line "ready to serve" confirmation. The Volunteer Program Lead records the date in the volunteer record and adds the volunteer to the public roster (where the volunteer has consented to public listing) and any operational systems they need.

Gate 5 — First 90 days

30-day check-in

Supervisor and volunteer hold a 15-minute check-in:

  • Is the role what was described?
  • Any blockers, missing context, or training gaps?
  • Are the time-commitment estimates accurate?

60-day informal touch

Supervisor sends a short message acknowledging contributions and naming one specific thing well done.

90-day review

Supervisor and volunteer hold a 30-minute review:

  • Continue, adjust scope, transition to a different role, or step down — all are good outcomes
  • Volunteer Program Lead is informed of the result
  • Any documentation or training gaps surface here are fed back to the Lead for the next cohort

If at any point in the first 90 days the role is not working, either side may end the engagement without prejudice. The volunteer record is updated and the door is left open.

Special cases

Volunteers transitioning from paid roles, sponsors, or vendors

Anyone who has been a paid contractor, sponsor representative, or vendor representative to the Guild within the prior 12 months may volunteer only with the supervising committee chair's written approval and a documented conflict-of-interest analysis. The intent is not to bar the path — these people are often valuable — but to make sure the COI analysis is real and recorded.

Anonymous or pseudonymous contributions to the proposal repository

Welcome and governed by CONTRIBUTING.md. They do not pass through this onboarding flow because they do not access Guild systems or speak for the Guild.

Underage volunteers

Not contemplated in Year 1. If contemplated later (for example, student educators at events), the policy is updated by board action with appropriate parental consent and supervision rules before recruitment.

Linked documents