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Recognition and offboarding

Status: Draft, pre-formation. Recognition and offboarding are not afterthoughts. Done well, they double the lifetime value of a volunteer relationship and turn alumni into the Guild's strongest evangelists. Done poorly, they burn out the most generous people in the membership.

Principles

  1. Recognition is structural, not sentimental. It is calendared, public where appropriate, and proportional to contribution.
  2. Recognition belongs to the volunteer. They control whether their name appears publicly, anywhere.
  3. Stepping away is a normal outcome. A graceful exit is a feature, not a failure.
  4. Alumni stay welcome. A former volunteer is a current member; the Guild treats them that way.

Recognition cadence

Cadence What Owner
Per task or event Same-day or same-week thank-you from the supervisor Supervisor
Quarterly Volunteer Program Lead sends a recognition email to all active volunteers, naming notable contributions of the quarter Volunteer Program Lead
Annually Public list of active volunteers in the Guild's annual report (opt-in) Communications + Volunteer Program Lead
Annually "Volunteer of the Year" recognition — peer-nominated, board-confirmed; presented at the founding convening (or annual meeting) Volunteer Program Lead recommends; board confirms
Milestone At 100 cumulative service hours and at 250 hours, a written acknowledgement signed by the Board Chair Volunteer Program Lead + Chair
Tenure At each two-year service mark, a tenure acknowledgement Volunteer Program Lead + Chair

The Guild does not give individual gifts that could create real or perceived sponsor influence. Tokens of appreciation are limited to nominal items (e.g., branded notebook, lapel pin) and are tracked under the gift acceptance policy where applicable.

Recognition is non-monetary by design. The Guild does not award complimentary memberships, fee waivers, discounts, stipends, honoraria, or any other in-kind compensation for volunteer service — see the Complimentary Membership Policy. Volunteers needing dues relief use the separate, financial-need-based Scholarship & Hardship Waiver, which is decided on objective criteria and is not tied to service. Hours documentation follows the hours-only, no-FMV rule in hours-certification.md.

Visible attribution and credit

Where a volunteer's contribution becomes part of a public deliverable (a curriculum, a position paper, an event program, this proposal repo), the deliverable credits the contributor by name with the contributor's consent. The default is to ask before publishing. The credit format is:

"Contributors: [list of consented contributors, alphabetized]. Reviewed by: [supervising committee or chair]. Adopted by: [Board / committee] on [date]."

Pathways from volunteering

The volunteer program is also the Guild's leadership pipeline. The Lead and committee chairs actively spot volunteers with potential to grow into bigger roles:

  • Project volunteer → committee volunteer
  • Committee volunteer → committee chair
  • Committee chair → board director
  • Director → officer

A pathway is not a promise. The Nominating & Governance committee runs an open process for committee chair and board roles per the recruitment kit. But volunteers should know the path exists, and supervisors should name people who would do well further along it.

Voluntary stepping away

Any volunteer may step away at any time, with or without reason, by sending a short note to their supervisor or to the Volunteer Program Lead. The Guild's response is:

  1. Acknowledge the note within 48 hours
  2. Schedule a 15-minute exit conversation if both sides want one
  3. Remove the volunteer from active rosters and operational systems
  4. Send a thank-you signed by the supervisor and the Lead, naming a specific contribution
  5. Offer alumni status (see below)

No exit interview is required, but the Lead invites one and asks two questions when it happens:

  • What worked well about the role and the Guild's support?
  • What would have made it better?

Notes are anonymized when sharing back to committee chairs and the board for program improvement.

Term-limited and end-of-term offboarding

Committee terms end on schedule per the bylaws and the role catalog. At end of term:

  1. The committee chair and Lead confirm continuation, renewal, or end-of-term 60 days in advance
  2. If ending, the chair and Lead schedule an exit conversation
  3. Recognition is given proportional to tenure (see milestones above)
  4. Knowledge transfer to the successor and a written handover memo for the committee minute book
  5. Alumni status offered

Removal for cause

Removal of a volunteer for cause is rare and follows a defined path:

  1. The supervisor or Lead documents the issue in writing with specific facts
  2. A conversation is held with the volunteer giving them an opportunity to respond
  3. If the issue is a possible Code of Ethics violation, it goes to the Membership & Ethics committee and follows the complaint procedure, not this path
  4. The decision to remove is made jointly by the supervisor, the Lead, and the Board Chair
  5. The volunteer is removed from active rosters and informed in writing
  6. The matter is recorded in the volunteer record per data-and-records.md

Retaliation for good-faith escalation is never a basis for removal. Removal is for material policy violation, sustained nonperformance after written feedback, or conduct that damages other volunteers, members, staff, or the Guild.

Alumni

Volunteers who have served at least one term in good standing become Alumni Volunteers. The status is honorary and entails:

  • Listing on a public alumni roster (opt-in)
  • Standing invitation to the annual convening at member rates
  • Eligibility to be re-recruited into volunteer roles without restarting at Gate 1, provided the COI disclosure is current
  • Optional alumni-only newsletter

Alumni who later return to active volunteering update their COI disclosure and re-acknowledge policies; they do not need to repeat full universal training within 12 months of their previous training date.

Memorial recognition

If an active volunteer or alumnus passes away, the Guild's response is:

  • A thoughtful note from the Board Chair to the family, with no public statement until the family consents
  • Recognition in the annual report under "in memoriam," with family consent
  • No fundraising tied to the memorial without the family's explicit, written consent

Linked documents