Open Forum

Hello hivemind!  

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers. 
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service. 

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules. 

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

Hi Paula, is there anything you want to change or add to your current policies?

------------------------------
Elisa Kosarin
Twenty Hats for Volunteer Managers
Falls Church VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2019 05:30 PM
From: Paula Allen
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello hivemind!

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers.
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service.

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules.

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

I'm curious what larger sites like Filoli require in terms of background check, minimum hours/service duties, or paperwork.

Specifically I'm looking at guidelines and regulations surrounding Leave of Absence, as some volunteers are coming on and off of it for more than a year.

------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2019 08:15 AM
From: Elisa Kosarin
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hi Paula, is there anything you want to change or add to your current policies?

------------------------------
Elisa Kosarin
Twenty Hats for Volunteer Managers
Falls Church VA

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2019 05:30 PM
From: Paula Allen
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello hivemind!

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers.
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service.

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules.

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

​HI Paula - I am with Living History Farms an open-air museum in Iowa. We had 880 volunteers last year. Of that number 351 are core volunteers and 529 are pretty much one-time. We only have minimum hour requirements for the core group and some of those positions require 14 hours a month and other positions less. Overall we require a minimum 15 hours a year or volunteering for at least 3 events. Each year we require our core volunteers to complete a Release and Waiver of Liability. We conduct a criminal background check every 10 years. For our one-time we conduct a sexual registry review every year and they also have to sign a Release and Waiver each year.

We've thought many times about changing to levels so for example if you've contributed a certain number that year you receive a certain set of benefits. But so far we have not. Two primary reasons:
1) The record-keeping would be complicated
2) We are careful about judging who is giving the greatest sacrifice. For example the volunteer that works 2 jobs and has a family might only be able to volunteer 20 hours during a year, while someone who is not working might be able to contribute 100's.

So our benefits for core volunteers are for all of them:
1) Ability to tour for free
2) Discounts in the Museum Store and café
3) Invitation to our annual volunteer/staff recognition
4) Use of our in-house library and invitation to educational opportunities
5) We do award service pins for those volunteers who reach these milestones: 5 years, 10, 15, 20 and 25.

Our one-time volunteers receive a one day pass to come back and tour for free.

Thanks - I'll be interested to see what others share.
Jan Milroy


------------------------------
Jan Milroy
Manager of Volunteer Services
Living History Farms
Urbandale IA
JMilroy@lhf.org, 515.645.9818
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2019 05:30 PM
From: Paula Allen
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello hivemind!

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers.
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service.

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules.

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

Hello Paula,

I'm with Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Last year, we had 267 active volunteers plus 429 one-time volunteers for 696 total. Our active volunteers are divided into regular adult and teen volunteers who volunteer for one 4-hour shift per week and our special event volunteers who are required to volunteer for at least 4 events per year.

All volunteers complete a Release and Waiver when they begin to volunteer. Our regular adult volunteers and special event volunteers are required to complete a child abuse clearance, criminal background check, and FBI fingerprint check (if a volunteer has lived in PA for the past 10 years, they can sign a waiver/disclosure form instead of the FBI fingerprint check). Clearances must be renewed every 5 years. One-time volunteers are not required to complete any background checks.

We don't have a formal leave of absence program, although we do have an Emeritus program. A volunteer, who has been volunteering for at least 5 years and who is in good standing can ask to be changed to Emeritus status if they have a change in health status or ability that affects their ability to perform volunteer duties for the foreseeable future. We continue to send them our newsletter and invitations to team events and they continue to receive volunteer benefits.

Our regular and special event volunteers receive free admission to the Science Center and discounts in our store and cafe. We also hold an annual appreciation dinner, award service pins for milestone hours (250, 500 1,000) and years (5, 10, etc.). One-time volunteers do not receive any benefits.

Hope that helps!

------------------------------
Kelly Gascoine
Volunteer and Internship Manager
Carnegie Science Center
Pittsburgh PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2019 05:30 PM
From: Paula Allen
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello hivemind!

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers.
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service.

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules.

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------

At Vizcaya Museum and Gardens we have 32 Active Volunteer Guides, 17 Greeter Guides and an ongoing Garden Volunteer program. Below is information pertaining to those programs. 

Volunteer Guides

• Attend all seven (7) New Guides Training Sessions 
• Attend all Continuing Education Sessions (4 per year).
• Commit to delivering an average of six 45-minute tours per month at Vizcaya, or 72 per year. 40 per year after 7 years of service.
• Pass criminal background check
• Pay $50 annual dues for the Vizcaya Volunteer Guides Program.

Greeter Guides

• Greeters are asked to provide a minimum of two (2) volunteer shifts of four (4) hours each month, or a total of 24 shifts per cycle.
• Attend all seven (4) New Greeter Guides Training Sessions 
• Attend all Continuing Education Sessions (4 per year).
• Pass criminal background check
• Pay $50 annual dues for the Vizcaya Volunteer Guides Program

Benefits for Active Guides and Greeters

• Guides and Greeters become Guide Members of the museum once their annual dues are paid. This status affords each Guide the benefits of individual membership such as membership pricing to programs and special events along with all other benefits listed below. Guides may bring one guest along to any public program at the membership price for that guest.
• Staff members will support the efforts of volunteers and strive to provide appropriate training and opportunities for enrichment.
• Discounts on select Vizcaya public programs.
• Café and Shop offer 1 free coffee and 1 free coffee per volunteer shift(as determined by their management and subject to change at their discretion).
• Free admission to Vizcaya for up to four (4) guests per visit, per day, provided the Volunteer is present and identifies her/himself to the Ticket Booth Attendant (unlimited visits during the Guiding Cycle). Please note – if you are inviting guests to meet you at Vizcaya, you must be present at the Ticket Booth to identify them and escort them. Ticket Booth staff cannot grant complimentary admission to your guests if you are not at the Ticket Booth to identify and escort your guest(s).
• Free admission to GIT or GGIT for up to four (4) guests per time slot provided the Volunteer is present and identifies her/himself to the Ticket Booth Attendant. Guests are required to wear wristbands to participate in tour.
• Free Audio Tours for up to four (4) guests provided the Volunteer is present and identifies her/himself to the Ticket Booth Attendant.
• One (1) full-time Learning Division staff member dedicated to the Volunteer Guides Program.
• Access to a current Directory listing all Vizcaya Volunteer Guides, Greeters and Key Staff Members.
• Free use of meeting spaces (for Guides activities) and AV equipment set-up for same when available and arranged in advance. To inquire about the availability of meeting space on Vizcaya property, please contact the Adult Learning and Engagement Manager.
• Administrative support for production of the Guides' Newsletter.
• Opportunities to join fellow Guides on field excursions arranged on occasion by members of the Volunteer corps. Participants are responsible for any costs associated with such opportunities.
• Annual Fall Reception
• Annual Holiday Reception
• Annual Spring Reception 

Guide Leaves of Absence

• An Active or Fellow Volunteer Guide in good standing may request a Leave of Absence (LOA) for a period of time not to exceed six (6) months. New Guides are not eligible for LOA [except under exceptional circumstances].
• Requests for a LOA should be submitted in writing by letter or e-mail to the Adult Learning and Engagement Manager.
• Unless the circumstances require, a LOA will be for touring service only and does not apply to Continuing Education requirements. This is to ensure the easiest return to the Guiding Program.
• Total tour requirements for the year will be pro-rated and reduced by the months on leave, i.e. an Fellow Guide on a LOA for two (2) months will have an annual total of 34 tours rather than 40.
• Guides who leave the guiding program to become Learning Program Facilitators officially go on LOA. As a result if after the LPF internship concludes and the individual would like to return to the guiding program the guide must complete two observations of peers and receive at least one observation by Adult Learning and Engagement Manager who will assess recertification into the program.
• Any Guide on LOA may be reinstated upon written application to the Adult Learning and Engagement Manager and upon meeting any requirements as determined by Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Guides on LOA for more than 4 months who would like to return must complete two observations of peers and receive at least one observation by Adult Learning and Engagement Manager who will assess recertification into the program.

Garden Volunteers

• Open to anyone
• Every week on Thursday's and every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 9am – 12 noon
• Activities: Light gardening and other horticulture related activities including weeding, planting, watering, orchid collection care, native habitat area maintenance among others.
• We provide gloves and all other activity related items and tools.

------------------------------
Mark Osterman, Ed.D.
Adult Learning and Engagement Manager
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Miami, FL 33141
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 02-12-2019 09:53 AM
From: Kelly Gascoine
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello Paula,

I'm with Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Last year, we had 267 active volunteers plus 429 one-time volunteers for 696 total. Our active volunteers are divided into regular adult and teen volunteers who volunteer for one 4-hour shift per week and our special event volunteers who are required to volunteer for at least 4 events per year.

All volunteers complete a Release and Waiver when they begin to volunteer. Our regular adult volunteers and special event volunteers are required to complete a child abuse clearance, criminal background check, and FBI fingerprint check (if a volunteer has lived in PA for the past 10 years, they can sign a waiver/disclosure form instead of the FBI fingerprint check). Clearances must be renewed every 5 years. One-time volunteers are not required to complete any background checks.

We don't have a formal leave of absence program, although we do have an Emeritus program. A volunteer, who has been volunteering for at least 5 years and who is in good standing can ask to be changed to Emeritus status if they have a change in health status or ability that affects their ability to perform volunteer duties for the foreseeable future. We continue to send them our newsletter and invitations to team events and they continue to receive volunteer benefits.

Our regular and special event volunteers receive free admission to the Science Center and discounts in our store and cafe. We also hold an annual appreciation dinner, award service pins for milestone hours (250, 500 1,000) and years (5, 10, etc.). One-time volunteers do not receive any benefits.

Hope that helps!

------------------------------
Kelly Gascoine
Volunteer and Internship Manager
Carnegie Science Center
Pittsburgh PA

Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2019 05:30 PM
From: Paula Allen
Subject: Volunteer Policies - Requirements, Minimum Hours & Leaves of Absence

Hello hivemind!

I'm the Volunteer Services Coordinator at Filoli, historic estate and garden a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We're looking for comparable volunteer policies. Filoli has 575 current volunteers (plus 50 on Leave of Absence and 130 Emeritus).
Volunteers must fill out an application, sign a volunteer agreement and code of conduct, pass a national background check, and become/stay a member in good standing.

We require 72 hours minimum service from our Active volunteers, and 36 hours minimum of our Sustaining volunteers.
Anyone can take a Leave of Absence (for up to one year); volunteers qualify for 1/2 time Sustaining status with 1000 hours or 10 years of service.

What do set as policies, qualifications, etc? I'm hoping for a decent chunk of data to stack up against our current rules.

Thanks,
Paula


------------------------------
Paula Allen
Volunteer Services Coordinator
Filoli Center
Woodside, CA
------------------------------