So our volunteer application is always open, but within the next 30-60 days, we will be particularly looking for new volunteers as we get closer to our next phase of community growth. If you've been looking for a meaningful way to give back to the community, this is a great way to do it. EC runs 100% on volunteers... we have no paid staff whatsoever, so everything that happens here is because of the generous donations of time and energy given by those who volunteer. In particular, we are looking to fill a number of volunteer positions on the staff team. These roles involve moderating and overseeing the community, reviewing full member applications, discussing various moderation issues, and in general, helping to keep the community running smoothly. While we don't have any particularly hard-and-fast requirements, in general you should have been around for a few months, and have at least 300+ posts. You should already be visiting and posting on a daily or near-daily basis. Volunteer staff are expected to make a minimum time contribution of 7 hours a week, which should be spread out throughout the course of the week (not all on one or two days.) We are pretty strict about this, as it takes time and energy for the staff to bring new volunteers up to speed. We also ask that you make a minimum commitment of 9 months. We are also accepting applications for volunteer openings in other areas (administrative/accounting, technical/design/coding, outreach, and so forth) which typically have less stringent ongoing expectations as well as requiring less posting history. Volunteering for EC, particularly on the Online Community Support Team, can include a fair amount of not-so-exciting work, but there is an opportunity to get to know (at least online) the rest of the staff, understand the inner workings of a small nonprofit, and know that you're making a real difference. Some of our volunteers have been on the staff team for 9+ years, and some are newer. All are welcome! If you've already applied... we will be reviewing all existing applications soon, as part of the overall strategy, so you don't need to reapply. If you wish, you can post an ask-the-staff message to let us know if anything has changed, or to express interest in a particular role, but we will be considering all applicants we've received. And... as always, as a typical tiny nonprofit funded entirely by generosity and kindness... if you don't have the time to volunteer (or... even if you do), perhaps you might think about making a donation to EC. We are an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, which means your donation is tax deductible, and all donations go 100% to basic needs (server maintenance, forum software and script upkeep costs, servers and bandwidth, and so forth.) At some point within the next year or two, we will likely add our first paid staff position, but that will depend on our financial stability. If you have any questions about either volunteering or donations, please don't hesitate to post a question in the Ask the Staff forum. Thank you!!
