Structuring a Successful Volunteer Project

   Here are some guidelines to developing successful technical volunteer
   projects:
   
   Commitment: The volunteer will take cues from you and the organization
   about how committed you are to the project, and how important the
   project is to your organization. If the organization is not 100%
   behind the project, then the volunteer won't feel inspired to be
   either.
   
   Sustainability: The most important aspect in the success of mentoring
   projects is the commitment of the non-profit to becoming
   self-sufficient. Non-profits shouldn't rely on volunteers to be
   available on a long-term basis for on-call troubleshooting. The
   volunteer will not be around forever, and the reason you are asking a
   technical volunteer to help you out is because s/he has more knowledge
   than you about the particular issue. Take the opportunity to learn
   from the volunteer, so that you are incorporating a level of
   sustainability into the project.
   
   Flexibility: Volunteers have limited time, especially during school or
   business hours. The best projects are ones that have flexible
   time-schedules. Delays are sometimes unavoidable; but also be aware if
   the volunteer is losing interest, because the early these issues are
   addressed, the sooner you can get back on track.
   
   Workplan: Work together with the volunteer on developing a
   step-by-step plan, with some sort of timeline included. This way you
   both know where the project is at, and can identify when things are
   going off-track. This plan is a good thing to have in case staff or
   the volunteer changes, so you can inform the new person where things
   have come form, and where it's going.
   
Sample workplans:

   General Needs Assessment:
     * Volunteer will identify nonprofit system of work and nonprofit
       work needs.
     * From this, volunteer will identify solutions (not necessarily
       computer based) which will meet the nonprofit needs according to
       the system of work, including changes in the system of work.
     * Volunteer will be appraised of nonprofit limitations (monetary,
       technical, administrative). Nonprofit and volunteer will agree
       upon one or more solutions as their goal.
     * Volunteer will then identify costs associated with meeting that
       goal (including computer equipment costs), and present a draft of
       the needs assessment.
     * After a discussion of the variables, the volunteer will present a
       detailed needs assessment for meeting the work needs of the
       nonprofit or improving the system of work.
     * The volunteer might be called upon to present this needs
       assessment to the Board for approval.
       
   Designing a new database:
     * School will furnish data sets and relations, as well as all sample
       input and output screens, and reports they wish to generate, to
       volunteer. School will also justify the use of any particular DB
       product they wish to use.
     * Volunteer will evaluate this information to see if appropriate,
       and develop model layouts and reports.
     * Once the modeling is agreed upon, the volunteer will program the
       database, and bring it back to the school for beta testing.
     * The school and the volunteer will agree on the final form, after
       which the volunteer will provide documentation and negotiate
       future support.
       
   Designing a LAN:
     * Nonprofit and/or volunteer will determine need and justification
       for LAN.
     * Nonprofit will identify a person to act as system administrator,
       who is responsible for learning and documenting the ongoing
       maintenance task of the LAN.
     * Volunteer will work with the system administrator to identify the
       type of LAN and configuration necessary, and subsequently the
       equipment needed (including upgrades for machines which would
       otherwise not be compatible).
     * The volunteer and system administrator will work together to
       determine the workload for setting up the physical LAN, and the
       ongoing workload for maintaining the LAN.
     * Volunteer and System administrator will produce plan, work and
       cost assessment for the LAN installation.
     * Volunteer and nonprofit will install cables and software, as well
       as do any H/W configuring of computers.
     * Volunteer will train system administrator in ongoing maintenance
       issues, and be available for another month for phone support.
     * Discuss documentation and staff backup procedures.
       
   
   
   
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   Copyright © 1999 The CompuMentor Project. All rights reserved.The
   CompuMentor Project, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. CompuMentor
   89 Stillman Street San Francisco, CA 94107 (415)512-7784
   
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