Tag Archives: call for volunteers

Open Volunteer Positions

How to apply

You can email us about one or several of these roles you’re curious about at personnel@sf3.org (subject: Volunteering).  We can help if you aren’t sure what’s the best fit!

Open Volunteer Positions

Needed now:

  • Recruiter (2)

Use your marketing skill to dazzle new volunteers! You’ll coordinate with Communications to draft and schedule open recruitment calls, like the one you’re reading now! This takes 2-4 hours per call, 1-3 calls per week. Body-double work time available. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Recruiter)

 

  • Grant Writer

Grant Writers get to know all the behind-the-scenes details, but aren’t expected to know anything at the beginning. As a grant writer, you’d collect details under deadline, put them in a readable format, and add just a little nudge to encourage the Foundation or other grantor to offer WisCon the funding. Ed2Go training available. To learn more, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Grant Writer).

 

  • Fundraising Chair

Would you love to connect funders to an event you love? We can train you to do just that! A Fundraising Chair coordinates with the Treasurer, any Fundraising staff, and your fellow Chairs about fundraising activities of your choice from a virtual menu of options. Ed2Go training available. To sate your curiosity, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Fundraising Lead).

 

  • Account Setup and Removal

Follow templates to set up new volunteers with their accounts, or remove outgoing volunteers.  Time commitment 3-4 hours per week as we approach WisCon, dropping to fewer afterwards. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Accounts member) for more information.

 

  •  Server Migration (optional App Support)

If you have experience with server infrastructure, we’d love your help with our server migration project. You’d build or practice your LAMP stack skills & knowledge. This 1-2 hour/week position can last until the end of the project or can be a longer-term role, depending our your availability and interest. If this might be a good match, please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: IT volunteer).

 

  • Website Team Lead

You’ll organize meetings and tasks and get team members engaged so that team members can update the website. In the process, you’ll refresh or build new WordPress know-how. Expect to start at 3-5 hours per week and drop off to about 1-2 hours a week in this position. If curious, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Website Team Lead).

 

  • Website Team Members

Have some WordPress skills you don’t want to get rusty, or want to build? Ask about joining our Website work sessions to continue to update the text, formatting, and structure of the WisCon website as a team. Starting at 3-5 hours per week and dropping off to about 1 hour per week.  For more info, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Website Team).

 

  • Access Lead

Want a role that comes with surprises and new challenges? The Access Lead makes WisCon accessible and welcoming by being responsive to attendee requests. In addition to keeping tabs on Closed Captioning and Alt Text efforts, you’d remain available and flexible to meet some unpredicted needs using WisCon resources. Please email personnel@sf3.org (subject: Access Lead) if you want to know more.

 

  • Closed Captioning

Want to coordinate an essential service and ease the load of organizers? Pick up Online Con Team’s current efforts to hire Closed Captions transcribers to help make WisCONline 2025 accessible and welcoming. The process is starting, we just need someone to train and go through the steps! Please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Access Team Member) for more info.

 

  • Discord Lead-in-training

Have (or want to have) a Discord server? We can train you on Discord configuration and management for a minimum 3 month volunteer commitment. For 2-3 hours per week, you’ll be a member of an active team to help manage creation and setup of the Discord server for WisCon. You and the team will also coordinate moderation volunteers and deliver training. Volunteer hours may increase in May to around 5 hours per week for the last week or two before WisCon. If you’re curious, email personnel@sf3.org (subject: Discord).

 

  •  Guest of Honor Team Co-Lead

Help choose our next Guest of Honor! Our process involves getting input of staff each year. As Guest of Honor Lead, you’ll also make sure each guest has a place on the program and coordinate liaisons as needed. Learn more by contacting personnel@sf3.org (subject: GoH Lead).

 

  • Academic Program Lead

If you love research supporting feminist science fiction and fantasy, then the Academic Program Co-Lead is for you! The call is out and responses are coming in! As Lead, you’d organize meetings and keep team members engaged so they can schedule presentations and publish the results. Mentoring available. Academic background ideal. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Academic Lead) for more information.

 

  • Writing Workshop Coordinators

Nurture spec-fic writers! As a Workshop Team Member you’ll help manage video call rooms for critique sessions and special topic sessions and/or prompt online writing sprints. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Workshop Team Member) for more information.

 

  • Password Manager
Want to volunteer at your own pace for an hour or two a week? You’ll enhance the security of WisCon accounts by updating passwords, then notify those who use the accounts of the password change. For more information, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Password Manager).

Learn now and be most active by Mid-March

Chair Apprentices

  • Apprentice Programming Chair
What really makes a convention sing? Its programming! In this role, you’d get to practice coordinating the grid to ensure that no scheduling conflicts occur and practice communicating with various participants. You’d then step up into the Chair role in June, tracking team progress and calling meetings starting in late fall.  To learn more, please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Apprentice Programming Chair).
 
  • Apprentice Communications Chair

Build your leadership skills and spread the word about WisCon! As Apprentice Communications Chair you’d get to practice coordinating with other chairs and the Communications Team to transmit the latest WisCon news via its website, social media, and newsletters. You’d then step up into the Chair role after this WisCon, when volume is relatively low. Time commitment is about 5 hours each month. To learn more, please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Apprentice Comms Chair).

 

  • Apprentice Operations and Hospitality Chair

You could grease the gears for your fellow volunteers! With focus on Access, Affordability, the Guest of Honor team, Online Con, Safety, Safer Spaces, and Registration, you’ll learn how to run WisCONline core functions. If we have enough leadership to hold WisCon in-person, you’ll step into either Hospitality or Operations Chair in June, to become more active in late fall. Expect to volunteer 1-5 hours per week, increasing gradually up to 10-15 hours the week before WisCon. If this seems like an intriguing challenge, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Apprentice Comms Chair).

 

  • Apprentice Personnel Chair
Would you like to learn or practice volunteer coordination and management? You can help us be ready for the next WisCon! This remote role involves checking progress and follow-up with Personnel volunteers for a few hours per week. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Personnel Apprentice Chair) for more information.

Be active starting mid-May: 

  • Master of Ceremonies for GoH Speeches
Love performing? Giving speeches or maybe even showboating a little, in a queer-friendly environment? Become Ceremonies Lead for WisCONline in 2025! You’ll organize the Sunday evening awards ceremony online, introduce our Guests of Honor, recognize the contributions of volunteers with WisCon and Otherwise, and make other important announcements as needed. This is your chance to shine. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Ceremonies) for more information.

Nice-to-have:

  • Interviewer #3
Interview prospective volunteers and help them find their best fit with open positions. Also perform exit interviews as needed.  Member Time commitment varies from 1-2 hours per week May-Dec, up to 3-4 hours per week ramping up to WisCon. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Volunteer Interviewer) for more information.

Active now, needed by October: 

SF3 is the nonprofit that runs WisCon.

  • SF3 Vice President

Are you fascinated by the big picture and happy to let others handle mundane details? Or perhaps you love connecting people to facilitate effective action. You may be the perfect candidate to become Vice President of the SF3 Board. Expect to spend 3-7 hours a month as the liaison between the Board and WisCon committee chairs. For more information, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: SF3 VP).

  • SF3 Board Member at Large
Have you ever been curious what it takes to keep WisCon well-resourced and in good legal standing? If you become a SF3 Board Member at Large, you can become familiar with the SF3 Board and execute self-directed projects. This term will be renewed in October. Expect to volunteer about 2-5 hours per month, more at your option. Prior non-profit, non-profit board experience, and/or experience attending WisCon, is a bonus. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: SF3 Board member) for more information.
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Volunteer Position: Communications Committee Co-Chair

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The communications Committee Co-Chair is part of the Communications Team (online and print) and reports to the SF3 Board President
Time Requirements: 5 hours per month pre-con, increasing to 6 hours per month around April-May and availability during the con
Presence at WisCon: Beneficial, but not required.
Term: One year. Alternatively, if other Communications team members are interested, the chair role could rotate throughout the year so that there’s a safety net if the current chair needs to step back.
Role summary: The Communications Committee Co-Chair maintains the flow of information between SF3 projects and the community. The Co-Chair manages communications team projects, deadlines, and team member assignments.

 Main Tasks:

  • Ensure the department report is completed prior to each ConCom meeting
  • Attend ConCom meetings to represent the Communications team
  • Monitor how each team is doing and checks in to provide support
  • Ensure team role descriptions are kept up-to-date
  • Upload and update Communications project documents as needed
  • Facilitate communication among Communication teams and between Communications and other departments as necessary
  • Decide whether to cancel tasks that can’t be completed due to a lack of time, resources, volunteers, or all three
  • Receive media queries and handles as appropriate
  • Make posts to newsletter/website/social media if other Communications members aren’t available
  • During WisCon, assist various departments in communicating to attendees throughout the weekend.
  • Oversee efforts to promote WisCon attendance, including advertisements, marketing campaigns, etc. Assign associated tasks to committee members as needed and track progress.

Skills & experience: Organized, responsive to deadlines and communications requests via email or Basecamp, available to attend monthly ConCom meetings and other team meetings as needed, working knowledge of how to maintain a WordPress site.

Beneficial skills (can be learned): Project management experience, experience working with communications tools or serving on a communications/marketing team.

Exclusions: Ideally, the Communications Co-Chair is not serving on the SF3 Board or as a Chair of any other SF3 committee.

Training provided: How to access and post to media and communications streams, including Basecamp, email newsletter, WisCon website + blog, and social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). Will be provided access to the Communications Co-Chair email address and Communications team general email.

If you are interested in being the Communications Committee Co-Chair or if you have questions about the position, please contact Personnel at personnel@sf3.org

Con or Bust, Official Announcements

Seeking Co-Chairs and Apprentice Co-Chairs for WISCON 2025!

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Hello WisCon community!

We are currently considering the prospect of having a convention in 2025. However, to have a WisCon in 2025, we need at least three (3) Co-Chairs by end of August. At least one of these people should have had some previous experience with WisCon/SF3 in a pre-con role, meaning that the person is current or former member of the ConCom, Personnel Committee, Comms, or the SF3 Board. We would also like either additional Co-Chairs or apprentice Co-Chairs who can act in a supporting role. Apprentice Co-Chairs do not require experience and will have a smaller work load.
Are you interested in serving as a co-chair or apprentice co-chair?  Contact Personnel (personnel@sf3.org)
For more information about the roles, please read the information below.

Role: Conference Committee (ConCom) Co-Chairs
Department/Team: The Co-Chairs supervise the ConCom and work with other SF3 committees also working on Con business (Communications, Personnel, etc.)
Reports to: SF3 Board via monthly reports

Time Requirements: During the less-busy part of the con year (July-February), each co-chair spends an average of about 2.5 hours/week on con-related tasks. During the more-busy part of the con year (March-May) this increases to 4-5 hours/week; exact time requirements depend on how well-staffed the rest of the ConCom is.
Presence at con: Required. At least one Co-Chair is “on duty” at all times during the con.
Term: One year (typically starting in July) with the expectation of serving as a “Fairy ConParent (advisor)” the following con.
Role summary: The role of the Co-Chairs is to work together to provide high-level management over other ConCom departments to ensure that WisCon takes place (details below). Co-Chairs generally keep track of Department activity, help Departments coordinate with each other, run the Guest of Honor selection process for the following WisCon, and analyze the prior WisCon’s feedback survey results. If a task doesn’t have anyone working on it, Co-Chairs must decide whether to complete the task themselves, delegate it to someone else, or leave the task undone. The Co-Chairs interface with the SF3 Board primarily through monthly reports.

Main Tasks:

  • Running ConCom Meetings. This includes setting the dates and reminders, setting the agenda, collecting reports in advance of each meeting, presiding over the meetings themselves, and making sure minutes are published afterwards.
  • Tracking Responsiveness/Reports. A large part of the job is keeping track of who hasn’t reported in for a while and what emails are going unanswered to make sure everyone’s on track and to keep morale up. If someone isn’t responding to emails about once a week or so, the Co-Chairs reach out to them, and if they get no response, notify Personnel, who makes a determination on how to proceed. If a role is to be listed again, it should be taken to a ConCom meeting for a discussion, any suggested/agreed-upon modifications made, and then posted.
  • Tracking Departmental Coordination.If a Department has a question that can be answered by another Department, or is proposing changes that may impact another department, Co-Chairs must help connect the relevant Departments to each other as needed. Sometimes Departments know who to ask or realize which other Departments are involved with a task, and sometimes they don’t.
  • Making Judgement Calls on Events/Roles to Keep/Drop.Sometimes it is not possible to fill a role before the con. There’s a limited number of things that can just be cut, but Co-Chairs must also weigh whether events will keep happening at future cons if they are not formally run at a present con. Co-Chairs have to determine what tasks absolutely have to be done.
  • Being On-Call During the Con.There is a chair cell phone that can be used to contact the Co-Chairs anytime during the con. Most of the calls will come from the hotel. Co-Chairs can choose how to split up the times of being responsible for the phone. Some chairs alternate days, others take specific shifts during each day — whatever works for the all Co-Chairs.
  • Participating in Safety Processes. If someone wants “to talk to a manager,” Co-Chairs are our ultimate at-con managers. Co-Chairs may also be involved in judgment calls about Safety issues (such as potentially banning someone, asking them to leave, etc.).
  • Running Guest of Honor Selection Process.The Co-Chairs are responsible for selecting a GOH Vetting Committee and making sure the GOH nomination and voting process is executed according to schedule. This involves collating the GOH suggestions and putting together bios for the candidates, making sure the surveys get run, and contacting the top finalists to invite them (for which there are templates).
  • Answering Questions. Co-Chairs may receive a wide number of questions (both from inside and outside the ConCom/SF3), and they must either answer the questions directly or help forward the question to the person/department who might be able to answer. It’s not uncommon for people to write basically asking to be invited in an “official” capacity. We have an email template for responding to that.
  • Analyzing Prior WisCon Feedback Survey Results.Co-Chairs are in charge of analyzing the post-WisCon survey results from the con before theirs. This may involve working with other departments to implement changes based on the feedback received.
  • Manage tasks that don’t belong to any other department or that have slipped through the cracks between two departments.
  • Interfacing with the SF3 Board.

Skills & experience:

All Co-Chairs Should Have:

  • Task management and delegation skills.
  • Excellent organizational skills.
  • Excellent one-on-one communication skills (for communicating with other Co-Chairs)
  • Time and ability to check email and Basecamp on a frequent basis

At Least One Co-Chair Should Have (no one person needs all these skills):

  • Some degree of comfort with public speaking in front of large audiences
  • Excellent written communications / public relations skills
  • Ability to lead meetings effectively, including making sure everyone gets heard, covering an agenda, and sticking to a time limit.
  • Ability to take notes during meetings (these do not have to themselves be minutes-quality, just enough to write the minutes later).
  • Prior ConCom experience of at least one year preferred

Exclusions:

  • Co-Chairs should not also be chairing/leading any other Departments/Teams within WisCon or chairing any other cons
  • Co-Chairs should not co-chair two WisCons in a row

If you are interested in co-chairing for 2025 or if you have questions about co-chairing, please contact Personnel at personnel@sf3.org! 

Role: Apprentice Conference Committee (ConCom) Co-Chairs
Department/Team: Convention Committee aka ConCom
Reports to: Co-Chairs, SF3 Board via monthly reports

Time Requirements: Minimum 1 hour/week, maximum of about 2.5 hours/week (during less busy times) or 4-5 hours/week (March-May) depending on the Apprentice’s interest and availability. As this is a new role, this is an estimate. The exact time needed may also depend on how well-staffed the rest of the ConCom is.
Presence at con: Preferred. At least one Co-Chair is “on duty” at all times during the con and Apprentices may be added to the schedule.
Term: One year.
Role summary: The role of the apprentice Co-Chairs is to provide support to the Co-Chairs as they manage ConCom departments and ensure that WisCon takes place. Apprentices will take on tasks delegated by the Co-Chairs. This can include liaising with departments, analyzing feedback, creating monthly reports, and other subsets of Co-Chair tasks. Mentorship will be provided, with the idea that the Apprentices will learn how and feel confident to serve as Co-Chairs in the future. However, Apprentices are not required to become a co-chair! While this is a learning opportunity, it can also simply be a role you like and want to fill for one or more years.

Main Tasks:

  • Assisting Co-Chairs with their tasks. Depending on the Co-Chair needs and your skills, this may include running ConCom meeting, tracking responsiveness/reports, and tracking departmental coordination.
  • Potentially being On-Call During the Con.There is a chair cell phone that can be used to contact the Co-chair anytime during the con. Most of the calls will come from the hotel. As Co-chair split up their time, it may make sense to include Apprentices.
  • Assisting in Safety Processes. Apprentices will likely be there to watch and assist as Co-Chairs deal with safety issues and liaise with the Safety Team. Apprentices will not make any final decisions.
  • Helping to Answer Questions.The Co-Chairs may receive a wide number of questions (both from inside and outside the ConCom/SF3), and Apprentices may be asked to help field those questions.
  • Assisting with Analyzing Prior WisCon Feedback Survey Results.Apprentices can help Co-Chairs analyze the post-WisCon survey results from the con before theirs. This may involve working with other departments to implement changes based on the feedback received.
  • Help manage tasks that don’t belong to any other department or that have slipped through the cracks between two departments.
  • Interfacing with the SF3 Board. 
  • Generally shadowing the Co-Chairs. One of the goals of this position is for the Apprentice to learn how to be a Co-Chair. This will include taking on support tasks for the Co-Chair, but also observing and asking questions for your own growth.
  • Acting as a backup to the Co-Chairs.If a Co-Chair must step away before the con, Apprentices may be offered the Co-Chair role first–especially if the change happens very near to the con. Apprentices are under no obligation to accept.

Skills & experience:

All Apprentice Co-Chairs Should Have:

  • Task management and delegation skills.
  • Excellent organizational skills.
  • Excellent one-on-one communication skills (for communicating with other Apprentices and Co-Chairs)
  • Time and ability to check email and Basecamp on a frequent basis

Helpful Skills Include (but can be learned):

  • Some degree of comfort with public speaking in front of large audiences
  • Excellent written communications / public relations skills
  • Ability to lead meetings effectively, including making sure everyone gets heard, covering an agenda, and sticking to a time limit.
  • Ability to take notes during meetings (these do not have to themselves be minutes-quality, just enough to write the minutes later).

Exclusions:

  • It is preferred that Apprentices are not chairing/leading any other departments/teams within WisCon or chairing any other cons, however exceptions can be made.

If you are interested in being an Apprentice Co-Chair for 2025 or if you have questions about the position, please contact Personnel at personnel@sf3.org! 

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Volunteer Opportunity: Documentation Co-Lead

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Our Documentation Team (part of the Communications Committee) needs a Documentation Co-Lead.

If you enjoy organizing information and have experience (or a desire to learn) project management and volunteer coordination, this position is for you. As Documentation Co-Lead, you’ll coordinate the team creating and maintaining role descriptions and other vital documents that allow volunteers to produce WisCon.

Duties include: collaborating with other Documentation Team members; helping ensure that role descriptions and other important information for running the con are extant, accurate, up to date, and easy to find; respectfully responding to all WisCon communication as outlined in the Volunteer Code of Conduct (provided); and letting the Communications Chair know whenever you’re unable to respond to communications due to other demands on your time.

Mentoring will be provided.

Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Documentation Co-Lead) for more information.

Gap Year

Volunteers needed!

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We need 3+ volunteers to form a Communications Server Migration Working Group.  Duties include: find a suitable cloud server and work with the current physical server owner to migrate our data and video to the new server. This temporary working group will report to the Gap Planning committee, which meets twice monthly. Prior service migration experience helpful. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Server Migration Working Group) for more information.

 

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Vounteer Opportunity: Server Migration Working Group

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We need 3+ volunteers to form a Communications Server Migration Working Group.

Duties include: find a suitable cloud server and work with the current physical server owner to migrate our data and video to the new server. This temporary working group will report to the Gap Planning committee, which meets twice monthly. Prior service migration experience helpful.

Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Server Migration Working Group) for more information.

WisCon 45 in 2022

Volunteer during WisCon!

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WisCon runs on volunteers! Not only are our organizing committee and programming entirely volunteer-based, every department is staffed by volunteers during the convention itself. From helping to make online programming possible as a Production Assistant, to ensuring coffee is fresh in the Con Suite, to helping with the Art Show, you can be part of what makes WisCon possible.

Whether this is your first WisCon or you’ve been attending for years, volunteering during the convention is a great way to get a sense of how things work behind the scenes, and to meet new people. Volunteering during the convention involves signing up for shifts (usually 1-3 hours) with specific departments.

For descriptions of volunteer roles in specific departments, visit wiscon.net/volunteers.

If you are interested in volunteering during WisCon this year, fill out this Google form, and departments will be in touch once their volunteer schedule goes live.Update: Shifts for volunteering during WisCon are now available at program.wiscon.net! To sign up for shifts, log in at program.wiscon.net, select the “Volunteer” tab, and click “Add shifts” on the right. This will bring up a list of all Volunteer shifts, organized by time; you can filter available shifts by role or by day. 

We are particularly recruiting people willing to serve as Production Assistants or Discord Moderators for the virtual con! If we fully staff our virtual panels, we can consider streaming in-person panels to online members. If you are comfortable holding a Zoom call, you have the technical skills to be a Production Assistant!

All volunteers are eligible for a volunteer gift (usually a small item such as a pin or waterbottle with the WisCon logo); gifts will be mailed to any remote volunteers. In the past we have had a rebate program for volunteers (refunding a portion of the cost of membership); this program is currently under review and may not be offered for 2022.

WisCon 45 in 2022

Volunteers Needed

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We are still seeking a number of volunteers for this year’s con; please fill in this form if you can help. Several of these roles can be done fully remotely if you’re planning to attend only the online con.

COVID Safety

3-4 roles
Organize COVID information: Continue to research and organize information related to COVID 19 safety, including event best practices, failures/successes from other cons, and updates from WHO, CDC, and local municipalities.
Contingency planning: Strategize plan to pivot from hybrid to fully online con if conditions dictate (e.g., if Dane County bans large gatherings). If pivot needed, coordinate with hotel, online, and physical location teams.
Convention safety: Take reports of illness at the convention and send them out. Coordinate with other WisCon departments to make sure the convention runs as safely as possible. Plan with Accessibility, Hotel, Panels. Advise departments, make sure enough spacing in rooms, create safe seating charts, etc.

Con Suite Lead

1-2 roles
Logistics: Organize materials, food ordering,
and distributing food.
People: Manage volunteers and assign tasks at con to make con suite happen.

Gathering:

Organize people who want to offer activities at the Gathering, coordinate when/where it will take place, assign tables, and set up (or organize setup of) room.

Readings:

Contact people who want to do readings, check with hotel/panels for space and time blocks, and schedule readings.
Again, if you think you might be able to help with any of these,  please fill in this form.
Email Newsletter, Official Announcements, WisCon 45 in 2022

Let’s Save WisCon!

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This update is written by me, Kit Stubbs (they/them), both in my role as Treasurer for SF3, WisCon’s parent not-for-profit organization, and in my role as WisCon 2022 co-chair. Thanks to Ira Alexandre (WisCon 2022 co-chair, acting Personnel chair) and Aileen Wall (WisCon 2022 co-chair, Hotel) for their help.

First of all: Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Town Hall, as panelists and attendees! Special thanks to our Board members Arley, for organizing and moderating, and Annalee and Charlie Jane, for organizing and helping with logistics.

WisCon’s roots are grounded in white feminism, and WisCon continues to struggle with racism and with finding ways to center attendees of color who have been harmed. The Town Hall marks a key point in our antiracist work to bring WisCon, particularly as experienced by our attendees and volunteers of color, into better alignment with our values—even if this means that white attendees will have to sit with discomfort.

Working towards a more antiracist con is just one of the major challenges that we face. Unless we, the WisCon community, also take significant action this year in terms of finances and our volunteer pool, within the next few years we will no longer be able to run WisCon.

Why? What’s going on?

Right now, in addition to pushing harder on antiracism, WisCon is facing big challenges on two other fronts: money and labor.

TLDR:

  • We don’t have enough funds to pay for what happens if we don’t fill our contracted block of hotel rooms, and we can’t afford to cancel the hotel contract. We need about $76k in additional income to our general fund by the end of WisCon 2022 to put the con back on solid financial footing.  Thanks to a generous donor, the first $5k we raise will be matched. Donate now to double the power of your donation!
  • We are in a volunteer shortage crisis. It takes a LOT of people to make WisCon happen, and we lack dozens of volunteers in key positions.
  • The Board of SF3 (WisCon’s parent nonprofit) and WisCon organizers are already starting to work on these challenges. There are many things, both large and small, that you can do to help!

What are the financial challenges?

Ideally, when we finish running one WisCon, we should have enough money to cover our expenses for the con that’s happening in two years. Why? Because shortly after each WisCon, typically, is when we sign a contract with the hotel for the con that’s happening in two years. As a ConCom member, I remember hearing “WisCon is very slowly losing money” for several years now. But it didn’t really seem urgent, somehow.

In an ongoing-pandemic world, this has become urgent because of the way our hotel contract works. Right now, we only have a contract signed with our host hotel for May 2022. We have committed to the hotel that WisCon attendees will reserve a certain number of rooms over a certain number of nights. This contract was signed pre-pandemic and assumed normal pre-pandemic WisCon attendance. We pay the hotel some extra rental fees, but most of the hotel space the con uses we get at steeply discounted rates, assuming that we fill those hotel rooms. We’re allowed to reduce our commitment before the deadline by 20% at no penalty, but if we have more unsold rooms than that, WisCon has to pay the hotel for them.

The budget that was approved by the previous Board assumed that we would have fewer in-person attendees this year, but it assumed we would still book our entire block of hotel rooms—the same size hotel block that we would normally book pre-pandemic.

But if we’re expecting fewer in-person attendees, we should also expect fewer hotel rooms to be booked, and that is a cost that WisCon is really not able to absorb.

Couldn’t we just cancel the hotel contract?

We can’t afford the cancellation fee. If we cancelled now, according to our contract, we would owe the hotel $158,000, which we absolutely do not have the resources to cover.

I’ve run some new, conservative budget projections since becoming Treasurer in October. These projections account for online memberships, which our current budget doesn’t (yay!) but also accounts for attrition in hotel rooms, which our current budget also doesn’t (oh no!). I assume that we will take a big hit on hotel rooms in 2022 and that we’ll gradually recover in 2023 and 2024.

If we take no action to change our current trajectory and only book half of our contracted hotel rooms in 2022, SF3 will go broke: We will have spent about $7,000 that the organization does not have.

If we want to get WisCon to a healthy place—meaning we’re at best fiscal practice and have enough money for the con that’s two years out in the bank—we need about $76,000 more in income for 2022 to our general fund. (This $76k doesn’t include funds for any new initiatives, this is just basically keeping the lights on. And this is separate from any WisCon Member Assistance Fund fundraising we do, since WMAF dollars legally can’t be used to pay for anything except grants to members for travel assistance.)

The good news: I’m not saying that we need to suddenly raise $76k in donations alone. This income that we need could come from selling more memberships (online or in-person), booking lots of hotel rooms (so we don’t have to pay the hotel for unused rooms), selling Dessert Salon tickets, grants, or donations. An additional $76k of income to our general fund would help keep us afloat through 2022 and 2023 and help ensure that we would have the funds to run in 2024 and 2025.

If someone were to magically appear and donate $76k to us right now, though, we’d still be in trouble because of our other current challenge: a lack of volunteers.

What’s going on with volunteers?

We’re in a volunteering crisis right now. It takes about 70 pre-con volunteers to make WisCon happen, and we have barely half that.

SF3 is WisCon’s parent not-for-profit organization. WisCon happens because there are a bunch of committees of people within SF3 who do the work, and right now, we have a record number of vacancies.

SF3 has a Board of Directors. Under the Board there are four committees: Personnel (helping to recruit, onboard, and offboard volunteers); Communications (taking care of the newsletter, website, and social media); Strategic Planning (looking at our vision and mission); and the ConCom (the Convention Committee, which handles the logistics of running WisCon). Of those committees, only the ConCom has chairs right now—Personnel, Communications, and Strategic Planning have a few volunteers, but none of these three committees has a leader.

The ConCom itself is made up of the three co-chairs and 28 departments of varying sizes. Currently we have 8 departments that are completely empty and at least 8 that are critically understaffed.

In general, the ConCom has been dwindling for the past several years. We had 71 members in 2017, but only 56 members in 2019. (Here is a graph showing Concom participation by the numbers over the past several years.)

If you’re reading this now, and you’re already a WisCon volunteer: Thank you. I’m not writing this expecting you to suddenly start putting more work on your plate. (If you have the extra capacity, great! But I’m not expecting that of anyone.)

The State of WisCon

We are definitely having a WisCon in 2022. Without more volunteers, we won’t be able to offer nearly as good an experience as we have in the past. Without more financial resources, WisCon 2022 may be the last one.

I believe these challenges are surmountable, but as members of the WisCon community, we have to act quickly to make change.

What are WisCon organizers already working on?

  • The SF3 Board is applying for grants on behalf of WisCon.
  • I (Kit, as Treasurer) am starting to recruit large donors for a matching funds campaign that will help double the power of small donations to WisCon. We already have a match pledged for our first $5k raised!
  • Our Personnel Committee continues to onboard new volunteers as quickly as they can.
  • While the Dessert Salon may work a little differently this year due to health concerns, the ConCom is still organizing a Dessert Salon for 2022! The Dessert Salon is a fundraiser for WisCon in general, and any funds raised through Dessert Salon ticket sales will absolutely help.

What can I do to help?

  • Please sign up for our email newsletter! One of the biggest challenges we have is reaching out to our own community. Sign up and encourage your WisCon-going or potentially-WisCon-going friends to sign up, too.
  • Register as soon as you possibly can when Registration opens this week. The more people who register in advance, the better idea we’ll have of how much additional income we need to bring in. For in-person attendees, consider supporting the con by buying a ticket to our Dessert Salon fundraiser when you register!
  • Book your hotel room as soon as you possibly can. The more hotel rooms we have booked, the less additional funding we’ll need to raise, and the sooner we know how many people will be staying at the hotel, the better.
  • Help spread the word about WisCon. We’re struggling to reach new people, especially younger speculative fiction fans, who might be interested in joining us and who may not know that you don’t need to be an academic or big name to attend WisCon and be on panels!
  • Tell us you’re interested in possibly volunteering, and/or register to attend our Volunteer Info Session on 12/12 at 3pm Central. We’ve previously posted some of our needs from Communications and Personnel and the ConCom. You don’t need to be in Madison to volunteer, and we have many positions open that don’t require you to attend WisCon in person.  If you’ve volunteered for the ConCom in the past and have the time and energy, please consider joining us again. We could really use your expertise!
  • Can you give $5k or more to help save WisCon? Write me (Kit) at treasurer@sf3.org to join our matching funds drive.
  • Have a smaller amount you might be able to contribute? Thanks to a generous donor, the first $5k we raise will be matched. Donate now to double the power of your donation!

Yes, we recognize the pandemic is still going on—if you’re able to book your hotel room and/or register early, great! If you’re able to chip in financially, great! But if not, no worries.

We need to address our issues with money and labor within a larger antiracist framework.  And I think we need to be honest that we’re in a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: We’re short on money and volunteers to implement new antiracist policies and practices, which we need in order to attract and retain volunteers, especially volunteers of color.

If you’ve made it this far: Thank you. Posting this feels like the scariest thing I have ever done as a WisCon/SF3 organizer, and I really appreciate your time and energy in reading it.

WisCon 45 in 2022

Call for Volunteers: WisCon 2022

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WisCon 2022 planning season is upon us! It’s been a tough couple of years for us all, so we’re hoping we can put together an event in 2022 that is cathartic, engaging, intellectually stimulating, fun — and, above all, safe. To make that happen, we need to start early– and we need your help.

To make a WisCon happen in 2022 that’s in keeping with the SF3 mission and the shared values of our members, we need a fully staffed Convention Committee (ConCom). That means enough members in every department to reasonably and equitably spread the work around so that no one gets burnt out. This is even more important as we move through the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have to be honest: ConCom participation has been trending downward. The ConCom had 71 members in 2017 and participation had declined to 56 members in 2019. (Here is a graph showing ConCom participation by the numbers over the past several years.) In a year when putting on a successful WisCon will face many challenges, we turn to our smart, talented, resourceful membership to help make it happen. There are going to be some tough calls to make: If we can’t staff a department or event in a viable and sustainable way this year, the chairs may have to cut it entirely. So if you’re passionate about a particular part of WisCon, please do whatever you can to help. If you can’t sign up, then spread the word on social media platforms, or even offline.

This year we are recruiting for the following specific positions. We have listed a brief description of the duties, any required experience, and the expected time commitment in the year before the con and at the con itself. Please note that applying is neither a commitment nor a promise: If you change your mind, please feel free to let us know and bow out of the process; if you apply, you may not be guaranteed a position. But the more people apply, the better chance we have of achieving a sustainable level of staffing for this year. If you’re interested in any of these positions or in pre-con volunteering with any other department, please email personnel@sf3.org.

Thank you so much, and here’s hoping we’ll be back together in May of 2022!

Convention Committee (ConCom) Positions

Anti-Abuse Team Co-Lead (1)
Anti-Abuse Team Member (3)

The Anti-Abuse Team keeps records of Safety incidents and other violations, and participates in vetting all SF3 volunteers. Anti-Abuse Team Members must be able to recognize problematic behavior, hear out cases, and take actions and render judgments that protect the rights of our attendees, including the needs of marginalized and multiply marginalized attendees. The Anti-Abuse Team Co-Leads have the authority to ban people from con spaces or to veto Guests of Honor. The Anti-Abuse Co-Leads need to be reachable during the con to verify incident history and render bans or penalties. The Anti-Abuse Co-Leads interact with the Safety Co-Leads and the ConCom Chairs. Utmost confidentiality is a must.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour a week
At-Con Commitment: Leads should be reachable during the con but in-person attendance not required

Bake Sale Lead

The Bake Sale Lead accepts and documents volunteered baked goods prior to the con and arranges for appropriate allergen signage. At the con, the Bake Sale Lead receives the baked goods and arranges for their display and distribution. The Bake Sale Lead manages the at-con volunteers who handle the sales. At the end of the Bake Sale, the Lead documents and collates the proceedings and passes them to the Otherwise Liaison.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour a week
At-Con Commitment: 5 hours

Dealer’s Room Team Member

Dealer’s Room Team Members assist in going through vendor submissions, vetting potential vendors, and dealing with the physical logistics of the Dealer’s Room at the con. At the con, the Dealer’s Room Team Member will assist the Dealer’s Room Lead in ensuring the Concourse Hotel staff set up the space according to the plan the department has agreed on.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour/week
At-Con Commitment: 1 hour at the start and end of the con for setup and breakdown

Gaming Team Member (preferably open to being trained to be next Lead in 2023)

The Gaming Team Member assists in collecting, vetting, and collating game submissions and scheduling gaming sessions prior to the con. The Gaming Lead will provide a signup binder to be used at the con to sign up for the scheduled games, which the Gaming Team Member may take shifts watching over.
Pre-Con Commitment: 2 hours/week
At-Con Commitment: 3 hours

Guest of Honor Liaisons (4)

A Guest of Honor (GOH) Liaison interfaces with their specific GOH, making sure their travel and accommodations are taken care of and that they are familiar and comfortable with their schedule, as well as addressing or conveying any additional concerns or requests they may have. At the con, GOH liaisons introduce the GOH at the reading on Thursday and make sure the GOH has everything they need while at the con. We would like our GOH liaisons to share as much background as possible with their GOH, or to know them already. Our GOHs for 2022 are Zen Cho, Sheree Renée Thomas, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Yoon Ha Lee.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hours/week
At-Con Commitment: 1-3 hours/day

Kids’ Programs Lead

The Kids’ Program Lead oversees program items for children and teens. Teen programming at WisCon is by teens and for teens, but the Kids’ Program Lead will provide spaces and means to schedule, and will be advised by the departing Lead. Must be able to attend at-con in 2022.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour/week
At-Con Commitment: light duty 8 hours a day

Online Con Team Members (5-6)

With the success of WisCONline in 2020 and the uncertain situation looking ahead to May 2022, we need to be prepared to provide a robust online component for the con. Roles in this department will be shaped by our resources and circumstances as the year leading up to WisCon 2022 unfolds. We welcome anyone with experience in running online events or building successfully moderated online spaces, or anyone who has video production expertise to apply to this department. In particular, previous experience with OBS (open broadcast software) and familiarity with Zoom, MS Teams, Jitsi, and/or administrating Discord are most welcome.  As we learn more about what we’ll need in May 2022, we will separately recruit for an appropriate number and type of online moderators.
Pre-Con Commitment: 3 hours/week
At-Con Commitment: dependent on role and evolving needs; in 2020 the entire Online Con traded off panel production duty during the 3-4 hours a day panel programming was run

Panel Programming Team Member

The Panel Programming department collates panel idea submissions, checking for problematic ideas or language and combining panels that are sufficiently similar. This is done with the aid of panel programming software. Once the list of panels has been edited, Panel Programming administers the interest survey where WisCon members vote. Once the votes are in, Panel Programming draws up the actual panel schedule, taking into account expected attendance and accessibility needs. At the con, Panels Programming puts up the ad-hoc programming chart but does not administer anything on it.
Pre-Con Commitment: 3 hours/week
At-Con Commitment: none other than putting up the chart, so we’re happy to have remote volunteers

Registration: At-Con Leads (2)

As part of the Registration department, At-Con Leads coordinate setting up and tearing down the Registration & Information Desk area, manage scheduling and training of Registration volunteers, and are on-call during the convention in case of any escalated membership or payment issues. At-Con Registration Leads also handle cash reporting at the beginning and end of each day, and before the con they coordinate with the Pre-Con Registration Lead about any outstanding payment or membership issues. (Our existing Registration staff are flexible in their roles, so if you would prefer to help out Pre-Con, get in touch to learn more about what that involves!)
Pre-Con Commitment: 3-6 pre-convention (planning)
At-Con Commitment: In addition to opening and closing the registration desk (approx. 30 minutes at start and end of day), the leads trade off being on-call for escalated issues throughout Registration Desk hours, usually cover at least one 1.5-3 hour shift per day, and may need to cover additional unstaffed shifts. 

Safer Spaces: Disability Safer Space Volunteer

We are looking for BIPOC members who would like to volunteer with the Disability Safer Space. Disability Safer Space volunteers participate in preparing the space prior to the con and volunteer inside or at the space during the con. They report any incidents to Safety.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour/week
At-Con Commitment: Shifts inside the Safer Space as possible, healthy, and safe

Safer Spaces: Trans and Genderqueer (TGQ) Safer Space

We are looking for TGQ members who would like to volunteer with the TGQ Safer Space. TGQ Safer Space volunteers participate in preparing the space prior to the con and volunteer inside or at the space during the con. They report any incidents to Safety. Multiply marginalized TGQ members encouraged to apply.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour/week
At-Con Commitment: Shifts inside the Safer Space as possible, healthy, and safe

Safety Co-Leads (2-3)

The Safety Co-Leads are in charge of making sure there are enough Safety volunteers to cover the entire weekend, scheduling shifts, and responding to any incidents. There must be at least one Safety Lead available at all times during the con. Safety Leads often take turns being “on-call” over the weekend to manage at-con and on-the-spot volunteers and to respond to incidents. Often interfaces with Anti-Abuse Team to record incidents and with ConCom Chairs to give updates or request assistance. Experience in de-escalation and crisis management or Safety or ombudsman at other cons a plus.
Pre-Con Commitment: 1 hour a week
At-Con Commitment: At least half a day for every day of the con

If you’re interested in any of these positions or in pre-con volunteering with any other department, please email personnel@sf3.org.
Official Announcements

Vacancies on the Communications & Personnel Teams

We’ve got a variety of exciting roles that we’re looking for help with in our Communications & Personnel Committees. Unlike most of the Convention Committee (ConCom) roles, these tasks are spread over several months or are year-round, but because they are not all ramping up to a convention weekend, they are a LOT more chilled out. 🙂

Communications: Bloggers (up to three volunteers – one spot filled already)

WisCon’s blog is our primary method for communication with our community. It’s the main way that we recruit volunteers, share news that impacts the convention, fundraise, and keep conversations going. Our blog is published on our website, wiscon.net, and is collected into a newsletter format once a month for most of the year, becoming weekly in April & May. We’re looking for at least one and up to three volunteers who would like to help us tell people what’s up! Is that you? We’ll share a draft schedule of blog topics that will include some that we know we need, but you’ll be encouraged to write on any relevant topic — dig into WisCon’s history, to connect with our sibling organizations, and to spotlight our past guests of honor, attendees, and volunteers. You’ll also crosspost blog posts and newsletters to our social media, including Twitter & Facebook, in collaboration with the volunteers managing those accounts.

Commitment: 2-3 hours per month, increasing to 5 hours per month in April & May.

 

Communications: Facebook Wrangler (one volunteer)

Are you on Facebook? This role can be as big or small as you’d like it to be! Our Facebook content has generally been limited to cross-posts from our blog and some advertisements — so at minimum, we’d like you to respond to comments & messages there, as well as helping us run a few advertisements per year. At maximum? The sky’s the limit, as long as you keep it related to our mission & values.

Commitment: 1-2 hours per month.

 

Communications: Ads, Marketing, & Sponsorships (up to three volunteers)

This year, we’ll mainly be looking for sponsorships — businesses and individuals who would be willing to make a gift to support part of WisCon in exchange for our public thanks and a banner in that space. In the past, we’ve had sponsors for the Gathering and for various other events. In the past, this job has included selling advertisements in the Souvenir Program Book as well — we’re not sure what that will look like yet this year. This role is about reaching out to people and organizations that you believe WisCon’s community would love to hear about, and bringing them together!

Commitment: 1-2 hours per month October-May.

 

Personnel: Team Member (up to three volunteers)

You’ll follow a checklist to give new members of our committees or board access to the tools they need to make WisCon and all our other projects happen! You’ll also assist ConCom departments with documenting their roles, collaborate with the Communications Committee to write recruitment blog posts, and orient people to the tools they need (these include Google Docs, Gmail, and Basecamp).

Commitment: 1-3 hours per month.       

Please email personnel@sf3.org to volunteer!

Official Announcements

Organized? Responsible? WE NEED YOU!!

We’re seeking folks to Chair two of the committees that support WisCon!

What does a “Chair” do, though? And what’s all this about “Committees”?

Well, our Committee Chairs are primarily project managers — they make sure that the necessary tasks get done in order to carry out that committee’s purpose. When needed, they make the decision to cancel tasks that can’t be successful due to a lack of time, resources, volunteers, or all three. They are appointed by the board president of SF3, which is the nonprofit that provides oversight for WisCon.

You can think of our committees as workgroups, each of which has a clear purpose and purview.

There are currently three peer committees, and all are necessary for each others’ success:

  • The ConCom (Convention Committee), whose purpose is to carry out WisCon.
  • The Communications Committee, whose purpose is to maintain a flow of information between all of our projects (including WisCon!) and our community.
  • The Personnel Committee, whose purpose is to recruit, equip, and support all of our volunteers.

We need a chair for Communications, and a chair for Personnel. We have some volunteers ready to go to do the work in each of those committees, but we need you to step in! We’re also happy to help you find someone with whom you can co-chair, if you don’t want to go it alone.

Interested? Please contact president@sf3.org to express interest, or with any questions.

(Interested, but not in being a chair? Hold tight, we’ll have a post soon with information on volunteering for communications, for personnel, and for the ConCom! But we need to fill these two spots first, so tell your organized pals to reach out!)