All posts by WisCon Communications Team

SF3 VP Opening

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 in this crucial role.
For more information, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: SF3 VP).

Announcing WisCONline 2025

The WisCon Convention Committee is pleased to announce that we will be having an online convention in 2025!

What will WisCONline 2025 look like? In addition to being fully online with no in person presence, we are currently looking at changes to WisCon to make it more sustainable for our volunteers. This means WisCon may appear to “shrink”, but if we offer less (for example, fewer panels), it’s because our focus is on quality and maintaining WisCon’s values.

While we can’t give exact details this early, more than ever, the capacity WisCon has to do the things we all love will depend on having volunteers step up. We’re committed to avoiding the past burnout we’ve seen come from volunteers taking on too many roles.

When is it? It will take place Memorial Day weekend as always! (May 23-26, 2025, with some programming possible Thursday evening and Tuesday morning.)

Why online only? Unfortunately we weren’t able to recruit key volunteers in time to make an in-person con viable. We’re excited, however, to use this opportunity to explore what we can do to engage and reach our community in ways we can’t usually.

When can I register? We will send out more information soon about registering!

How can I get involved? We are still in need of many important volunteer roles, which will determine what the con actually looks like. Please check our list at
https://wiscon.net/open-volunteer-positions/
and contact personnel@sf3.org if there are any roles you’re interested in. Also look out for panel submission requests and other contact from our team!

AppDev Team Lead Needed

Are you a developer interested in making WisConline 2025 possible? As AppDev Team Lead, you’ll manage a team of other application developers to keep our applications running; plan and execute updates on a timely basis; and work with other committees to prioritize enhancements/fixes based on importance and your team’s resources. You’ll also work with Convention Committee leadership, recommending appropriate updates or changes, and using their practical feedback to guide priorities. Expect to spend 1-2 hours a week on this role most of the year, and 10-20 hours (verifying applications) ramping up to WisCon.  Sound interesting? Please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: AppDev Lead) for more information.

Fundraising Lead Needed

Do you dream of a career in the non-profit sector? Do you like organizing data and people? Fundraising is the most stable non-profit role, and we can give you valuable experience building up a fundraising program!  You’ll work closely with the Treasurer and meet twice per month, once with Fundraising volunteers and once with all Chairs, to check in about fundraising activities. Mentoring available. To learn more, contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Fundraising Lead).

Access Lead Needed

If you’re dedicated to making WisCon as accessible and welcoming as possible, this position is for you. As Access Lead, you’ll manage the Access Team of dedicated volunteers to arrange and hire live Closed Caption transcribers (training provided!), facilitate Alt Text, and remain available and flexible for unpredictable details. For more information, please contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Access Lead).

What Is Possible

Hey WisCon,

You may have noticed a call going out urgently and repeatedly a couple of weeks ago, for three ConCom Co-Chairs. This call failed, and I believe this can make WisCon stronger. We now have the opportunity to staff for a WisCONline in 2025 (with gratitude to the 2020 leadership for paving the way, including making that delightful portmanteau.) We won’t know for sure unless we get confirmed staff by October 2nd.

We’ve restructured the ConCom into three new Committees, which have been chaired in the last two weeks, but don’t worry! There’s still lots you may be needed for! The roles that are needed as of this posting before we can hold a WisCONline in 2025 are:

Communications:

  • AppDev lead (1-2), limited training
  • Server Migration working group (needs 1 to launch), experience needed, temporary group
Board:
  • SF3 Treasurer, training available
Chairs:
  • Personnel Co-Chair, training available
  • Comms Co-Chair, training available
  • Fundraising (Co-)Chair(s) (new), training being researched
Operations & Hospitality:
  • Access Co-Leads, training available
  • Discord Con Lead, training available
  • Registration Pre-Con Lead, training available
  • GoH Team Lead (new), guidance being assembled
All current open roles are listed here: https://wiscon.net/volunteer/concom/

Let’s discover what kind of WisCon we can build together.

Discord Lead Needed

Here’s your chance to shine and make order out of Discord! As part of the Online Con team, you’ll set up and manage the WisCon Discord. You’ll coordinate with other departments on programming-specific channels, and help manage Discord volunteers and at-Con moderators to help online attendees connect. If you’re familiar with Discord or similar computer-mediated chat systems and are a skilled project manager, we need you! Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Discord Lead) for more information.

Ops & Hospitality Chair

Do you want to sharpen your coordination, communication, and delegation skills? Or apply these skills to a convention setting? Volunteer to be WisCONline’s Ops & Hospitality Chair, and you will have the joy and challenge of coordinating six teams of fantastic volunteers to help WisCONline run well. We ask for 1-5 hours per week now, increasing to 10-15 hours closer to WisCONline. Duties can be split with a Co-Chair, depending on your energy and time. You’ll need experience behind the scenes at WisCon and/or WisCONline; we’ll provide orientation, mentoring, and documentation.
Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Ops & Hospitality Chair) for more information.

At-Large Board Member Needed

The SF3 Board is seeking an At-Large Board Member. This one-year term will give you an opportunity to become familiar with how the SF3 Board works while executing self-directed projects to help achieve the SF3 mission. You should expect to spend 1-2 hours per week on average, including a monthly one-hour Board meeting and SF3 Annual Membership Meeting. SF3 is the nonprofit that runs WisCon.
Prior non-profit and non-profit board experience, and experience attending WisCon, is helpful. The role will officially start when and if you’re voted in at the 2024 Annual membership Meeting, but you can start as an apprentice now. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: at-large Board member) for more information.

Personnel Volunteer Opportunities

Personnel Co-Chair 

Do you have experience with HR or volunteer coordination and management? You can help SF3 gear up for the next WisCon! This remote role involves checking progress and follow-up with Personnel volunteers for a few hours per week. The Personnel Co-Chair is a member of the SF3 Personnel Committee and reports to the SF3 Vice President. Contact personnel@sf3.org (subject: Personnel Co-Chair) for more information.

Personnel Volunteer Interviewer
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.
Personnel Volunteer Onboard/Off-boarder
Follow onboarding and offboarding templates to set up new volunteers with appropriate committee membership, shift volunteers to new positions, or release outgoing volunteers.  Member of the SF3 Personnel Committee. 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 Onboarder) for more information.

Time to get your SF3 Membership!

The 2024 SF3 Annual Meeting is coming up soon on Sunday, Oct 13, 2024, at 2 PM Central. This meeting is entirely virtual! Information on joining will be sent to all current SF3 members a few days before the meeting.
If you’re interested in the future of WisCon and SF3, we encourage you to become an SF3 member and attend the Annual Meeting. Annual membership is $24, or $12 at our student/financial hardship rate, which we encourage anyone to use as needed. Free memberships are available to all BIPOC individuals. To join for free, please email board@sf3.org with the subject line “SF3 Membership for BIPOC”.
We take payment by PayPal (preferred) or check, though if you plan to pay by check we ask that you email treasurer@sf3.org to let us know it’s on the way.  The deadline for joining SF3 in advance of the Annual Meeting is Monday, October 7. Madison no longer has an in-city postal sorting office, so if you are paying by check, please make sure your letter is postmarked no later than Monday, September 30, to ensure we receive it by October 7. Along with your check, please enclose a completed copy of the SF3 Membership form.