Staffing & Volunteers

Community centers are always looking for help from the community. This help can come in the form of paid staffing and volunteers. We found that most centers do not start with paid staffing, this comes later. Most are based solely on volunteers when beginning and eventually move to a small paid staff with volunteers.

There is no rush to gain a full-time paid staff. Although, it can be very beneficial for the community center to have a core group in the beginning that spends most of their time with the center. We have found that most full-time staffing is paid through grants obtained by the community center. These grants can be obtained by applying to departments such as the National Endowment for the Humanities. Centers use grants to pay staff as donations are not a consistent source of income, therefore they would make pay inconsistent. We have found that most grants can not be applied for or received until a center is officially opened. This is why paid full-time staffing is not seen in community centers until later in their process. Full-time staffing includes at least the director of the center and a maintenance employee. More can become full-time staff based on their role at your respective community center.

Full-Time Staffing

Part-time staffing is handled similarly to full-time staffing. These are people that are still essential to the working of the community center, but their job may not require them to be at the center at all times. Part-time staff can also be paid through grants obtained from the government or other larger non-profits. Secretaries or liaisons are what we found to be most part-time staff but there can be more based on your respective center.

Part-Time Staffing

One of the hardest things about volunteers is having a consistent amount helping the center. Through our research, we found that community centers can often recruit volunteers for their events but they often change. Gathering volunteers can be done using the tools found in the Outreach section. Volunteers can also be utilized from local schools. Most schools we have encountered have community service requirements which almost obligates the students to help the local community centers. Hosting many events for the community can also persuade those of the community to help more often. For example, Taller Communidad La Goyco holds a Community Fair with vendors and workshops for the local community. This in turn helps them acquire volunteers for their Brigade day that want to show their support. Another important aspect to note is the maintenance of a volunteer network. From our research, we found that it is best to have a central tool(email alias/social network chat) that can be used to send updates, messages and manage new members.

Volunteers

Photo via La Conde Instagram of La Conde's monthly cleaning brigade