Volunteer Checklist
✅ Set expectations clearly
- How many hours a week can you dedicate?
- When can you be available for meetings?
- Can you be available for emergency support?
- What’s your long term support plan?
- Do you plan on setting a limit on hours you will be giving pro bono?
- What is your post non profit rate?
- Emergency support: best effort
✅ Follow a Design First principle (mock ups, wireframes)
- Do business analysis before any development
✅ Estimate all hours
✅ Track all hours
✅ Highly recommend a grant limit and set a plan for if project goes over
✅ Recommend you draft and Sign Volunteer agreement (include grant limit)
- Here is a sample to use as a guide
✅ Recommend Developer Documentation
- Assume you will not be supporting this app forever
- Pass on any documentation to the client
✅ Trusted Advisor Methodology:
- Be Honest
- Give realistic/safe estimates and time frames
- If you don’t know something, say so, instead of burning hours
- Don’t take shortcuts that will jeopardize the quality of the app
- Treat the NP like you’d treat a paying customer
✅ Would you be willing to have the app you built be open sourced? (this is not a requirement – it’s yours and the NFP’s preference)
✅ When to contact join::table?
- If you’d like to grow the team: a junior developer, Project Manager, Quality Assurance person, Business Analysis person etc
- If you feel the relationship is not working
- If your NFP is not being responsive
- If you need to put the project on hold for whatever reason
- If you feel like you’re under water with the project
- If you’d like to send update us on your pro bono experience
- Lessons learned along the way
- When you’re done! 🎉