Why volunteer for SFWA?

SFWA is a volunteer-driven 501(c)3 organization. We depend on volunteers to run many of our programs and services. Additionally, volunteering is a great way to meet people, acquire new skills, and contribute to your community.

We currently have a variety of volunteer opportunities, from helping out for an hour or two at a convention or at our annual Nebula Conference and Awards Ceremony to more long-term options like joining one of our committees or helping with website/database updates. Although some specific volunteer opportunities do require SFWA membership, we have a variety of volunteer needs that do not require you to be a member of the organization.

If you’d like to volunteer for SFWA, please fill out our volunteer sign up form. If you’re a SFWA member or if you’ve attended a Nebula Conference, you can volunteer by logging in to your profile and updating your volunteer preferences.

In addition, below are just a few of our current opportunities. If you are interested in helping out with any of these particular needs, please email Volunteers@sfwa.org. Our Volunteer Coordinator will follow-up regarding your availability and volunteer interests. We look forward to hearing from you.

Open to Members & Nonmembers

Event Planning Assistant: Provide support as needed to the SFWA events team. Main responsibilities include setting up web pages and streams for online panels, organizing files, corresponding with speakers, and scheduling. Training for all tasks will be provided. Estimated effort 2–4 hours typical per week, with opportunity to take on more tasks if possible during the weeks leading up to the Nebula conference.

Publications Crew: If you have experience with line or copy editing, consider joining the SFWA Publications Crew! The Pubs Crew primarily selects pitches and works with authors on line edits for The SFWA Blog. Typically, this involves line-editing one short piece (800–1000 words) a month, evaluating pitches, advocating for new content, and attending our monthly meeting. Other programs that run through Pubs Crew include New Release Newsletter, NetGalley Partnership Program, In Memoriam, and Monthly Market Report, so we also welcome general volunteers looking to grow their skills in a variety of design and publishing pursuits. Training will be provided!

Members Only

Time Sensitive Research Role

We’re looking for someone who is comfortable searching and reading US state websites to determine whether SFWA is still registered and due dates for annual reports. There are approximately 12 states still unresolved. The volunteer doesn’t have to have legal, corporate, or tax background. It’s enough that they enjoy research. It’s a plus for later if they might be willing to help with the registrations but not necessary. We’re happy with one-time assistance to finish updating our master list. This is time sensitive. It’s already a new year with new deadlines. We‘re looking for help in April, up to 20-25 hours. If you‘re interested, please contact volunteers@sfwa.org

The Romance Steering Committee is looking for new members with ideas and enthusiasm for building a community of romantic SFF writers. Willingness to coordinate speakers for the Romancing SFF Meetups, hosting the Meetups, and taking part in the romantic-sff SFWA Discord channel are our greatest needs at the moment.

INFOSYS (Information Systems) is our team that helps link data, primarily in Airtable. They are currently looking for two (2) additional people to join their team. Ideal candidates will have some kind of IT background, and experience with Airtable, Basecamp, and Google Drive is very desirable.

The ACA (Author’s Coalition of America) is one of SFWA’s primary sources of donated revenue. SFWA receives funds from the ACA in support of our various programs and activities. We are currently seeking one (1) person to work with Michael Capobianco, who is our principal representative to the ACA, to shadow him and learn how SFWA functions within the ACA process.This is intended to be a long-term commitment, though a limited number of hours.

Our Moderation Team is seeking 1-2 new members to work with them on our Discord channel. We work collaboratively on moderation decisions to ensure that we are making fair decisions that protect our community. We are interested in people who have some moderation experience or are willing to learn, and specifically interested in candidates from marginalized populations, especially BIPOC.

Romance Steering Committee: Ability to facilitate the monthly Romancing SFF Meetup events, familiarity with coordinating speakers, and availability to take part in the #romantic-sff SFWA Discord channel for planned chats, are our greatest needs. Meetings are monthly and will welcome ideas for additional ways the committee can serve our membership and encourage romantic SFF writers to join SFWA.

History Committee: Currently looking for two volunteers to serve on the committee. The History Committee works to help SFWA locate, collect, and preserve SFWA’s history, through interviews and archiving of documents, as well as providing historical information to staff and board members to ensure institutional memory and facilitate smoother leadership transitions. Working toward finding physical and digital homes for SFWA’s history.

Accessibility Committee Members: Accessibility Committee members advise on and coordinate with other SFWA committees to implement accessibility policies and resources within SFWA and to the greater SFF writing community.

Note Takers: Are you good at taking notes? If so, this might be the right opportunity for you! We are looking for one or more persons who are willing to sit in on various SFWA meetings and take minutes, as well as identify action items and assignments. Meetings take place in Zoom, so stable high-speed internet connection is necessary.

Contracts Committee: The Contracts Committee is looking for volunteers for 1–2 hours per week. Experience with a variety of publishing contracts is a must. Formal legal training is helpful. Duties will include participating in committee subforum discussion and helping to write model contracts, contract alerts, and blog posts.

Financial Advisory Committee: Duties include reviewing monthly and annual financial statements, budgets, and asking questions when appropriate. Sometimes the committee also weighs in on policies for good fiscal management, sending their majority opinion to the Board. The time commitment for this volunteer position is low: typically an hour or two per month to review and reply to email about various financial documents. Committee members should have background education or experience in Not For Profits (like SFWA) in the following areas: accounting, tax, or legal. Individuals with a strong background in finance should send details to be considered.