E-085 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Volunteer Opportunities Board

Use this as a starting point. Cross out what does not fit, add what is missing and make it your club's own.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry: E-085 · Volunteer Opportunities Board
Theme: Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 5: Member Roles & Purpose
Source material: Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for Rotary role fit, meaningful volunteer involvement and local safety duties; they are not an endorsement of the named Volunteer Opportunities Board initiative or this locally designed delivery model.

Primary references consulted

Engage Emerging Leaders (Rotary International)
Used for: Clubs can help members find suitable projects and roles and support them after they become involved.
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement (Volunteering Australia)
Used for: Volunteer roles should be meaningful, defined, appropriately resourced, supported and reviewed.
Work health and safety duties (Safe Work Australia)
Used for: Applicable safety duties must be understood when volunteers undertake work.

Candidate District material consulted

These records remain draft evidence and still need a human source decision.

Club Playbook - Theme 2
Candidate record 51 Pick Your Path Menu and record 52 Project Reverse Pitches provide related concepts for making contribution options visible. Neither is a literal current-title match or supplies listing approval, partner-authority, expiry, access, enquiry, privacy or withdrawal controls.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

3 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
3 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.

See each source's scope and limit

Engage Emerging Leaders
Supports: Member-centred discovery, mentoring, feedback, emerging-leader support and club-health review principles during renewal.
Does not establish: That a person is ready for office, should be selected, has consented to a role or that a proposed renewal pathway will work locally.
National Standards for Volunteer Involvement
Supports: The 32 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: The club's local need, legal position, capability, cost, safety, accessibility, suitability, likely effectiveness, authority to act or approval of the initiative.
Volunteers - WHS duties
Supports: The need to identify the organisation's actual WHS position and manage volunteer physical and psychological safety proportionately during renewal activity.
Does not establish: Whether WHS law applies to a particular club, who holds a duty, which jurisdictional rule applies or whether a proposed control is sufficient.

What still needs a person to confirm

Confirm the member, prospective-member, past-member and community needs, preferences and consent that the local design assumes.
Confirm which privacy, safeguarding, incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, food, liquor, copyright, licensing, screening and other duties apply to the club and the activity.
Test accessibility, cultural safety, belonging, language and alternative participation routes with affected people and recognise First Nations cultural authority rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
Confirm every local fact, starting point, cost, role, current service contact, measure, stopping condition and platform capability before the club decides to proceed.
Confirm the authority and current scope of each primary source, resolve login-gated or moved-page references and keep any candidate District material attributed and unapproved until its source decision is made.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

The club must approve the board charter, listing standard, publishers, access, enquiry process and removal authority before launch.
A listing cannot approve a project, establish partner authority or waive suitability, financial, safety, screening or safeguarding processes.
Member enquiries must remain private and voluntary and may not affect standing or recognition.
The custodian must remove stale, withdrawn or unsafe listings and close personal enquiry records.

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: More members take up clearly scoped volunteering opportunities.

What is happening in our club or community now?What is the smallest useful version we could try? What will we leave out?

Board contactPerson leading the workPerson checking what happened

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Volunteer Opportunities Board
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Agree the board's audience, display locations, listing criteria, decision limits, prohibited content, access arrangements and enquiry service standard.	Club board delegate and member-experience lead	Six weeks before launch	An approved board charter
2	Invite role sponsors to complete the common listing brief and check each opportunity's authority, value, workload, safety, screening and support before publication.	Board custodian and governance lead	Four weeks before launch	A cleared opportunity register
3	Publish concise listings with dates, status and a private enquiry route, and provide an accessible text, print or telephone equivalent for every opportunity.	Board custodian and access contact	At launch	A current and accessible opportunities board
4	Acknowledge each enquiry, arrange a role conversation and explain approval, screening, induction or adjustment steps without treating curiosity as commitment.	Role sponsor	Within seven days of enquiry	A fair response and informed next step
5	Review the board on a fixed rhythm, correct changed workloads or dates and immediately remove opportunities that lose approval, partner authority or safe delivery conditions.	Board custodian	Fortnightly during the trial	Current listings and a change record
6	Close enquiries, delete unneeded contact details and analyse only aggregate gaps such as unclear roles, repeated overload or missing contribution formats.	Member-experience lead	Quarterly	A privacy closeout and opportunity-design report

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
Question	What it means for us	Who will check	Done?
Check the selected approach against the club's actual needs, capacity and responsibilities before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
A stale or unapproved listing creates false expectations or unsafe involvement. — Use named approvers, publication and expiry dates, visible status and immediate withdrawal authority.
A short listing hides workload, cost, access or screening conditions. — Require the standard brief and link or route to the full role conversation before commitment.
Public sign-up exposes interests or allows repeated recruitment pressure. — Use private enquiries, prohibit visible volunteer lists and delete closed contact records.
The board becomes another channel for poorly designed vacancies. — Track recurring gaps and require sponsors to change scope, support, timing or delivery rather than simply reposting.
The club must approve the board charter, listing standard, publishers, access, enquiry process and removal authority before launch.
A listing cannot approve a project, establish partner authority or waive suitability, financial, safety, screening or safeguarding processes.
Member enquiries must remain private and voluntary and may not affect standing or recognition.
The custodian must remove stale, withdrawn or unsafe listings and close personal enquiry records.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What matters	Where we are now	What we hope to see	How we will check	Who
After 90 days, review Volunteer Opportunities Board. Look for roles being filled by choice, responsibilities being understood and useful work being completed without avoidable overload.
Published opportunities meeting every required information and approval field.
Listings reviewed by their due date and stale or unsafe items removed promptly.
Enquiries acknowledged, discussed and closed within the published response period.
Role gaps leading to redesign, sharing, deferral or retirement rather than repeated pressure on members.

After 30 days

Is it reaching the right people? Is anything unsafe, unfair or harder than expected?

After 60 days

Make one useful change based on what people have told you.

After 90 days

Compare with where you started. Decide whether to change it, continue it or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

Volunteer Opportunity Listing Brief

Create a complete, comparable and approval-ready listing.

Open supporting document

Opportunities Board Publishing Register

Control what is displayed and keep every listing current.

Open supporting document

Volunteer Enquiry and Response Log

Ensure every private enquiry receives a useful response and data closeout.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

We have checked this

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

We have checked this

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

We have checked this

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

We have checked this

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

We have checked this

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

We have checked this

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

Role menu

Use this worksheet to decide who will do each job, who can step in and what needs to be handed over.

Open worksheet

Tracker

Use this worksheet to note where things stand and choose a few useful signs that will help the club decide what to do next.

Open worksheet

Communications templates

Use this worksheet to prepare clear messages and check the facts, permissions and approval before sharing them.

Open worksheet