Volunteer With Backline
For information about any of the following volunteer opportunities, or to receive an application, please e-mail .
- Board Members
- Talk Line Advocate
- Office and Administrative Coordinator
- Events Coordinator
- Bilingual and Cultural Diversity Program Intern
- Campus Outreach Volunteer
- Outreach Coordinator
Talk Line Advocates
The next Volunteer Talk Line Advocate Training will begin August 7, 2008 and will take place at Backline’s office in Portland, Oregon. All trainings will be held at Backline’s office in Portland. Interested? Please contact Program Director Marli Riede. Multilingual individuals are highly encouraged to participate.
Training dates are:
Thursday August 7th, 6-8pm
Saturday August 9th, 12-5pm
Sunday August 10th, 10-5pm
Thursday August 14th, 6-8pm
Saturday August 16th, 12-5pm
Sunday August 17th, 10-5pm
Reports to: Talk Line Coordinator
Position Overview: Provide Talk Line callers support and information around all aspects of pregnancy, parenting, abortion and adoption
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Participate in approximately 40 hours of initial training, covering all aspects of pregnancy options and general counseling skills
- Commit to a minimum of 12 hours (3 scheduled shifts)/month on the Talk Line
- Attend at least 4 monthly Advocate meetings per year to debrief Talk Line calls
- Participate in ongoing Advocate Trainings
- Have a deep commitment to Backline's mission and a strong belief in reproductive justice
Interested volunteers please contact Program Director Marli Riede.
Office and Administrative Coordinator
Job Description:
Are you organized with a capital O? Do you like to multi-task and just plain get things done? Are feminism and reproductive rights a part of your vocabulary? Then you are the woman we are looking for…
Reports to: Director of Development
Position: Manage the office space, administrative activities and organizational databases
Time Commitment: 5-10 hours a week depending on meeting and mailing schedules
Backline is a national, all-volunteer, pro-choice nonprofit based in Portland doing amazing work around pregnancy, parenting, abortion and adoption. This is an incredibly exciting time for our organization and we need a no nonsense volunteer to help keep us on the straight & narrow and help us move to the next level. We are a growing organization and this May we moved into a beautiful office in the Alberta Arts District. Now we need someone to help us make the office all that it can be. Plus we have over outreach partners, donor contacts and volunteer databases that need to be managed and grown. This is a chance to capitalize on your organizational skills, and be a part of a dynamic group of women doing revolutionary reproductive justice work. Possibility of becoming a paid/stipend position.
- Coordinate use of the office space
- Ensure the office materials are in order and in stock
- Maintain the physical appearance of the office
- Maintain the direct and in kind donor databases
- Coordinate donor, outreach, volunteer and general databases when necessary
- Spearhead the execution of the Annual Donor Solicitation Mailing
- Manage other mailings as requested
- Assist in preparation of training and education materials
- Manage basic organizational inquiries
- Open and distribute mail
Advanced Microsoft Exel and Word skills required.
Events Coordinator
Job Description:
Do you dig reproductive justice? Is party planning your thing? Then you are the woman we are looking for…
Reports to: Director of Development
Position: Develop and coordinate local fundraising events
Time commitment: 5 hours a week (plus events as necessary)
Backline is a national, all-volunteer, pro-choice nonprofit based in Portland doing amazing work around pregnancy, parenting, abortion and adoption. This is an incredibly exciting time for our organization and we need a motivated, fun, energetic volunteer to help develop and coordinate our local events. This is a chance to tap into your event planning skills, make community contacts be a part of a dynamic group of women doing revolutionary reproductive justice work.
- Work with the Director of Development to develop and coordinate local events including: Dine for Backline & Bands for Backline, Annual Talk Line Celebration, Informal Giving Partner Events
- Prepare monthly board report
- Create materials to replicate success events nationally
Microsoft Excel, Word and basic graphic skills a plus
Bilingual and Cultural Diversity Program Intern
Backline is seeking to expand our services to connect with people of diverse languages and cultures. This internship position is a great volunteer opportunity for a self-motivated individual with interests surrounding reproductive health and multi-cultural resources.
Job Description:
- Assist in the development and implementation of Backline's Multicultural Outreach Program.
- Establish a recruitment strategy for multi-lingual Talk Line Advocates. This task will initially focus on seeking out Spanish-speaking Advocates, but will expand into the recruitment of volunteers whom are fluent in additional languages.
- Actively seek out and establish contacts and partnerships with appropriate community organizations
- Actively seek out avenues that will improve and expand upon the cultural competency within Backline
- Assist in the development and updating of Backline's web links and print materials related to cultural resources and contacts
- Attend monthly meetings with the Outreach Committee
Qualifications:
- Posses a deep commitment to reproductive justice. Interest in the complexities of pregnancy, adoption, abortion and parenting and how they affect women and their loved ones.
- Knowledge of and interest in multi-cultural resources within our community
- Highly self-motivated
- Must be fluent in both Spanish and English
- Effective oral and written communication skills
- Excellent research and time management skills
Regional & Campus Outreach Volunteer
Title: Campus Outreach Facilitator
Reports to: Director of Marketing & Communications
Position Overview: Provide research and make contacts to support the Campus Outreach Program at targeted campuses.
Program Overview: To support and promote the growth of the Talk Line and Backline's training programs by conducting targeted outreach to groups that need our services.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Develop & execute a marketing & outreach strategy: Create a plan that will outline several basic strategies for achieving program goals
Research contacts: Develop a database of contacts (name, phone number, address, e-mail, etc) that will allow us to easily connect with
- RA's
- Health Center
- Women's groups
- Student Counseling Services
- Advertising opportunities such as the newspaper
- Other - research other opportunities for outreach
Make contacts: Call contacts to tell them about Backline and inquire about the possibilities of
- Providing training (such as during RA orientation)
- Providing materials (and ensuring that those materials will be used, not simply thrown away or stashed forever out of sight…)
Other duties: as needed
This position is wide open to growth and ideas! Since this is a pilot program, we will be using it as a learning tool to define future Campus Outreach and Regional Outreach programs. This would be a great opportunity for someone interested in non-profit marketing/outreach to develop and execute a comprehensive national marketing plan with measureable results.
Requirements:
- Excel, Word and other basic software skills for maintaining databases & information
- Daytime availability - phone calling will need to take place during regular business hours
- Understanding of and ability to execute basic marketing strategies and planning
Outreach Coordinator
Backline is looking for a highly motivated individual to work closely with our Board in overseeing outreach efforts. The ideal candidate will be organized, efficient, and passionate about Backline's mission. The Outreach Coordinator must also possess excellent interpersonal communication and writing skills, as well as a willingness to engage in public speaking and phone outreach.
Reports to:Director of Community Relations and Outreach
Position Overview: Provide outreach support to Director of Community Relations.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Coordinate materials distribution to regional and national audiences, including follow up and relationship-building with referral partners
- Facilitate outreach efforts to local organizations, including provision of in-service presentations as appropriate
- Work with Talk Line Advocates on outreach to broad and diverse audiences
- Manage referral database
- Work with Program Coordinator and Program Director on coordinating tabling events
- Other duties as needed. This position is open to growth and exploration. New ideas are encouraged and welcomed!
Interested volunteers please contact Cara Kangas at cara@yourbackline.org
Updated 12.08.07
Additional Volunteer Opportunities:
Backline has many opportunities for highly motivated volunteers with a commitment to Backline's mission and work, and is open to creative ideas! Please e-mail or call 503.493.0092 for more information.
