SOLUTIONS - INSIDE OUT
Inside Out is one of Toronto’s many burgeoning
events that draws the crowds and makes Toronto such a great
arts city. But it wouldn’t happen if it weren’t
for volunteers. We caught up with Scott Ferguson at Inside
Out to find out more.
Inside/out relies on its volunteer base. How did inside/out
initially conceive of its structure in that volunteers were
understood to be essential?
From the beginning, volunteers have played an integral
role in the success of Inside Out. The Festival was actually
started by volunteers and for the first five years of the
event, there were no paid staff. Volunteers were responsible
for every aspect of planning the Festival including revenue
generation, programming, administration and event planning.
Volunteers continue to play an important role today. Volunteers
sit on our Board of Directors, Advisory Board and the various
subcommittees of the Board. As well, we have a volunteer
screening committee that engages approximately 50 members
of the general public who pre-screen our shorts submissions
from November through March.
Are you the person in charge of volunteering? What
kind of response do you get from the community?
We have a Volunteer Coordinator for our busier part of
the year. Her name is Emma Phelan and her contact is emma@insideout.ca
or you can call her at the office at 416.977.6847.
There is a lot of interest from the community in volunteering
during the Festival and also year-round helping out in the
office. We are fortunate to have many loyal volunteers who
return every year as well many enthusiastic new people looking
to become more involved in their community.
We generally need about 150 to 200 volunteers during the
Festival.
Volunteers work 4 hours shifts and can sign-up for as many
as they wish in a
variety of areas including front of house, technical support,
parties, guest
relations and office administration.
Tell us a bit about how inside/out encourages or engages
volunteering. Do you
rely on word-of-mouth? Or do you have a formal process?
We have regular volunteer e-newsletters to keep people
in the loop about current and up-coming volunteer opportunities
with Inside Out. All the general information about volunteering
can be accessed at any time from our website. Come Festival
time we do outreach and marketing to encourage people to
volunteer for the Festival.
All Festival volunteers go to an Orientation Session to
get all the info they need and to sign-up for their shifts.
(Either Sat May 6th at 2:30pm OR Monday May 8th at 6pm at
the 519 Community Centre).This being a Festival for our
community, word-of-mouth is also important in recruiting
volunteers. We want people to enjoy the experience of volunteering
with us and often people will pass on the info to their
friends.
We also have a fantastic reward program for our volunteers
that keeps people coming back. All Inside Out volunteers
receive:
* A complimentary regular screening voucher for every
shift
* An exclusive Inside Out t-shirt
* A post-fest Volunteer Party
* Access to Inside Out Closing Night Gala Party
* The experience of working in a fabulous team putting
together the
largest queer film festival in Canada!
We also give out other little bonuses when we can. This
year we're able to
give our volunteers Ginch Gonch underwear!
Is inside/out affiliated with other like organizations?
If so, can you tell me about them? Do you share volunteers,
so to speak?
Inside Out has close ties to many LGBT organizations in
Toronto as well as other film festivals. We are in constant
communication and often share resources. Often volunteers
work at various Festivals throughout the year and there
are many instances where volunteers have gained employment
with other organizations and Festivals after volunteering
with us.
What are inside/out's long-term plans apart from
present-day volunteer programs and commitments?
Inside Out continues to grow in order to meet the increasing
demands of our growing audience. We plan to introduce more
screenings and events throughout the year to solidify our
position as the place to see the latest in queer film and
video in Toronto. As well, we have plans to open a library
of work that has screened at the Festival over our 16-year
history. The library will be open to curators, academics
and industry where they will be able to view work in-house.
We hope to have the library open by the end of the year.
And a last word: where can people get the scoop, if
they want to volunteer, or if they want to know what's up?
Complete Festival information is available on our website
at www.insideout.ca. The box office opens on May 5 and you
can purchase tickets online at our website, over the phone
at 416.967.1528 or in-person at Festival Ticketing, 55 Bloor
Street West (main floor of the Manulife Centre). Individuals
interested in volunteering can contact Emma at the email
address above or attend one of our volunteer sign-up sessions
at the 519 Church Street Community Centre (519 Church Street)
on May 6 at 2:30pm or May 8 at 6pm.
|
