Volunteer

Thanks largely to the participation of so many of you, two Split This Rock Poetry Festivals have been tremendously successful. We continue to hear from participants about the incredible poetry they heard, the challenging and thought-provoking discussions and workshops they attended, and the powerful sense of community they felt. You — and many others — have asked us to build Split This Rock into a permanent home for progressive poets.

We can't do it without your help.

Split This Rock volunteers help with publicity, outreach, programming, fundraising, accessibility planning, administration, graphic and web design, and so much more. Even if you don’t live in the D.C. area, there many ways to help out. You can also join Split This Rock on Facebook and network with others in your area.

To get involved, complete the Volunteer Form and send it to us, or just send an email to info@splitthisrock.org.

Volunteer Jobs

Fundraising/Events: Help plan fundraising events in DC, New York, or other areas. Write appeal letters. Dream up creative fundraising events and projects. Help us write grant proposals.

Sponsorships: Solicit corporate (hotels, venues, transportation, restaurants) and organizational (poetry, religious, community, peace and justice organizations) sponsorships.

Publicity/Marketing and Graphic Design: Develop ads, brochures, registration materials, T-shirt designs. Work with web and blog editors. Solicit and maintain media sponsorships (City Paper, Pacifica Radio, etc.).

Outreach: Help us send notices to constituencies and develop creative ways to engage: literary arts/theatre organizations; activist/political/community/disability organizations; schools/youth organizations; colleges/universities; religious community.

Out-of-Town Organizing: Establish and maintain a network of coordinators in other cities, providing them with ideas for local recruitment and engagement activities.

Media Relations: Work with Split This Rock’s media team to identify and cultivate free media, write press releases, make phone calls, and stay in touch with contacts.

Accessibility Planning: Work with accessibility experts to ensure website and promotional materials are accessible. Plan festival accessibility.

Web: Work with web manager to add enhancements to the website. Requires web skills (HTML, CSS, web content management).

Archivist/Documentation: Anthology/CD/web streaming/documentary

Administrative/Clerical (recordkeeping, database, etc.): Data entry; thank you notes, premiums, recognition to donors, etc.

Festival Volunteers

  • Outreach: Work in your community to help us spread the word about the festivals. Distribute flyers/postcards/posters, organize readings/events, and more.
  • Volunteer coordination/organizing: Reach out to new/returning volunteers. Provide training and orientation, create schedules, and manage volunteers during the festival.
  • Hospitality: Plan and manage hospitality for featured poets during the festival. Provide transportation and other care and feeding to poets during the festival.
  • Registration materials: Plan and develop program books and other materials for the festival.
  • Accessibility planning: Large-print materials, access to venues, and more.
  • ASL interpretation
  • Event hosting/monitoring: Staff the check-in tables, work with venue personnel, post signs, sell T-shirts, etc.
  • Post-festival: Volunteers help us with a variety of tasks from archiving/documentation to administrative assistance.