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Toronto Free-Net is run by volunteers.  TFN offers an infrastructure in which many people get to do things they love while benefiting the community at large.

You can commit to as little or as much as you want.  Volunteering at your freenet is a great way to help it add services which you would like to use yourself.  TFN is also a gathering place, where people share knowledge, gain experience, and make friends.  Join the fun -- contact TFN for a volunteer interview!

Here are just some of the things that volunteers do:

• Spread the word: tell friends, neighbours, and strangers about the freenet!
• Keep office hours: greet and assist members who come to the office.
• Payment processing: process members' payments, update their access level and contact info.
• Tech support: answer phone calls for technical support from members.
• Software development: write custom software for the servers and for the office.
• Software deployment: select, install, configure, and maintain Free Software applications used by members on the servers.
• Market research: we may be non-profit but we provide services for which there are commercial competitors.  Keep track of what we do better than them and what we must improve to stay competitive.
• Supplier research: watch the market for parts and services which we use, to ensure that we get the best deal.
• Marketing: Think up ways to reach new members.  Analyze potential markets and develop materials to communicate our message (brochures, radio messages, etc).
• R&D: research new services and technologies into which TFN might expand.
• Hardware building: build computers from parts.
• Systems administration: administer the existing servers; investigate problems; respond to emergencies.
• Systems development: research and test solutions to long-standing technical problems on the servers.
• Web content: maintain this website.
• Bookkeeping: collate, maintain, and distribute data on member payments received and on bills paid.
• Accounting: produce annual financial statements; track income and expenses; file taxes.  Produce financial projections and other reports to support organizational planning.
• Auditing: independently audit our annual financial statements.
• Payables: keep track of our bills and prepare cheques to suppliers.
• Collections: occasionally, members have trouble making their payments.  When that happens, we contact them to try to find a way to help them with their Internet needs without breaking the bank!
• Volunteer coordination: match volunteers to tasks which they are likely to enjoy and which align with their personal growth goals.  Track progress to ensure that tasks are getting done.  Plead, goad, hound, or else re-assign tasks if necessary!  Praise publicly, criticise privately and constructively, in fair and appropriate doses.  Monitor volunteer satisfaction, boost morale, re-assign volunteers or send them on "vacation" when they need a change.  Ensure that volunteers are neither left idle nor overwhelmed to the point of quitting.  Ensure that each volunteer's ongoing learning and growth isn't neglected.  Plan for future skill needs and pursue redundancy in the volunteer corps.  Prevent work duplication.  Keep volunteers focused on work that is needed.  Help volunteers coordinate with each other.  Keep the peace between volunteers.  This task requires scheduling, problem-solving, and planning skills, self-motivation, good judgement, tact, an understanding of human nature, political shrewdness, and perseverance in the face of disappointment.
• Locate members who have moved, and update their contact information (so that we can comply with the legal requirement to notify them of general meetings).
• Shameless solicitation: contact members who haven't used TFN in a long time, learn their needs, inform them of TFN's current services and volunteer needs!
• Sales: answer questions from people who are thinking of becoming members.  Answer questions from members about TFN services they are considering.
• Hand-holding: help people who have difficulty filling out the membership form.
• Help pages: write documentation to teach members how to use the existing facilities.
• Event planning: organize social events to foster community between members.
• Affiliate relations: stay in touch with other freenets and with other organizations that have goals similar to ours.  Seek ways to cooperate, to avoid effort duplication, and to share knowledge and technology.
• Dusting & sweeping: help keep the office clean!
• Distribute leaflets to libraries, community centres, etc.
• Street postering.
• Indoor postering on community bulletin boards, on local store-fronts, etc (please obtain permission from whomever manages the bulletin board).
• Member communications: produce reports of TFN activities to the members.
• Fund-raising: think up ways to raise money for new projects.
• Grants: identify and apply for appropriate grants.

Pick up posters from the box outside the TFN office (the building is open M-F 9-5) or download this poster PDF file and print your own!

We also have a double-sided, black & white, letter-sized leaflet PDF that you can print and hand out. It still needs much improvement; if you would like to work on improving it, please contact the office to volunteer.

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Last Revised 2010/06/05 by ic.        © 2001-2010 Toronto FreeNet Inc.