Leader Resources
New volunteer support tools
Our new Volunteer Support Tools are your go-to guide for navigating our website, standards, and policies so you can spend less time searching for processes and completing administrative tasks and more time fostering adventures.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MOUNTAINEERS LEADER?
Volunteer leaders are the lifeblood of The Mountaineers - they teach courses, lead trips, and generally fulfill every aspect of our mission! Learn more about becoming a Mountaineers leader through the quick links below or get in touch with Member Services to get connected with committees!
QUICK LINKS:
- What does it mean to be a leader at The Mountaineers?
- Review how-to blogs:
- Learn from the best and read our Leader Spotlight (now part of “Mountaineer of the Week”) blogs!
- Submit an online leader application.
- Learn about other volunteer opportunities!
- Read about adding Mentored Leaders to your committee roster.
- Used to be an active volunteer, but stepped away for some time and wish to return? Reach out to Member Services to reconnect with committee and course leaders.
Check out resources and tools available for volunteer leaders below!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Activities, Courses, and Events
- Activity Councils
- Branch and Committee Resources
- Board Policies
- COVID-19 Response Guidance for Leaders
- Create a Badge
- eLearning
- Equity & Belonging Resources
- Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) & Service Animal Policy
- Financial Policies, Procedures, and Forms
- Land Manager Resources
- LeaderLines eNewsletter
- Leader Benefits
- Leader Permissions
- Leadership Development Opportunities
- Peer Support Resources
- Posting and Managing Website Content
- Recording Volunteer Hours
- Safety Guidance, Harassment, and Problem Behavior
- Scheduling Virtual Content
- Volunteer Recruitment Tools
- Youth Programs
ACTIVITIES, COURSES, AND EVENTS
QUICK LINKS:
- Explore Pro Tips for Leading Trips
- Share a Trip Report
- Schedule and manage an activity.
- Get the difficulty rating right for your trips! Transfer these considerations from the Cross-country Trip Difficulty Pro Tips for your activity. Originally created by Travis Prescott
- Learn how to write a great activity listing
- Request a new or updated route/place.
- Schedule and manage a clinic or seminar.
- Schedule, manage, and edit a course with lectures and field trips.
- Schedule an event.
- Schedule a lodge stay.
- Schedule a Mentored Leader trip.
- File an Incident Report.
- Publicize and market your activities, courses, and events.
- Review your feedback as a leader.
- Remember to record your volunteer hours.
- Report a problem behavior or harassment with the Behavioral Complaint Form.
- Answer questions about our Privacy Policy, and how that impacts profile visibility and course/activity communications
For a basic overview of our activity, course, clinic, seminar, event, and lodge stay structure, please visit our Schedule & Manage page.
Activity Councils
Activity Councils are cross-branch decision making bodies for each activity at The Mountaineers. These groups meet at regular Activity Summits. The purpose of Activity Councils is to write/review/audit relevant Clubwide Activity Standards and to share ideas and resources across branches. View each Activity Council page for a roster of members, past meeting minutes/agendas, and shared materials (formerly Shared Activity Resources).
It is Mountaineers policy that all activities, as determined by the Branch Leadership Committee, meet organization-wide standards that are equal to or exceed generally accepted standards for volunteer organizations pursuing that activity. Activity Councils draft and maintain relevant activity standards, and the Branch Leadership Committee reviews and approves all Clubwide Activity Standards on behalf of the Board.
BRANCH AND COMMITTEE RESOURCES
For basic information to manage your branch or committee, please visit the Branch & Committees How-To page. For additional resources, please visit the Branch and Committee Administration page.
QUICK LINKS:
- Use the Committee Chair Directory to search for your branch or committee chair.
- Committee Chairs: Keep track of your submitted leader applications.
Use Basecamp, an online project management tool and platform, to coordinate committee and branch projects. We have Basecamp projects for activity councils, branches, and committees. If you're looking to join a group, contact the individual organizing the Basecamp group. If you want to utilize Basecamp to organize a project, contact Member Services.
BOARD POLICIES
Like all organizations, we have rules that guide our collective efforts. Please visit the Board Policies page for detailed information about our guiding principles.
covid-19 response guidance for leaders
Check our COVID-19 blog for guidance on proceeding with or canceling/postponing trips, events, and courses.
CREATE A BADGE
Do you need to have a badge created? Badges are a great way to acknowledge and recognize volunteers, students, and members of their Mountaineers accomplishments. Volunteers can follow the process in our badge creation requests page to get a new badge made.
QUICK LINKS:
- Learn about our badge system
- Review our most common types of badges:
ELEARNING
The Mountaineers is invested in eLearning to complement our existing courses. Our goal is to work with all of our branches to create meaningful, engaging, and high quality eLearning lessons that will benefit current and future Mountaineers for years to come! Learn more on the eLearning Information Hub.
Equity & Belonging Resources
A library of resources to become knowledgeable about issues concerning diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
ESSENTIAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA (EEC) & SERVICE ANIMAL POLICY
In May 2019, The Mountaineers Board of Directors approved two new documents to help prospective participants navigate their ability to participate in our programs. Visit our Essential Eligibility Criteria & Service Animal Policy page for more information!
QUICK LINKS:
- Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC)
- Service Animal Policy
- View an in-depth Overview Presentation.
Read our blog with information for leaders.
FINANCIAL POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND FORMS
The Financial Policies, Procedures, and Forms folder contains financial and policy-related forms for our volunteers, leaders, and contractors.
QUICK LINKS:
- Volunteer Reimbursement Request
- Insurance Coverage for Leaders
- Cancellation and Refund Policy
- Independent Contractor Packet
LAND MANAGER RESOURCES
The Mountaineers has compiled various resources to help with planning your activities and courses on local, state, and federal lands.
QUICK LINKS:
- Facilitated Access Permitting
- Parking Passes & Wilderness Restrictions
- Group Size Norms
- Permit Documents
Information about applicable permitting is also available in individual Routes & Places listings.
LEADERLINES ENEWSLETTER
Leader Lines is a monthly newsletter specifically curated for The Mountaineers' leaders! It is a great place to learn about changes to our website and policies, as well as an awesome resource of continuing education and tips to be a more effective leader. LeaderLines is also one of the primary ways that we notify leaders about new volunteer benefits, recurring reminders, and upcoming events such as Leadership Development Series, Leadership Conference, new courses, and volunteer recognition.
QUICK LINKS:
- Not receiving LeaderLines? Visit your My Profile page and select "My Preferences" to opt into the Leader Lines newsletter.
- Browse past issues of LeaderLines in the LeaderLines Archive.
Have an article, blog post, or leadership opportunity for an upcoming edition of LeaderLines? Email Member Services at info@mountaineers.org to share your idea!
BENEFITS
Access our Leader Benefits page for special brand discounts.
LEADER PERMISSIONS
There are many different types of leadership at The Mountaineers, but generally speaking, the term "leader" refers to a member who has been approved by a committee to lead one of our sponsored activities. Most committees award Leader Badges to recognize and acknowledge their volunteer leaders.
If you've been approved by a committee to be a primary leader, you'll notice some additional permissions and benefits on our website. These items are described in detail throughout this Leader Resources page.
SUMMARY OF LEADER PERMISSIONS & BENEFITS
- Post trips, clinics, seminars, and events.
- Enable the “Leader’s Permission Required” function on registration pages.
- View feedback from your participants through your profile page.
- Write blog posts for our website.
- Review the activity and course histories of people who want to attend your trips through their profile.
- Review members’ past Participation Notes.
- Opt into our monthly Leader Lines email newsletter, which provides information, insights, and updates curated specifically for our volunteer leaders.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
An organization-wide effort focused on leadership development opportunities and continuing education for our volunteer leaders.
Emotional Safety in the Outdoors Course
This leadership course addresses equity and inclusion through the lens of emotional safety in the outdoors. The course begins with broad and systems-level concepts around equity and inclusion to make explicit connections between the influences of structural, historical, political, and social contexts on individual and interpersonal experiences and relationships.
- Take the Emotional Safety in the Outdoors course
The Equity & Inclusion Leader Toolkit
The Equity & Inclusion Leader Toolkit is a collection of reading, resources, and reflection. Its purpose is to educate and empower volunteers who are looking for ways to integrate equity and inclusion into their Mountaineers activities or who are simply interested in learning more. It provides volunteers with tools and ideas to think through their activity from start to finish through a lens of equity and inclusion, without having to change the goals of their activity. The toolkit includes basic tips, practical examples, customizable templates, and resources to learn more about a given topic, and topics range from simple tips to create a great activity listing to deeper areas of reflection on things like bystander intervention.
FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP & INSTRUCTION COURSES
We are especially excited about our two eLearning Courses: Foundations of Leadership and Foundations of Instruction! Designed for our current and future volunteer instructors, with a goal of fostering diverse and passionate connections throughout The Mountaineers. These two courses are for current or aspiring volunteers who are proficient in one or more outdoor activities, but are interested in learning more about leading and instructing in the outdoors.
- Take the Foundations of Leadership & Instruction eLearning courses
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
The Mountaineers Leadership Conferences areone-day conferences at the Seattle Program Center in Magnuson Park and the Tacoma Program Center. The program includes both esteemed outdoor professionals and seasoned leaders from our own community at The Mountaineers. A series of interactive sessions explores the many facets of leadership – from honing our decision-making skills, to pedagogy and better teaching, to the "soft-skills" of facilitating positive group dynamics.
The Leadership Conferences are annual events, typically held on the first Saturday in December and the fourth Saturday in March. Registration opens mid-September. Please keep an eye on our activity calendars and email Member Services at info@mountaineers.org with any questions!
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUND
Each year, The Mountaineers designates funds to support the professional growth of our leaders. These funds are made available to individual leaders – as well as small groups of leaders – to support their attendance at conferences, workshops, courses, and other programs outside of The Mountaineers that are relevant to their volunteer leadership. Read more about the Leadership Development Fund and apply for a grant!
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SERIES
The Mountaineers is excited to offer an ongoing Leadership Development Series to provide high-quality, continuing education opportunities for our volunteer leaders. Starting in February 2019, The Mountaineers is offering a series of standalone seminars to cover a wide variety of leadership topics. Sessions will be planned in the fall, winter, and spring of each year. Check out our past seminars to learn more about what topics we’ve offered to our volunteer leaders.
Have an idea for a presentation? Please contact Member Services at info@mountaineers.org.
RESOURCE CENTER
The Mountaineers hopes to inspire the ongoing growth of our programs through various leadership development opportunities. Please browse past presentation materials and recordings for additional information and ideas in our Resource Center!
Peer Support Resources
Each year, Mountaineers members encounter accidents and near-misses in the outdoors. While being prepared through risk management and first aid training is essential for responding to physical emergencies, there are also important considerations when supporting someone experiencing stress after an incident. To help prepare for the mental and emotional impacts of these events, we’re pleased to share several resources with our leaders and members.
Our three primary tools are designed for “All Responders” and come with guides explaining their background and usage. Find versions of these resources for Guides here. These include:
- Checking Battery Levels: A resource to assess and manage stress or burnout within classes, committees, or groups.
- Post-Incident Tools for Individuals: A guide to help those who have experienced a traumatic event, or who may be supporting someone else who has.
- Post-Incident Tools for Groups: An overview of evidence-based debriefing and defusing models, complete with guidelines and limitations for effective use.
Additionally, we offer a set of Peer Support Tools for understanding critical incident stress, supporting those who are grieving, practicing self-regulation techniques, and more.
We hope you’ll never need to use these tools, but if you do, we trust they will be a valuable resource in providing support.
Thank you to Katja Hurt for developing these resources specifically for The Mountaineers!
POSTING AND MANAGING WEBSITE CONTENT
Please follow The Mountaineers Publications Style Guide when posting or managing any content on the website.
QUICK LINKS:
- Learn how to update and maintain branch and committee pages.
- Add new mentored leaders to the committee roster
- Visit our Schedule & Manage pages for help with courses, activities, and events.
- Learn how to post a blog.
- Learn how the Private, Pending, Published, and Shared by Committee states are used to control permission to view website content.
- Learn about our future website enhancements (and continuous improvements) on our Technology Blog, or suggest a new feature in our UserVoice feedback system.
- We have a Mountaineers logo'd Google Slides template for your upcoming Mountaineers related presentation. You can access our Mountaineers logo files on the website too!
Is your course or committee using a Facebook (or other social media) group as a way to stay connected? Check out our Social Media Moderator Guidelines.
RECORDING VOLUNTEER HOURS
Volunteer hours are associated with activities, events, and lodge stays. They may be entered in bulk or you may select specific individuals and attribute specific hours based on that member's contribution. Members can also add volunteer hours that aren't captured elsewhere, such as course or committee admin work. Recording your hours as a volunteer is important for a number of reasons! To name a few, The Mountaineers use volunteer hours to administer our annual volunteer reward and recognition programs and students applying to take advanced courses often need to submit a report of their volunteer hours.
The Mountaineers is founded on the principle of volunteerism, and accurate volunteer hours paints a stronger picture of our programs for prospective donors and grant funders.
QUICK LINKS:
- Learn how to track volunteer hours
- View all of your volunteer hours and record hours that haven't been captured elsewhere on the "My Volunteer Hours" section of your My Profile page.
- Learn more about recording volunteer hours on our Recording Volunteer Hours page.
SAFETY GUIDANCE, HARASSMENT, AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOR
Please visit the Safety Committee page for complete information about our safety programs and procedures.
QUICK LINKS:
- How to handle an incident on your trip.
- How to file an Incident Report.
- Learn about the organization's Emergency Contact procedures, and know when and how to use the Mountaineers Emergency Line.
- Include this 5W's on Incident Reporting presentation in your activity/course training materials.
- Read our Member Code of Ethics.
- Review our Board Policy on Prohibited Behavior.
- Report a problem behavior or harassment with the Behavior Complaint Form.
- Download and print our #SafeOutside wall display for display at your course, event, or activity, to share these resources with attendees.
SCHEDULING VIRTUAL CONTENT
We've gone digital! As The Mountaineers moves more of our programming online, check out these resources for specific considerations related to creating and scheduling virtual content.
Quick Links
- Zoom Meeting Request and Large Group Add-on Form. Please use this form to request a new Zoom meeting link for your online meeting, or to request that your existing Zoom meeting be upgraded to accommodate up to 500 participants.
- Zoom Tutorial for Mountaineers Volunteers
- Content Creation Tools
- How To: Virtual Event Best Practices
VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT TOOLS
As volunteer leaders of The Mountaineers, you are one of the many reasons our volunteer-base grows each year. Adding new volunteer energy helps us stay fresh, ensures our volunteers are representative of our broader membership, and helps reduce burnout. As a way to make it easier to recruit new volunteer leaders, we’ve put together a list of tools available when recruiting new volunteers. We're always looking to bring new volunteers into our community!
Feedback has shown that many recent course graduates are interested in volunteering but aren't sure how to start or even if they are eligible to teach future iteration of their graduated courses.
quick links
- If you know an aspiring volunteer who is excited about sharing their skills and passion for the outdoors but still unsure on how to get involved as a volunteer, share with them how to get involved as a volunteer or the updated Volunteer with Us page.
- Share How to Get Involved as an Instructor with course graduates and aspiring volunteer instructors.
- Share How to Get Involved as a Trip Leader with trip participants and aspiring trip leaders.
- Consider also sharing with current and new trip leaders: Pro Tips for Leading Trips
- Reach out and encourage course graduates to consider getting involved after graduation by sending this email template. The email template allows course instructors and leaders to easily modify the content to engage their course graduates.
Curious how to help match a volunteer with a volunteer role based on their interests and availability? Check out the volunteer roles best suited for different interests and availability below.
To view a larger version, click on the "pop-out" button on the top right corner of the image
YOUTH PROGRAMS
We offer year round clubs, summer and break camps, family programs, after school opportunities, and youth partnership outreach programs called “Mountain Workshops”. Learn about getting involved with our Youth Programs.
QUICK LINKS:
- Policies and Forms: Youth Forms and Handbooks are now online, along with online leader tools to view and print important youth-related information.
- Anyone who volunteers with youth on a regular basis must be a Mountaineers Qualified Youth Leader. Learn how.
NEED MORE HELP?
Can't find what you're looking for or need some additional assistance? Contact our Member Services Team at info@mountaineers.org or 206-521-6001.
HAVE AN IDEA?
Tell us about it! Log on to feedback.mountaineers.org, our feedback and help desk system powered by UserVoice. It's for everyone – all of our volunteers, leaders, members and guests – to add, review, comment on, and vote for ideas. This helps us prioritize future projects with your ideas in mind!