Be a part of one of the most supportive and enthusiastic NaNoWriMo writing groups out there, and make a huge difference in the world as you do.
Volunteering for the Mighty Pens is one of the most rewarding ways to be involved in an already amazing community! Without volunteers, we simply could not run. So thank you to past volunteers—and to future volunteers who have landed on this page!
(Note: all the buttons go to the same form. Just click it when you’re ready.)
Tech Team
Led by: Abigail
Approximate Staffing: 3
Approximate hours/week: 3-10
Volunteering Time Period: …as long as you want to help (can be year-round! If you want!)
What you’ll do: Support Abigail in website and page creation, maintenance, forum management and moderation.
Help input prizes into our Tier System.
Prep weekly emails and update the blog (you won’t have to write the content—unless you want to!). Create forms and work with the graphics team to make stuff pretty.
Skills that would help (but not required!): familiarity with WordPress, MailChimp, CSS, Google forms/script, and/or JavaScript; experience writing and/or formatting newsletters.
Moral of the Story: Literally help make the whole campaign function and run!
Prize Team
Led by: Susan (Sooz)
Approximate Staffing: 4
Approximate hours/week: 4
Volunteering Time Period: August – December
What you’ll do: After vetting names with Sooz, we will ask you to solicit 3-5 industry professionals each week for prize donations. We will also be soliciting businesses to act as Big Donors. Preexisting industry relationships are a major plus but not required. You’ll be provided with a letter template to use, though some customization is fine!
Finally, track unsolicited donations that come in.
Help send thank you and “our final impact” letters to all donors in December. (You will not have to write this letter!)
Moral of the Story: Help us send emails so we can raise funds and increase the pool of participants prizes!
Admin Team
Led by: Casey
Approximate Staffing: 3
Approximate hours/week: 3-5
Volunteering Time Period: September – December
What you’ll do: Update participant information and monitor their eligibility for both writing and fundraising prizes.
Keep track of the main Mighty Pens email inbox and forward emails or questions as appropriate.
Ensure prize winners’ information is accurately entered into the Prize Spreadsheet (or equivalent). Double check with the Prize Team that the donor has been contacted after NaNoWriMo.
Skills that would help (but not required): Familiarity with spreadsheets,
Moral of the Story: Help keep everyone organized with your stellar email skills and attention to detail
Social Media Team
Led by: Kaite
Approximate Staffing: 7
Approximate hours/week: 3-10
Volunteering Time Period: September – December
What you’ll do: Help us optimize our algorithm on any social media platform with which you’re comfortable! While content creation is great (and would be excellent if you want to have a direct connection with our participants), simply posting would be a huge help for us.
Posting duties includes: scheduling posts, sharing the community schedule, sharing graphics, thanking our donors, and cheering on our writers.
We also ask that you track, like, comment, and repost any tags from participants (as appropriate).
Moral of the Story: Help participants stay abreast of activities, success stories, and prizes!
Graphics Team
Led by: Kaite
Approximate Staffing: 3
Approximate hours/week: 3
Volunteering Time Period: September – November
What you’ll do: Make cohesively branded graphics for our social media team and for participants in Canva! (If you know Photoshop or Illustrator, then great! But it’s not required.)
Skills that would help: Familiarity with design principles; comfortable using Canva, Photoshop, InDesign, and/or your favorite other graphics app.
Moral of the Story: Create branded graphics that make it easy for us to spread the word!
Community Team
Led by: Kat
Approximate Staffing: 10+
Approximate hours/week: As much as you want, but at least 2 hrs/wk
Volunteering Time Period: October – November
What you’ll do: Hype up our participants to write and/or fund-raise! Duties typically include hosting writing sprints (on any social media platform) and helping participants get comfortable with fundraising.
You can also organize movie nights, tarot readings, commenting on blog posts and snippets, sharing the Mighty Pens updates on your personal social media, making inspiration playlists, running prompt contests, etc.
If you think it would be fun, then we say go for it!
Moral of the Story: Keep people involved and cheer on the community as they aim for 50,000 words!