Spring is closer than you think.
Is your volunteer-run board ready?
January has a funny way of sneaking up on volunteer boards.
The holidays just wrapped. The calendar turned. And suddenly spring season is right around the corner.
Registration. Coaches. Schedules. Uniforms. Fields. Snack bars. Tryouts. Emails from parents who are just checking in.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
Volunteer-run organizations tend to be cyclical by nature. Each year there are a similar set of seasons, milestone events, and tasks to complete for the board.
And yet, every year, it somehow feels new. New board members. New volunteers. New problems layered on top of old ones.
Last year you learned hard lessons:
Registration opened too late
Coaches weren’t confirmed early enough
Communication broke down
One person held too much institutional knowledge
Everything felt rushed at the end
But those lessons? They’re often trapped in someone’s head or lost when that person rolls off the board.
January Is Your Window
Right now, before the emails start piling up, is your chance to change the pattern.
This is the moment to pause and ask:
What actually worked last spring?
What caused stress we could have avoided?
Where did we scramble unnecessarily?
What decisions did we wish we had made earlier?
From Memory to Milestones
Start preparing by documenting the following for your organization:
Milestones – key dates that must happen on time
Tasks – what actually needs to get done
Dependencies – what can’t start until something else is finished
When you write these things down, something powerful happens:
New board members get context instantly
Work spreads more evenly
Risks show up earlier
Spring feels manageable
This is how boards move from reactive to ready.
Make This the Year You Don’t Start From Scratch
Volunteering shouldn’t feel like reliving the same fire drill every year. You deserve better.
We wish best of luck to all the volunteer-run organizations out there, and let’s keep this year focused on what matters; fun, fulfillment, & a lasting impact in the community.