San Diego Film Festival Volunteer Organization, Version 2.0

image
Author: Lucas Eaves
Published: 02 Oct, 2012
Updated: 17 Oct, 2022
2 min read
Credit: San Diego Film Festival Facebook Page

San Diego Film Festival

The San Diego Film Festival closed on Sunday night with the screening of Grassroot, a movie based on the true story of an underdog candidate nearly winning the city council race in Seattle in 2001. Aside from the obvious reference to the political importance of November, the movie could also be seen as a homage to the army of San Diego Film Festival volunteers who made the  festival possible.

The candidacy of Grant Cogswell made history thanks to the support of energetic, young volunteers who carried out an amazing grassroots campaign that nearly won him a seat on the city council. Similarly, the San Diego Film Festival relied heavily on volunteers who did everything from carrying boxes of water, to serving VIPs, to interviewing film directors and, most importantly, serving as the face of the festival for most of the attendees.

Contrary to the anarchic organization of the volunteers in the movie (the movie is set in 2001), the Festival staff utilized all the opportunities offered to them by the advancement of the internet to make the Festival run as smoothly as possible. Instead of the archaic management tools often used by non-profit and other organizations, the SDFF opted for an efficient online program.

San Diego Film Festival

San Diego Film Festival volunteers were able to log on to the website and read a detailed description of every position's required skills. This maximized participation by allowing people would could not attend the training session to volunteer for the festival. The icon "help wanted" indicated which days volunteers were needed and for which positions. With the Festival actualizing in two different locations, an online management tool was ideal to coordinate the different teams of volunteers.

The user-friendly online tools were appreciated by both volunteers and the festival organizers. Because volunteers were able to schedule their shifts in accordance to their other obligations, the festival's staff had a clear idea of who will would be doing what, where, and when.

These kinds of online tools can make life easier for a non-profit, political candidates or any organization that requires volunteers if they just take a leap of faith in the 2.0 world.

Latest articles

Cartoon image of Cuomo and Adams running into each other with cars.
Adams and Cuomo Power Players Play Chicken With New York Elections
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are currently playing a game of chicken with each other – leveraging the city’s electoral system to pressure the other to quit the race. The question is: Who will blink first? Or… are they headed for a collision?...
14 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Open Primary NYC
5 Influential Forces in NYC that Threaten the Success of Open Primaries
New York City’s Charter Revision Commission (CRC) is considering a proposal to adopt a nonpartisan “Top Two” open primary system, which would allow the city’s 1.1 million independent voters to cast a ballot in primary elections they pay for....
14 Jul, 2025
-
13 min read
Tyson points at Trump with a marijuana leaf behind him.
Mike Tyson Calls Out Donald Trump to Make Good on Cannabis Rescheduling Promise
Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion known as “Iron Mike,” is calling on President Donald Trump to make good on a campaign promise to reclassify cannabis under federal law....
11 Jul, 2025
-
2 min read