Leader Resources

Leader Resources

This page is intended to provide answers to common questions a Mountaineers volunteer might have about supporting the organization. It contains "how-to" guides for common website questions, links to forms and pages, and information about policies and procedures - as well as other helpful information for current and future activity and course leaders and instructors, committees, and branches.

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:

Check out resources and tools available for volunteer leaders below!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACTIVITIES, COURSES, AND EVENTS

QUICK LINKS:

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).

VIEW ACTIVITY COUNCILS

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.

View all Clubwide Activity Standards

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 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.

Covid-19 Response Page

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: 

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.

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:

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:

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:

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!

LEADER PERMISSIONS & BENEFITS

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

Access our Leader Benefits page for special brand discounts.

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.

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.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE E&I LEADER TOOLKIT


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.

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.

VIEW UPCOMING EVENTS

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:

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:

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:

SAFETY GUIDANCE, HARASSMENT, AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOR

Please visit the Safety Committee page for complete information about our safety programs and procedures. 

QUICK LINKS:

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

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

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  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!