Once you have your team together, you have to use them wisely! Learn how to run good meetings, create a budget and timeline, and be a good team leader below.
Meetings Budget and timeline Leadership tips
Propose a regular schedule for Children's Team meetings and discuss it with your team members. How often would you like to meet? Where and for how long? Do your volunteers have potential scheduling conflicts? Do they need childcare?
Once you have a few loyal volunteers recruited, it's time to get down to work. Here are some topics that you might want to address at your first Children's Team meeting:
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How much money you spend on children's activities is entirely up to you and your team...you're limited only by your imagination and your ability to solicit donations! Talk to your co-chair(s) and Fundraising Captain about whether project funds will be set aside for children's activities, and then use the chart below to estimate your team's expenses. Remember that the Food Team is responsible for meals and snacks, and remember your goal of getting every item donated - it's possible to arrange fantastic children's activities without spending a dime!
Use this budget worksheet to get started.
KaBOOM! strongly recommends setting a series of small, tangible goals at the outset of a project. If your co-chair(s) haven't confirmed build date(s) as of yet, work with the entire planning committee to agree on an ideal timeline. Then work backward to fill in Children's Team tasks such as fundraisers and activity planning. Here's a sample timeline for your team; feel free to create your own (and add as many activities as you want)!
Use this checklist, broken into five parts, to plan for what lies ahead. It'll make it easier to assign tasks to each of your teammates.
As a project leader, you can't do everything alone. A large part of your job will be to motivate, instruct, advise and help your team members as they implement your plan. Remember that delegating responsibility usually enhances a project, because jobs get done by people who have a special skill in that area. It also helps everyone practice their management skills and get more out of the project.
Check in with your team members on a regular basis to make sure that you're all moving forward. Here are a few questions to gauge your progress:
Tip: A build for all seasons
Every team needs to have a back-up plan in case of rain or other extreme weather. If Mother Nature throws a curve ball, your first task is to stay positive! Good attitudes are contagious, especially with children. The other secret is to plan ahead: Is there an indoor location nearby where you can stage activities? Which activities will work well indoors, and which ones will have to be postponed? Do you need extra supplies (e.g. videos, sleeping mats) if you're stuck inside all day?