Frequently Asked Questions from Volunteers

• How much time will it take to be a CCP Volunteer?
• What do Senior Consultants do?
• What kind of Client Organizations do CCP teams work with?
• What are the Criteria for selection of Volunteer Consultants?
• Where do Volunteers come from and what are their backgrounds?
• How do I sign up to be a Volunteer?
• When can I be on a team?
• Can I be a CCP Volunteer more than one time?
• How do you decide on team assignments?
• How do you decide which Client Organization a Volunteer works with?
• What goes on in Volunteer Consultant team meetings?
• What are the Learning Community large group meetings all about?
• What can I expect to get from my CCP experience?
• How much does all this cost?

How much time will it take to be a CCP Volunteer?
You can expect to spend at least 5 hours a week on a CCP consulting project. Over the course of 3-4 months, it is common for volunteers to each give 80-100 hours to their project. It is the biggest single issue that team members regularly face—the amount of time this takes. Individuals who get the most out of this kind of volunteer work are those who can give the CCP experience a priority in their time budget during the life of the project.

What do Senior Consultants do?
Senior consultants are highly experienced consultants who act as mentors and guides to the volunteers working on a particular project. When you meet, the senior consultant assigned to your project team is available to advise, react to team ideas, share his or her experience, facilitate difficult discussions, and help the team learn about the consulting process as it unfolds. Seniors organize and facilitate the Saturday learning community sessions that all the various teams’ volunteers attend during the project’s lifespan.

What kind of Client Organizations do CCP teams work with?
As a CCP volunteer, you will be working with Seattle area non-profit organizations that generally can’t afford to hire OD consultants to do the work they are requesting. These client organizations can range in size from very small to medium sized and from newly formed to well established in the community. Historically, CCP client organizations have been active in the areas of human services, community health, the environment, housing and shelter, youth and recreation, theatre and the arts.

What are the criteria for selection of Volunteer Consultants?
If you want to learn about or improve your organization development skills and are willing to commit to an intensive learning experience, we welcome you and will place you on a team. We are looking for people who can collaborate effectively with others; are open to giving and receiving feedback; will commit time to the team’s work; and who are tolerant of ambiguity and receptive to change.

Where do Volunteers come from & what are their backgrounds?
Our volunteers are often quite varied in their background, interests, and experience. There is often a good representation of graduate school students who have academic grounding in change theory and methods. There are others with very little experience. Some teams include veteran CCP participants—people who have been on one or more CCP teams in the past. The variation in participant backgrounds makes for a fair amount of diversity of opinion and can be an interesting, fun, and challenging part of your learning experience.

How do I sign up to be a volunteer?
Click on "Volunteer" and fill out the form on the bottom of that page or click here to go to the form now. Someone from CCP will email you on the status of present and future project dates. You will receive a telephone call a few weeks prior to start of the next cycle of projects to check your availability and answer questions you might have.

When can I be on a team?
Consulting projects generally start in February and again in September. Sign up on this site and we will contact you the next time a project is ready to begin.

Can I be a CCP Volunteer more than one time?
Yes, we have had and continue to welcome repeat volunteers.

How do you decide on team assignments?
Members of the CCP core group attempt to create a balance of experience and gender when distributing volunteers among the teams in any given cycle. They also take into consideration the geographical location of volunteers in an attempt to make getting together for team meeting more convenient.

How do you decide which Client Organization a volunteer works with?
Client assignments are not based on any particular criteria—it could be as simple as the geographic location of team members, senior consultant, and the client organization or simply a random assignment. The teams are formed first (see FAQ above) and then assigned to a senior and a client organization.

What are the Learning Community large group meetings all about?
There are five group meetings (in addition to meetings with your individual team) during the life of a project. One is the very first meeting you will attend as a volunteer (usually a weekday evening) and four are on Saturday mornings spaced three to four weeks apart during the project. These meetings include the volunteer consultants from all of the teams, the senior consultants, and, for the Saturday meetings, representatives from the client organizations. You will get oriented, interact with volunteers from the other teams, share experiences and stories, gain knowledge about the consulting process, see how clients are seeing the projects, and hear from all of the senior consultants.

What goes on in Volunteer Consultant team meetings?
Team meetings are where you and your teammates figure out what to do and how you are going to work together. You will be planning to meet with your client and how to start the project, coordinating the work on the project you agree to do, sorting out roles and relationships, and receiving guidance from your senior consultant.

What can I expect to get from my CCP experience?
You get: Saturday learning sessions, a CD packed with information and resources, mentoring, real world consulting experience, meeting new people while working on an important task, an opportunity to contribute to the community, and a fun time doing it.

How much does all this cost?
We ask each volunteer to contribute $25 to help cover expenses.