Volunteering
Apply to Volunteer
You will need a registration account to apply. The earlier you sign up, the more times and tasks are available for you to ask for!
Please note you must be 18 years or older to volunteer.
Open Meetings
Open meetings are designed for new people to interact with planning staff, make suggestions, and participate in discussions. They’re usually held at 6PM (Pacific time) on the third Friday each month through Discord, or at the GSR (the room varies). Online participation is encouraged and appreciated via a YouTube Audio Stream.
Meeting attendance is not a requirement to be part of Staff/Volunteer, though it’s strongly encouraged to at least read the agendas to stay up to date with the convention.
Volunteer Guidebook
The volunteer guidebook contains a lot of useful information, and helpful instructions on how certain tasks are done. It’s a living document, so reference it often for the most up-to-date information.
Consider making a copy of the volunteer guidebook on your phone on Sunday or Monday of the convention, in case internet access becomes unreliable (which it often does, with so many people using it).
Rewards
Recruit
Recruits are unproven people we haven’t worked with yet. If we don’t know you yet, you will be a Recruit for at least a year while you prove your reliability.
When you sign up, we will build your schedule around the hours you’re willing to volunteer. If we run short on people outside your scheduled times, you may get a phone call or Telegram/Slack message asking for help.
4 Hours
- Love and Adoration
- A special thank-you gift
- Three meal vouchers
8 Hours
- Three more meal vouchers
- Guaranteed access to hotel booking for BLFC 2024
- 25% discount at the BLFC Con Store
12 Hours
- A refund of your attendee level badge (post-con), OR
- Access to the Thursday night Staff Appreciation Dinner (See the Volunteer Desk to select this)
Over 12 Hours
- Nothing. This is to discourage recruits from overworking themselves and missing the con.
Staff
Staff are people we know well enough to rely on. For Staff, the success of the convention comes first. Staff have previously proven commitment to their schedule. Staff committing to the 12+ hour level are called upon to fill unexpected schedule gaps, to “do whatever it takes.”
Staff must apply and be approved before the con, must be known to be reliable, and are usually either people we’ve worked with before, or well-established staff members from other conventions.
Staff members don’t have to be leads (though leads do have to be staff).
8 Hours
- Love and Adoration
- Guaranteed access to hotel booking for BLFC 2024
- Priority for the noisy floor (4th floor)
- A special thank-you gift
- A free attendee-level badge
- Six meal vouchers
- Discounted Sponsor/Patron/Epic registration (you always get the early bird price)
- Immediate access to Dealers Den right when it opens - no waiting in line
- 25% discount at the BLFC Con Store
- Access to the Thursday night Staff Appreciation Dinner
12 Hours
- One night removed from your Hotel bill (See Hotel Reward for more info)
- Priority for the Staff floor (3rd floor)*
16 Hours
- Badge upgraded to Sponsor level. (or a refund of that level)
20+ Hours
- Badge upgraded to Patron level. (or a refund of that level)
* While the Quiet floor has been renamed to the Staff floor, it is still requested that noise is kept to a dull roar, and room parties are not allowed.
Hotel Reward
In order to receive this reward, you must do all of the following:
- You must qualify as a staff member; this reward is not available to recruits.
- You must be approved as a staff member pre-con; at-con upgrades are not eligible.
- You must submit your Volunteer Application at least one month before the convention.
- Your legal name must be listed on the hotel booking as a Primary or Additional Guest.
- The name listed on the hotel booking must match the name on your BLFC registration exactly.
- The hotel room receiving the credit must be in the BLFC room block, and cannot have been booked through a casino offer or through a third-party (Expedia, etc).
Ex: “Mike” on the hotel booking and “Michael” on your registration will result in the discount not being applied.
If multiple staff members are in the same room, we will stack the earned benefits onto that same room (up to 4 per room per fire code). This reward applies to regular booked rooms, and does not apply to upgraded rooms, like suites. Suites will be handled manually in a manner we expect to be equivalent.
Prior Meetings
The archive of prior agendas is available here on Google Drive. Each meeting agenda has that meeting’s minutes attached at the end.
Task Descriptions
Below are brief descriptions of the different departments. These are the typical things you may be asked to do, but you don’t necessarily have to do everything listed. If you don’t feel comfortable performing a particular task, please be sure to inform your lead. If you’re not sure what a task entails, this may help you decide what departments you’re interested in. Note: all departments are responsible for their own setup and teardown.
Operations
Operate lost and found. Direct requests and incidents to the appropriate team. Answer attendee questions. Strong customer service skills and computer skills are preferred. (NDA Required)
Panels
Create and maintain a panel schedule, and maintain contact with panel hosts. Assist panel hosts with equipment and room needs. (NDA required for some roles)
Gophers
General short-term tasks. Wait at the volunteer desk until short-term help is needed. This task is great for people who like to be on their feet and flexible, and is our most important team.
Fursuit Lounge*
Keep the lounges clean and stocked. Watch lounge users for signs of overheating.
Registration
Most attendees’ first interaction with the convention. Accept payments, process registrations, and print badges. Help attendees use the registration system. Hand out swag. Cashier for charity events. Cash handling experience preferred. (NDA Required)
Crowd Control*
Manage lines/queues and help direct foot traffic for events. Monitor elevator traffic for potential issues.
Con Store
You will be tasked with helping the convention store operate during the convention. Working in this department you will be selling prior and this year’s convention swag, you must be able to perform any of the following tasks: stock and display merchandise, set up store displays, take and gather orders, accept payments for items using Square Register and cash.
Dealers Den
Maintain Dealers Den. Assist dealers as needed. Line management. Assist dealers with filling out sales tax paperwork. (NDA Required)
Art Gallery
Assisting artists with placement of pieces, badge and bag checking, security (copyright infringement, no photography, etc), data input, making bid stickers/replacement bid sheets, gathering auction wins at close, cashiering for winning bids.
Decorating
Design and construct decorations. Set up those decorations at-con and remove them at the end of the event.
Con Book
Solicit for content. Contact other conventions to seek out ad trades. Prepare final con book content at least 6 weeks prior to convention. Also prepare the printed event schedule. Requires experience with designing for printed media.
Social Media
Keep abreast of social media. Communicate news, announcements and policies. Provide information and answers to questions received; direct questions to the appropriate people if necessary.
Website
Design and maintain the convention website. Work with other departments to keep website content up to date. Develop, maintain and secure the con’s online systems. (NDA required)
Logistics*
You’re the muscle. Load equipment in and out of convention. Assist with equipment setup. This task is good for people who can be present Sunday and Friday, but want to enjoy the rest of the con.
Video Gaming
Maintain the video game room. Operate equipment checkout. Help run tournaments. Swap games in consoles when requested. Secure the room when not staffed.
Tabletop Gaming
Maintain the tabletop game room. Operate game checkout. Help run tournaments. Secure the games when not staffed.
Audio-Video
Carefully follow instructions from experienced people. Operate equipment. Make flashy lights go blinky blinky and make subwoofers vibrate people more than a case of Red Bull.
Safety (FLARE)*
Stay polite. Manage crowds. Manage queues. Address minor medical issues. Patrol for and report unsafe behavior. (NDA Required)
Volunteer Manager*
Assist volunteers with questions and picking up badges. Manage and dispatch gophers. Monitor the health and safety of volunteers. (NDA Required)
Photography
Coordinate with other photographers, mostly the amateur fandom photographers. Maintain the convention’s presence on various photo websites. Operate the charity photo booth.
Hotel Relations
Plan convention layout. Reconcile event schedule against hotel room-turn schedule. Manage special room bookings (such as party/quiet floors). (NDA Required)
Charity
Plan new events to bring in money for charity. Operate a charity auction on Sunday. Provide donation-handling support to charity events if needed.
Party Maven*
Manage the Party Floor. Provide assistance to party hosts. Ensure party hosts are enforcing age and ID restrictions. Operate a recovery room where partygoers can relax and rehydrate.
Dance
Review incoming auditions from DJs. Choose acts for the year and create the dance schedule. Monitor dances. You may need to stay up all night for Dance Till Dawn.
Information Technology
Manage, configure and maintain electronic equipment owned by the convention. Continually research new technical tools and processes that facilitate smooth operations across all departments.
* Department is considered safety-sensitive and may operate under different policies. See the Volunteer Guidebook for more information.
Contact Us
If you have any additional questions or would like clarification, please feel free to contact us.