IGHR Volunteers Needed

As IGHR 2026 is well underway, we are now planning for IGHR 2027 and we are hoping to add some enthusiastic and talented people to our IGHR Team.

Volunteering with IGHR isn’t just about giving back. It’s a chance to build real, transferable skills alongside experienced genealogists and researchers. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your tech skills, marketing know-how, or organizational experience, there’s a role here that lets you grow while supporting the genealogical community. We would love to have you as part of the IGHR team. Also see our Volunteers web page here: https://ighr.gagensociety.org/volunteers/ 

Current positions are listed below. Please fill out the IGHR Volunteer Sign-up Form here: https://forms.gle/v6JZ8n6orqjfDsw38 

IGHR Course Evaluations Coordinator

IGHR needs a volunteer to help us maintain course evaluations. We use Google Forms for the evaluation surveys–one for each lecture in each course and one for the overall course. The coordinator then compiles the information into reports to share with course coordinators, instructors, and the IGHR Executive Director. We are currently using reports generated with the help of Google Gemini. The approximate time per year needed for creating the evaluations is 10-15 hours and for compiling the results is 10-15 hours. Experience with Google Forms, spreadsheets/workbooks (Google Sheets), word processing, and Google Gemini would all be preferred, but some training is also available for these applications.

IGHR Social Media Coordinator

IGHR needs a volunteer to help us maintain our social media channels. IGHR has a Facebook page, and accounts on Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, and Spoutible. IGHR also has a MailChimp mailing list and a blog on the front page of the IGHR website. We frequently post longer text posts on the blog and mailing list, while shorter posts go on the social media accounts. Throughout the year there would be posts for reminders about registration deadlines, promotions for each of the IGHR courses, announcements for our scholarships, and other miscellaneous news for IGHR. Many of these posts can be created and scheduled ahead of time. Periodic checking of the threads on these posts is helpful to answer questions and help potential students with details. The approximate time involved is about 2 to 4 hours per month. Experience with creating posts for social media and monitoring such accounts is necessary. Some training will be available. This can be done by one person or two people working together as a team.

IGHR Shop Coordinator

IGHR needs a volunteer to help build and maintain our IGHR Shop web page (https://ighr.gagensociety.org/shop/). IGHR’s shop page has two functions: the Axomo store with IGHR branded items and the bibliography of course books available through Amazon under the IGHR affiliate account. The Axomo store would need to be reviewed and updated once or twice a year to make sure items are current. The Amazon bibliography is in the midst of being built. This involves locating books on Amazon, then creating affiliate links, and inserting them into the website. This part of the project will involve the time necessary to build out the bibliography. Once it is done it would require quarterly updates to add new items as they come up in course materials. Experience with web page editing in WordPress and with creating affiliate links would be great, but training is available.

IGHR Scholarship Coordinator

IGHR maintains two scholarships: The Frazine K. Taylor African American Research Scholarship and The Birdie Monk Holsclaw IGHR Scholarship (https://ighr.gagensociety.org/scholarships/). The Scholarship Coordinator will maintain spreadsheets to track the scholarship funds. They will write up posts for our social media channels to promote tax-deductible donations, applications for the scholarships, and to announce winners each year. Approximate time for this job is 10 hours per year. Experience with Google Sheets is helpful, but training is available.

IGHR Sponsorships and Advertising Coordinator

IGHR needs a volunteer to obtain sponsorships and advertising from genealogical vendors and institutions. These would appear on the IGHR website and in IGHR printed materials such as the syllabus and the Attendee Handbook. This is generally a once or twice a year task, often in the fall in order to have things ready for the following year of courses. Most of these requests would be done by email, with possible phone calls if necessary. Experience with obtaining such materials is preferred, but training is available.