Volunteers
Out in the Desert could not exist without volunteers who help us produce our events. When you volunteer for Out in the Desert, you will have fun, meet new people and support a fabulous non-profit LGBT agency.
We have volunteer shifts that fit almost any schedule and any physical ability. At events, we need volunteers to help usher, assist with setup and breakdown, staff the will call and membership tables, greet guests at festival events and more.
In addition to volunteering at events, we have various needs for volunteers behind the scenes- helping with administrative stuff, creating trailers, logging films and selling advertising, to name a few.
Volunteer Positions and Internships
Volunteer positions are unpaid, but are an excellent opportunity to gain valuable job experience that can be added to your resumé- better qualifying you for a position in the film industry and/or with the LGBT community. Students may also be able to receive credit as an internship and should check with advisors or department chairs for procedures and requirements. Volunteers may also receive a festival pass, tickets or even a membership, as well as festival merchandise.
As we enter our 1st Season, Out in the Desert has many volunteer opportunities! These positions vary in the time commitment required, but all will help us achieve our goal of becoming a powerhouse in the International LGBT Film Festival Circuit!
Volunteer Positions are Organized by
Year-long Positions (Festival-to-Festival)
Special Events Positions
Festival and Monthly Screening Positions
Benefits of Volunteering
- Out in the Desert T-Shirt
- Invitations to Advance and Special Screenings
- Entrance to Festival Films and Parties
How to Apply
- Click here to apply online
- Click here to email using our Contact Form
- Call us at 520-207-8358
Year-Long Positions
For our most dedicated volunteers, we have created the following positions. These volunteers will help the Out in the Desert Director and Steering Committee implement year-long programs and initiatives, be invited to attend Director and Steering Committee meetings and learn the inner workings of nonprofit film festivals!
Each Volunteer or Intern will be assigned a Committee member to report to and work with.
Administrative Assistant
Does the thought of a properly programmed, structured, and coded database make you excited in a way others would find inappropriate? We need you to help keep the Out in the Desert agency an organized, well-oiled machine.
Grant Writer
Put that undergraduate degree in English to good use! Work with the Out in the Desert Director to research, apply, and report on grants that will bring in financial support to Out in the Desert’s core programs.
Graphic Design Assistant
Use those creative juices of yours to assist the designer in the creation of the overall festival theme, compelling monthly screening posters, logos and banners as needed for the organization.
Guest Services Coordinator
You are a prudent people pleaser. You try to ensure that everyone has what they need, and that they’re having a great time. That’s why you’re coordinating all the guests, filmmakers, and sponsors. Because you’re GOOD like that.
Hospitality Coordinator
People are always saying that you’re the hostess-with-the-mostest. Put that accommodating smile and sense of goodwill to use welcoming Out in the Desert’s guests to Tucson. Match them with the finest of hotels, host homes, festival buddies and serve as the ultimate travel liaison.
Host Homes
Do you have a Fantastic Home? And don’t mind guests? Though some filmmakers/actors will be able to be put up in hotels, we cannot supply accommodations for everyone. If you have a home, condo or apartment that is just FABULOUS with one or more fantastic guest rooms, and are willing to have an artist stay with you, it would be greatly appreciated! (Private rooms only please.)
Festival Buddies
Do you like meeting new people? Are you friends with everyone? Do you know Tucson well? Then why not be a Festival Buddy to some of our incoming guests? This includes picking them up from the airport, getting them to their hotel or host home, showing them around town and then getting them to the Theater on time. (What a better way to meet a Director or Actor!)
Marketing Representative
Develop the strategy, concepts, and angles used to solicit advertising dollars from major companies. While wining and dining corporate media buyers isn’t necessary, it couldn’t hurt. We want you at the table telling them why Out in the Desert will give them the most advertising bang for their bucks (hopefully lots of their bucks.)
General Distribution
So you like to get around? You know all the Hot Spots in the LGBT Community? Well then we need you! Our print schedule and other promotional material outlining all of our films and events will be available at different times of the year. When we have stuff, we will need to have it distributed to bars, clubs, movie theaters, coffee shops and anywhere else in the city and suburbs that gay and lesbian film lovers may be. We need volunteers to go to locations to drop off the materials and hang posters.
Media Production Supervisor
You’ve got an eye for what looks good on screen – no matter how big that screen is. Work with other creative professionals to capture Out in the Desert in all media formats, and use that look and feel to promote the festival to the world.
Membership Representative
Promote the virtues and benefits of joining Southwest LGBT Film Society to your friends, family, coworkers and even complete strangers! Help us reach our goal of 100 memberships for 2012.
New Media Advisor
You don’t keep up with trends, they keep up with you. Be the eyes, ears and voice for what’s new/now/next in LGBT cinema and art. Then put it on all of our social networks… and we mean ALL.
Community Criers
If you like to talk and text well then we have the job for you! Help spread the word about Out in the Desert and The Southwest LGBT Film Society – be just like the town criers of the 1700s, but in the new high-tech world of 2011. Tell everyone about our events, films, and parties however you want – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, phone calls, email, etc. You can even carry a bell around town if you want or wear a sandwich board!
Public Relations Advisor
Develop the strategy, concepts, and angles used to promote Out in the Desert as well as The Southwest LGBT Film Society programs and mission in Tucson, the State of Arizona and around the world. Craft the messages needed to make Out in the Desert an international powerhouse of LGBT film festivals.
Special Events Planner
“Fabulous F***ing Parties” is your middle name. Which is why you’re the one planning the most outrageous events Tucson has ever seen. Do it up big for the Centerpiece Party and plan some Out in the Desert outings, special events and fundraisers. Go on, be a diva. Create MAGIC.
Sponsorship Representative
You walk and talk business. That’s why you’re the one helping to develop Out in the Desert’s strategy for reaching out to companies locally and nationally to solicit their sponsorship dollars for the Film Festival and other programs.
Volunteer Assistant
Find fun and innovative ways to recruit volunteers for Out in the Desert. Whether they are long-term volunteers, or just want to help with the festival, every volunteer is important! We need you to help us find people as crazy about LGBT cinema and art as we are, then get them to help out. You also help our Volunteer Chair manage volunteers at events and screenings.
Special Events Positions
For those volunteers who love to party and help raise funds, we have created these positions.
All volunteers will work in shifts and receive free general entry to enjoy the remainder of the event they have volunteered for.
Day-Of Volunteers
Day-Of Volunteers are the most important asset to an Event. We would love to have your help setting up, checking in guests, assisting the hosts, and be on-hand to ensure the event runs smoothly.
Logistics Committee
This is the perfect position for someone familiar with events. You will be responsible for helping the Event Chair or Co-Chair supervise operations on the day of the event like deliveries, event set up, not to mention actually being a go-to person at the event for press and others to find and gain access to special guests.
Marketing Assistant
Help get the word out about this exciting event through any and all marketing tactics possible.
Event Raffle/Silent Auction Committee Member
Be a member of a group of go-getters to help Out in the Desert raise additional funds by obtaining exciting Event raffle prizes / Silent Auction items from local and national businesses.
Festival and Monthly Screening Positions
For those volunteers who can’t get enough of the festival magic, we have created the following positions. These volunteers will help the Out in the Desert Director and Steering Committee ensure that the 6-day Festival in February 2012, as well as our monthly screening programs, run like the well-oiled machine our audience expects!
Theatre Manager
To you, there’s no better vacation than running an international film festival or Monthly Screenings program. From making sure films start on time, to managing volunteers, and handling all the little emergencies, you’re totally at home with a clip board. You are the one that makes the festival magic happen and happen smoothly.
Print Traffic Coordinator
Don’t you just love those sexy delivery truck driver uniforms? Imagine getting to work side by side with these hotties, while also tracking the comings and goings of the festival films. You’ll deal directly with filmmakers, film studios and other film festivals.
Box Office Attendants (2 per shift)
Only you decide who gets a ticket (well, not only you, but you can tell people you’re the one that gets to make all the decisions). You’ll get to make everyone’s day as they scramble for the last-minute tickets.
Guest Services Attendant(s) (1-2 per shift)
You can’t help but be helpful. That’s why we want you at the Festival and Screening Guest Service’s table. Whether it’s helping filmmakers find their way, selling passes or memberships, as well as merchandise to anxious audience members, you’ve got it all covered and can multi-task with the best of them.
Theatre Attendants (Ushers) (2-3 per shift)
Be the audience’s tour guide from the time they enter our theatres to the time the credits roll. Help them to their seats, give them their program and film ballot, watch the movies with them (making sure everything looks and sounds good), and make sure they fill out their ballots. Did we mention that you get to watch the movies for FREE?
Gift Bag Stuffers
Do you like checking Stuff out? Well this is for you! See what our Sponsors are giving our audience. A few days before the festival, we need volunteers to come and pack gift bags for our opening night festivities. This is a one evening project and refreshments will be served.
Host / Hostess
You’re that very special person – the one in the spot light. You welcome the audience, tell them a few important pieces of information, introduce filmmakers and crew, as well as local business people, and then you stay in the theater to make sure everything goes well. At the end of the film, if there is a Q&A, you see that it runs smoothly and on time. That’s right, you get to see the film for FREE! You need to be at the theater 30 minutes before your shift begins.
Ticket Taker
You’re the person at the theater or party door that takes the tickets, makes sure they are the correct ones, and that no one gets in without one. You also assist by checking on the number of available seats if it looks like a sell out. Once the film starts, you’re welcome to join the audience and watch the film for FREE. You need to be at the theater 30 minutes before your shift begins.