VOLUNTEER
VOLUNTEERS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
CONTRIBUTING TO LOCAL FOOD BUSINESS SUCCESS
Our success is due in large part to the significant contributions made by our volunteers. These industry and business experts generously donate their time to entrepreneurs, providing them with invaluable experience-driven insights and knowledge. Each volunteer starts as an Advisor for our Members, but many also serve as Instructors for learning sessions and/or panel discussions. Our terrific cohort program Mentors come from this deep bench of Advisors as well.
TWO MONTH PROGRAM
VOLUNTEER OPTIONS
We’ve created a variety of ways that you can volunteer your time and expertise to support GFA Members.
Every GFA volunteer is an Advisor. These experts are available on an ad-hoc basis to provide counsel to Members, typically through 30- or 60-minute phone calls that focus on a specific challenge the Member is facing. These call requests could occur up to 5 times a year and fully depend on the needs of our Members.
GFA’s cohort program Instructors provide approximately 1 hour of content focusing on a specific topic/subject. They might also provide instruction for an hour-long learning session or panel discussions. The key is that you’re engaging with groups of Members who will benefit from your specific expertise.
Mentors are assigned one-on-one with one of our G2M or A4G cohort program participants. Mentoring typically requires a commitment of 30 minutes/week for the duration of the course (2 or 4 months, depending on the program), as well as monthly mentor collaboration calls.
IMPACTING BUSINESSES AND OUR COMMUNITY
WHY IT MATTERS
It’s no surprise that many of our Volunteers have been with us over long periods of time. They see the direct impact they have on GFA Members and their success and are excited to be part of the entrepreneurial journey.
For many of our Members, our Volunteers provide access to the kind of experience, information and connections that isn’t always accessible, especially in underserved and underrepresented communities. By bringing their expert knowledge to everyone, the impact of our Volunteers goes beyond our industry – they impact our city and its communities.
RECOGNITION AND CELEBRATION
AND MORE…
GFA celebrates our Volunteers at events such as the Taste of GFA (returning in 2023), cohort graduations and networking events. Creating connection between our Volunteers is also important and we’re always happy to connect them so they also benefit from our broad network of experts.
Each year, we recognize one Volunteer with our “Above and Beyond” Award. Recent winners of this award include Joel Warady and Patrick Nycz
BECOME A VOLUNTEER
Just fill out the application and send it to us. We’ll add your name to our Advisor database and will be in touch when a Member requests help or when we’re planning our programs and activities.
In the meantime, we’ll add you to our mailing list for the GFA newsletter and other important program updates!