Turn your list of jobs into a volunteer role sheet and a short appeal to members

Chris Rowbury, who has led non-auditioned community choirs for nearly 30 years, wrote in October 2024 that when a choir becomes a little more successful the admin can become overwhelming and increasingly time-consuming, and that the answer is to ask for help. The jobs he lists are practical ones: unlocking the room, collecting subs, keeping the register, concert box office, posters, interval refreshments, ticket sales and the social side. A role sheet gives each job a title, what it involves, how often, who it reports to and who checks it, so members can see exactly what they are being asked to take on. The AI writes the sheet and a short appeal from the list of jobs you give it. It never sees a member’s name. You decide which jobs go to volunteers, a named person decides which roles need any check or training because children or vulnerable adults are involved, and a role that touches money or the register has a second person looking at it.

An AI chat tool you already use

Steps

1. Write your own list of the jobs that someone else could do (for example setting out chairs, collecting subs, keeping the register, box office, posters, interval refreshments, social events). Add, for each, how often it comes up and whether it involves money, children or vulnerable adults.
2. Mark every job that involves money, the register or contact with children or vulnerable adults. Ask your safeguarding lead, or the committee if you have one, what checks or training each of those needs before anyone is asked. Do not ask an AI tool.
3. Run the prompt below with its brackets left as they are. Do not type a member name or contact into the AI tool. You get back a one-page role sheet layout and a short appeal.
4. Fill in the blanks in your own document, then read each role against your own list. Cut any role you do not want to hand over.
5. Send the appeal to the list yourself, and keep the names of people who offer in your own records. Agree with each volunteer in writing what they will and will not do.
6. After a term, ask each volunteer what is working and change the sheet.

The exact prompt

Write two things for the leader of a UK community choir.
1. A one-page volunteer role sheet layout. For each of these jobs, [JOB 1], [JOB 2], [JOB 3], [JOB 4], [JOB 5], give a role title in a light-hearted but clear style, then headings: what the job involves ([DESCRIPTION BY THE LEADER]), how often ([FREQUENCY]), reports to ([ROLE]), checked by ([ROLE]), needs checks or training before starting ([TO BE DECIDED BY THE SAFEGUARDING LEAD OR COMMITTEE]). Do not say what checks or training are needed for any job.
2. A short appeal of under 120 words from the leader to members of [CHOIR NAME] asking for volunteers for those roles, saying who to contact ([ROLE OR CHOIR EMAIL]) and by when ([DATE]). Do not name any member and do not promise anything in return.
RULES FOR THIS CHAT: I will give you only my own choir wording, headings and dates that I have typed in. I will not give you, and you must not ask for, any singer, child, parent, volunteer, committee member, accompanist or venue name, email address, phone number or address, any health, medical, access or safeguarding detail, any bank or payment detail, any fee or subscription amount, any lyrics or music, or any licence number. Use the blanks in square brackets exactly as I give them. Do not invent dates, places, times, prices, terms, music titles, or facts about any person, venue or licence, and do not say what is standard, usual, owed or legal. Do not give legal, copyright, licensing, safeguarding, data protection, tax or accounting advice, do not copy, arrange or transcribe any music or lyrics, and do not do any arithmetic: leave calculation cells empty. Where something is missing write [FOR THE LEADER TO COMPLETE]. Everything you write is a draft that a named person will check before anything is sent.