Volunteer
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to the protection of wildlife. We have more than 500 members but many do not have the time to volunteer. Our current volunteers are super dedicated and work hard at their particular areas of expertise, but we definitely could use more help to lighten their loads.
Here are the volunteer opportunities available to our members. If you aren’t currently a member, we urge you to first join CCFW. Annual membership starts at only $20 and that fee is waived for students. Then you can use the form below or the membership form to let us know how you wish contribute your time.
Get Involved
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Get Connected through Point
To coordinate volunteer opportunities we now use a third party tool called Point. To sign up to volunteer for a specific CCFW event, go to https://pointapp.org/orgs/2580 or download the POINT app to your phone. Once you register, you can search for our events by organization, Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.
Task Descriptions
Burrow Maintenance
Volunteers clean, GPS, and check issues that involve Burrowing Owls (BO) and Gopher Tortoises (GT) or other protected species. Tasks include making and distributing PVC and other materials needed, coordinating maps for volunteers, cleaning owl and gopher tortoise burrows, keeping a record of all burrows marked on vacant lots, working with the city to stake and record new burrows, and recognizing homeowners with certificates of appreciation. Estimated time commitment varies based on tasks.
Butterfly House
In need of people willing to work outside doing trimming, weed pulling, potting, and caterpillar care. Volunteers will be educated on butterflies and plants to communicate effectively with visitors. The Butterfly House is open every Monday, Friday, and Saturday year-round. The schedule varies, and volunteers can contact us for more information. Estimated time commitment varies based on availability.
Education & Outreach
Contact groups in Cape Coral (schools, service organizations, etc.) to make presentations. Create letters of contact and maintain a database. Estimated time commitment varies based on outreach efforts.
Fundraising
Involves creating different programs to raise funds other than the Burrowing Owl Festival. Estimated time commitment varies based on fundraising activities.
Grant Writing
Responsibilities include reviewing past grants, creating a database of grants, creating document templates, drafting answers to grant questions, presenting the status of ongoing grants to the Board of Directors, and following up on grant statuses. Requires attention to detail, strong writing skills, and knowledge of organizational goals. Estimated time commitment is significant, possibly several hours per week.
Membership Tracking
Volunteers track new or renewing members by entering their contact and payment information, as well as their areas of interest, into an Excel worksheet. The updated sheet is published on the website. Previous experience with Excel is helpful but not required. Training is available, and estimated time commitment is 1 to 2 hours a week.
Merchandise
Volunteers help with checking in and pricing merchandise. Tasks also include assisting with sales during events like plant sales and the owl festival. Training is provided for using the “Square” for sales. The schedule depends on events and merchandise arrivals. Estimated time commitment varies based on events and merchandise flow.
Purple Martin Monitoring
Involves monitoring purple martin nesting sites, cleaning gourds once a year, and weekly monitoring from February to July. Estimated time commitment is about 30 minutes per week during monitoring season.
Web Page Maintenance
Volunteers will add and delete news stories and photos to the web page as directed by the President. The volunteer will coordinate with the out-sourced professional webmaster to execute web page changes at the direction of the board. Previous experience with WordPress or other web page programs is helpful but not required. Training is available for any aspects the volunteer is not currently proficient in. Estimated time commitment is 2 to 3 hours a week.