Administrative Support Roles

Example Roles

• Reception/Front Desk Assistant
• Administrative Assistant
• Data Entry / Database Management
• Program/Operations/Event Assistant
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Library Archiving Assistant

Skills that are a great fit

• Highly organized with strong attention to detail
• Comfortable with spreadsheets or databases
• Able to communicate via email & phone
• Reliable and demonstrate strong follow-through
• Able to manage tasks independently

Mary Hsu, Administrative Support Volunteer, Northwest African American Museum & Snohomish Early Learning Coalition

Mary Hsu, a retired legislative aide, says volunteering has always come naturally to her. Upon her retirement, she was looking for opportunities to continue leveraging her skills. Her first Companis placement was with the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM). While in her role, she said, “The museum gains my skills and experience but in return it’s extremely rewarding for me because I am learning so much about Black culture and arts and also about the museum and its role and mission in the community.” 

After Mary’s placement at NAAM, she was ready to continue serving her community and was placed with the Snohomish Early Learning Coalition (SELC), which advocates across Snohomish County for affordable child care & high-quality early learning opportunities for youth. She says, “When you volunteer, you tend to have a one-way view of the experience, as in ‘What can I bring to the nonprofit as a volunteer?’ But I’m looking at it this way: while I’m there, I’m getting the opportunity to learn new things while I still get to bring my best skills along. Staying curious and learning new things is exciting to me and sustains my service.”

Anamika Chakravarty, Legal Clinic Client Intake Coordinator, Sound Generations Senior Rights Assistance Legal Clinic

Anamika is a student at UW interested in law and public policy. She approached Companis with an interest in gaining exposure to the field of law while helping the community. Companis matched Anamika with the Senior Rights Assistance Legal Clinic operated by one of our nonprofit partners, Sound Generations. In her role, Anamika helped intake new clients and prepare them for legal consultations by collecting and organizing relevant legal documents, summarizing client needs, and preparing files prior for clinic attorneys. 

Nona Clifton, Volunteer Coordinator at MercyWatch

Longtime Companis supporter Nona Clifton was looking for an opportunity to leverage her operations & management experience while making a difference in her community. She was matched with MercyWatch, a nonprofit that provides street medicine & homeless outreach in south Snohomish County. As Volunteer Coordinator, Nona helped update volunteer engagement processes, recruit and onboard new volunteers to the organization, and ultimately expand the reach of MercyWatch’s outreach efforts with the support of a larger pool of engaged volunteers. 

Clare Stemmer, Collections & Archiving Volunteer, Edmonds Historical Museum

Clare was looking for a behind-the-scenes role where she could put her strong attention to detail and interest in history to good use for her community. Companis matched Clare with the Edmonds Historical Society, who approached Companis for help during a critical project that involved migrating the contents of their collection warehouse to a new location. Clare provided 8 hours per week of support for the project, working alongside their Collections Manager to complete a full inventory of their collection, including accessioning and deaccessioning items of their collection. Clare also helped digitize their document collection, a project that the museum and patrons had requested for many years. 

Joney Ritter De La Torre, Volunteer Coordinator at Heart Art Healing

After working for over 20 years at her family’s small business, Joney was looking for a people-oriented volunteer role to add meaning to her life. Companis introduced Joney to Heart Art Healing, which leads art therapy workshops aimed at providing a space for reflection, creative expression, and empowerment. Soon after, Joney began her volunteer placement focused on supporting art workshops and serving as a Volunteer Coordinator. 

“Cynthia is creating a Volunteer Coordinator position for me at Heart Art Healing. She is a rock star and it’s incredible how much she manages. I am happy to take a little off her plate! I have completed all the training and have assisted in two workshops so far. This month I am on the schedule to assist with three! I am on track to leading a workshop of my own someday. Loving the work, people, and community. Helping children express themselves and what they discover through the process, then present their unique perspective and creation, is the ultimate experience. Things are going great!” – Joney Ritter De La Torre

Darlene Conley, Client Services Support Volunteer at North Helpline

Darlene taught criminal justice at Seattle University, and was looking for opportunities to provide hands-on and administrative support to a local nonprofit. Companis introduced her to a role at North Helpline, a local food bank & homelessness prevention nonprofit. There, she volunteers two days a week answering phones at the front desk and supporting client service coordination.