XY is delighted to accept the help of volunteers. We need people to do all sorts of things. We’re happy to name your contribution too, by listing you among the volunteers and supporters on the XY site, or to keep your contribution anonymous.
The following are some of the things which need doing. Of course, we’d welcome any further ideas you’ve got.
Writing and blogging
XY always is keen to publish new content. If you are interested in writing pieces for XY, please see the “Publish” page for more detail.
One type of content we would love to see more of is fact sheets focused on particular issues, summarising the research and the data. For example, I would love to see a fact sheet summarising various studies on the extent of men’s support for feminism - I can provide the studies, and you could then summarise them.
Expanding the content
XY includes “XY collections” on various issues. One project I have had in mind for some time is to compile a list of documentary films and videos on gender and violence, to complement or extend the XY collection of films on men and masculinities. I have a folder of such items, but would love for someone to organise this into a well-organised list for XY.
Maintaining the XY links page
The XY links page includes over 600 links. One of the tasks in maintaining XY is to keep this list up to date and to expand it. To keep the list up to date, you can (a) run the links page through a ‘links checker’, and then manually check the ones which come up as problematic, or (b) work your way through particular sections, checking that each link goes to the correct site.
The links page also needs updating to reflect contemporary organisations and campaigns. We are very happy to take suggestions for websites to include.
Liaise with Michael regarding updating the links text.
Promoting the site on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
People are needed to administer and contribute to XY's Facebook page. So you might volunteer to take or share responsibility for XY-related activities on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere.
You could post regular items on one or more of these social media sites on XY’s content or resources.
Promoting the site in other networks, forums, lists, and sites
XY is one of the most widely linked-to sites on men and gender in the world. But there are always sites, lists, and other forums where it could be linked from. So the job here is to write to other websites and ask that they include a link to XY. So, this task involves wandering through related websites and checking that they link to XY. If they don’t, then write a nice note asking if they can.
Soliciting new content or reprinting existing content
XY is always after new content. There are two ways in which you can solicit new content:
- Find existing pieces published elsewhere to reprint on the XY site.
- Invite potential authors to contribute their material to XY.
If you are soliciting content, please read the “Publish” section of the XY site. Note for example that copyright stays with the author.
XY also is after graphics: photos, cartoons, and so on. So if you come across images which could be used on XY for example on photo-sharing sites, in an exhibition, or somewhere else, then you could contact the artist and ask their permission to reproduce the image(s) on XY. Note that images on XY can be captioned, and can include a link to the artist's own site.
The following is sample text for use in writing to authors or artists.
Dear
I am writing to ask if we can reprint your article [DETAILS] on the website XY. XY (http://www.xyonline.net/) is one of the foremost profeminist websites in the world. It has a comprehensive collection of articles and resources on men and gender issues, and a thorough resource of links to other key sites and publications. We would love to add your piece to the collection.
We would of course acknowledge its source and, if appropriate, provide a link to your site.
Please note that XY is not-for-profit and run entirely by volunteers.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Soliciting advertising, sponsorship, and fund-raising from appropriate organisations and bodies
As you know, XY is run entirely by volunteers. However, XY does involve financial costs. So, another crucial task is to raise money for XY. There are several obvious ways in which to do this:
- Solicit advertising for the site. XY will accept advertising from institutions and services with principles similar to its own, on a case-by-case basis.
- Solicit sponsorship.
- Organise a fund-raiser
This is one of the least well-developed areas of XY. So one of the first tasks here is to actually identify some rates for advertising. And to identify how XY might accept sponsorship: an ad or logo on the front page, or what?
If you’re interested in doing some fund-raising, please contact us and we can talk about ideas and strategies.