GET INVOLVED

VOLUNTEER

WITH WPFW

WPFW has always been built by its community. Every programmer, donor organizer, and board member is a volunteer. This station runs on passion — and there's always room for more.

People dancing and socializing indoors near a brick wall and large windows, with some sitting and others standing or dancing.

GETTING STARTED

ORIENTATION & TRAINING

All new volunteers attend a 2-hour Station Orientation held the first Thursday of each month at 6:30pm online. Orientation covers station history, community values, ways to get involved.

Role-specific training follows over the subsequent two to four weeks, pairing new volunteers with experienced mentors. We believe in learning by doing — and doing it right.

You’ll receive an invite after filling out the Volunteer Application form below.

—Orientation: First Thursday of each month, 6:30 - 8:30pm

—Location: Over Zoom

—Required: Signed volunteer agreement

—Questions: volunteers@wpfw.org

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

Name
Address
Emergency contact Somebody we can call if anything happens while you are volunteering.
Based on our current needs, where do you feel called to serve? Check all that apply.
Read the WPFW Volunteer Agreement

WPFW 89.3 FM Volunteer Agreement & Confidentiality Form

Welcome to the Movement

Thank you for bringing your time and talent to WPFW. As a volunteer, you're the station's lifeline. This agreement helps us work together clearly and safely.

1. Our Shared Mission

By volunteering, you agree to support WPFW's mission to provide an accessible media outlet for marginalized communities and to amplify movements for social, racial, and economic justice, and to uphold our Community Agreements (below).

2. Volunteer Status (Not an Employee)

  • Gift relationship: you're here for charitable and humanitarian reasons, not pay or wages.
  • At-will: either you or WPFW can end this at any time, for any reason, without notice.
  • Expenses: WPFW reimburses only pre-approved, out-of-pocket expenses with valid receipts.

3. Your Responsibilities

  • Assigned tasks: perform your duties to the best of your ability and follow staff instructions.
  • Safety: follow all station protocols, including drug and alcohol policies.
  • Intellectual property: work you create as part of your volunteer duties belongs to WPFW.

4. Confidentiality Agreement

You may see or hear Confidential Information — listener/donor names, phone numbers, giving history, financial records, station strategy. By signing, you agree to keep it secret, use it only for WPFW work, protect your passwords and any sensitive files, and return all station property and delete station data from personal devices when you stop volunteering.

5. Agreement

I have read this agreement and understand my role. I agree to protect WPFW's confidential information and support our mission of Jazz and Justice.

Community Agreements

Community agreements aren't handed down — they're built by everyone in the room, together, as a consensus on what we each need to feel safe, supported, and trusted. That's what keeps the responsibility for this space from resting on just a few shoulders.

  • A shared culture of care: a station where everyone can collaborate and create freely.
  • Stewardship of the airwaves: the airwaves are a shared treasure. Volunteering doesn't grant ownership of a show, role, or responsibility — we prioritize what serves the station and the community.
  • On conflict and accountability: we approach conflict with care, looking for root causes and solutions that support everyone's growth.
  • Music as heartbeat: we celebrate Jazz, born of the African-American experience, alongside the full range of music that gives our station its life.
  • A better world: we center the music, stories, and voices of communities mainstream media leaves out.

STEWARDS OF
THE SIGNAL

THE ROLE OF THE LSB

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Learn more

The Local Station Board plays a vital role in sustaining and strengthening WPFW's connection to its community — guiding the outreach and fundraising efforts that keep listener-supported programming alive on the air.

As stewards of local priorities, board members organize and promote events, build partnerships with neighborhood organizations across the District, and ensure that programming reflects the diverse voices and needs of our communities — from Takoma to Anacostia.

Their fundraising work — from supporting pledge drives to cultivating donor relationships and securing grants — provides the financial backbone that allows WPFW to operate independently and maintain a high standard of public service, free of corporate editorial pressure.

By balancing accountability to listeners with proactive community engagement, the Local Station Board helps preserve WPFW as a resilient, locally rooted cultural resource — one that has served Washington, DC for nearly five decades.

"The LSB is where the listener becomes a stakeholder. We don't just tune in — we organize."

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