Project Custodian Responsibilities

A project custodian(s) owns a project and is the primary contact person for both the project and Asha.

The part played by a project custodian is the most rewarding and also the most critical in functioning of Asha. In any case it is certainly a wonderful learning experience for the volunteer who takes up this role.

The present custodians and the projects group of Asha NYC/NJ have come up with the following list of responsibilities of a project custodian:

Must dos:

For the project:

• Keep in constant contact with the project in order to: (Expected to contact the project atleast once a month by phone/email/snail mail/site visit/etc and update the group of the same.)
  • understand the issues being faced by the project
  • understand the general social context and the social problems that the project is trying to address.
  The interaction is much further than their need for funds and how they are expected to use them.
• The custodian is required to visit the project at some point of time. If not the first year then over the next three years. If possible stay at the project for a day or two rather than a few hrs visit.
• Ensure that funds are sent out to the projects in a timely manner.
• Requirements of project change with time, so keep the proposal up to date.
• If you are about to move and the project is going to stay with the chapter, ensure that a volunteer at the chapter takes up custodianship of the project. Introduce the custodian to the coordinators of project so that the project does not suffer due to lack of communication.

For the Chapter:

• Attend the project meetings (two hours in a month) and give updates to the chapter about the project.
• Maintain the project web page and keep it up to date with the help of the projects webmaster: skumar@cs.princeton.edu This includes:
  • Updating the information obtained about the project in a monthly call or correspondence.
  • Answering any questions asked in the FAQ of the project, getting back to the project if the answer is not known off hand.
• Prepare/Maintain the project posters for the project and be able to present it at fundraising events. (Or have volunteers aware of the project so they can present the project to the chapter).
• Make sure that they work with the person coordinating site visits to make sure that their project is site visited atleast once in a year.
• Have the project give the six monthly reports and get feedback from them on how Asha is doing.

Can do:

• Keep the projects coordinator updated, if they are not available to answer questions about the project, so that he can fill in for them.
• Custodians can join asha-projects and other asha yahoogroups what help them network and learn about how they can improve their projects, funding schemes that can be utilized, etc.
• Merchandise - check if there are products we can sell here. This helps projects get a step closer to self sufficiency.

Wish list:

• Keep refining this page with the experience from the interaction with your project.