MGV Project Leader Information

Project leaders play a crucial role in the community service efforts of Master Gardener Volunteers. We are providing these resources to support project leaders in establishing and maintaining successful, sustainable volunteer projects.

Topic Index:

What is an “Approved Master Gardener Volunteer Project”?
Who is a “Project Leader”?
Annual Project Enrollment
How to retrieve your login PIN
Writing an Effective Project and Volunteer Information Description
Reporting Project Impacts
Writing a Success Story
Project Leader Dashboard
Useful Contacts
UMaine Extension Resources for Your Project
Appendix 1: Project Enrollment and Impact Reporting
- Download printable PDF of enrollment guide.
Appendix 2: Produce Donation Tracking Sheet
Appendix 3: Outreach Tracking Sheet

What is an “Approved Master Gardener Volunteer Project”?

In order to qualify for Master Gardener Volunteers to earn volunteer hours towards their yearly requirement, projects must be approved by a UMaine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator. As part of the approval process, the Coordinator will assess if the project aligns with the program’s mission and focus areas, and addresses a local community need. Additionally, they will work with project leaders and partners to assess risk and safety issues.

Master Gardener Volunteer Mission: Foster sustainable gardening practices and enrich the lives of our Master Gardener Volunteers by educating and mentoring gardeners in the community through opportunities to learn, connect with other gardeners, and support community service projects.

Focus areas:

Food Security/Maine Harvest for Hunger
Youth and School Garden Programs
Ecological Landscapes/Sustainable Gardening
Educational Programming (i.e., adult ed/presentations, community events)
Accessibility/Therapeutic Gardening

Who is a “Project Leader”?

A project leader can be a Master Gardener Volunteer, an employee of a partner organization or really anyone!

The project leader is:

The point of contact for Extension, Community partners and volunteers about a project
Responsible for tracking and reporting impacts to Extension
Responsible for enrolling project annually
Responsible for communication with volunteers
Responsible for annual sign-offs (as part of project enrollment)
The person who will assess safety and risk associated with a project and work with Extension and Community partners to address any issues

Annual Project Enrollment

Projects will be asked to re-enroll annually (late fall) to collect updated contact information and complete annual sign-offs.

Project Enrollment Instructions

Can’t find your PIN for the portal? You can request it when you visit the portal. Email extension.mastergardeners@maine.edu

Note: See Appendix 1 for a list of the information you will need when you enroll your project. You can use this information to prepare.

Writing an Effective Project and Volunteer Information Description

The project description is your tool to recruit new Master Gardener Volunteers as they enroll. Please consider including the following items in your description:

Description of project including tasks involved (helps volunteers picture what they would be doing if they volunteer)
What is the goal/mission/community need that your project addresses
Where and when they can expect to volunteer

Project Description Examples:

Updated examples coming soon.

Reporting Project Impacts

We ask project leaders to report the impacts of their projects on an annual basis, at the same time they enroll their project for the following year (late fall of each year). These impacts can include the number of adults and youth reached directly* and indirectly** through events, workshops etc. Impacts can also include pounds of produce donated through gleaning or growing. These impacts are crucial for us to report back to our funders to show the impacts of the resources we spend on training Master Gardener Volunteers.

*Direct impacts: people who directly interact with you through your volunteering including workshop participants, students participating in a lesson in a school garden etc.

**Indirect impacts: people who interact with a resource you created (but not directly with you): visitors to a demonstration garden, readers of a newspaper article or newsletter etc.

Appendix 1 includes the list of what impacts we’ll ask you to report and Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 includes some forms you could adopt for tracking.

Writing a Success Story

Not all impacts can be captured in numbers. We also ask you to share a story about how your project impacted the community or an individual this year.

Example:

“It is not unusual to receive recognition and thanks for the work we do in the gardens at the Ronald McDonald House, but every once in a while we are graced with the reason we volunteer our time and work so hard. Last week I was approached by the grandmother of an infant who is in NICU. Her story about her beloved 6 month old grandson was so sad and her gratefulness for quiet reflective time in the garden so poignant. She shared that every evening after a long day in the hospital she and her husband sit in the garden and it is the only place that brings them comfort while so far from home. She was so thankful for the little sanctuary we have created.”

– Robin Babino, Cumberland MGV

Project Leader Dashboard

What can you find in the project leader dashboard?

Your project renewal, where you can share all the great things your project accomplished during the year.
Printable lists of the volunteers who indicated that they were interested in your project, including contact information and emergency contacts.
The total number of volunteer hours that were reported for your project each year.

Go to the Project Leader Dashboard

Useful Contacts

General questions about project enrollment and reporting: email Extension.mastergardeners@maine.edu
UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteer County Coordinators

UMaine Extension Resources for Your Project

Appendix 1: Project Enrollment and Impact Reporting

You can use this form to get all your information ready for the online enrollment process.

Download printable PDF version of the Project Enrollment and Impact Reporting information

Reminder: Enrolling your project does not automatically mean that there will be enough volunteers to staff it.

Note: You must complete the online form in one sitting.

*Required questions

Project Information

Your Project Name will already be entered for you.

*Project Physical Address (street, town, zip code are required)

Note: If your project does not have a physical location, please enter the address of your county Extension office.

*Project Description: Please briefly describe your project and its mission in 2 – 3 sentences. What are you doing and why are you doing it?

*Volunteer Information: This is your opportunity to attract new volunteers and communicate expectations for their involvement in 3-4 sentences. Consider including volunteer tasks, volunteer sites or garden types, regular work days (if these are known), and benefits to volunteering for this project.

Project Start Date/Time and End Date/Time

If you don’t have a start date and time, please just enter the range in months and use the first or last day of the month.

* Are you accepting new volunteers?

*Does this project offer evening and/or weekend volunteer opportunities?

Are there specific resources or volunteer skills needed for this project to be successful? If so, what are they?

Does your project accept volunteers who are not certified Master Gardener Volunteers? ⬚ Yes ⬚ No

Project Map Information

* Would you like your project to be listed on the public-facing MGV map?

We will list the name and description of your project, and the street address and town.

If Yes:

*Enter your Project Physical Street Address
*Town
*Zip Code

Optional: What other information would you like to include? Check all that apply.

Contact Email Address : (enter email) _______________________________

Contact Phone Number: (enter phone)_______________________________

Webpage: (enter website url) _____________________________________

Impact Reporting

Reporting is crucial to help us maintain the funding needed to support the Master Gardener Volunteer Program. Please complete the following sections (as applicable to your project). If you do not have exact numbers, please estimate.

How did you acknowledge MGV contributions in the past year (check all that apply)

Signage
Annual Reports
Websites
Newsletters
Press Releases
Social Media

Do you need a sign?

*Did your project grow, harvest or glean food for donation this year?

If Yes:

*How many volunteers were involved (including non-MGVs)?
*What were the total pounds of produce donated?
*How many sites did the donated produce come from (gardens, farms, etc)?
*How many sites received donated produce?
Other information you’d like to share (seedling donations, partner organizations, etc)

*Did your project reach youth and/or adults this year?

(Examples of direct contact are workshop participants or students using school gardens. Examples of indirect contacts are visitors to demonstration gardens or readers of newspaper articles.)

If Yes:

*How many adults did your project directly reach this year? (e.g., workshop participants)
*How many youth did your project directly reach this year? (e.g., students involved with a school garden program)
*How many individuals did your project indirectly reach this year? (e.g., newsletter subscribers, visitors to a demonstration garden)

*Please share a story about how your project impacted the community or an individual this year

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

Download printable PDF version of the Project Enrollment and Impact Reporting information