Volunteer Community Development / Community Building

Volunteer Community Development Roles (1-2 hours per week)

Non-Profit Description

Save A Forgotten Equine (SAFE) is a horse rescue organization based near Woodinville/Matlby, Washington, dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and retraining horses suffering from neglect or abuse. Established in 2005, SAFE collaborates with Animal Control agencies in the King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties to protect and provide care for vulnerable horses. SAFE specializes in equine rehabilitation, offering professional veterinary care, nutrition, and training to help horses regain their health and prepare for long-term homes. Utilizing horsemanship practices inspired by Buck Brannaman and Joel Connor, SAFE ensures horses develop trust and confidence in their interactions with humans. SAFE remains committed to finding permanent, caring homes for their horses and conducts annual follow-up visits to ensure their safety and well-being.

Community Development Roles – Volunteer Positions

Location: Remote / Hybrid (Flexible)

Organization: SAFE Horse Rescue

Commitment: Part-time Volunteer | Flexible Schedule (1-2 hours per week)

Our Volunteer Community

At SAFE Horse Rescue, our 250+ volunteers are the heart of everything we do. We’re looking for a passionate, creative, and people-focused Volunteer Development Team – Volunteer Position to help us celebrate and recognize the incredible individuals who make our work possible.

Role Overviews (each 1-2 hours per week)

Online Community Building – are you curious how to build an online community that reflects the 20+ year thriving volunteer community we already have at SAFE? In this role you will learn how to promote SAFE online through social media platforms, online story telling, content development, managing a social calendar, and other optimizing practices like paid social campaigns, SEO and digital marketing.

Volunteer Appreciation Team – in this role you’ll design and implement creative ways to celebrate our volunteers’ contributions—whether it’s through appreciation events (virtual or in-person), birthday cards, anniversary cards, volunteer of the month, photo shoots for volunteers that have been at SAFE for 6 months, tracking volunteer milestones and manage recognition communications. The sky is the limit here – get creative!

Volunteer Class Coordinator – this role helps to organize our volunteer classes which are a THANK YOU to our volunteers! These classes are a way to enhance our volunteer experience and to keep SAFE’s promise to volunteer learning and growth. In this role, you will create a class calendar, partner with class teachers, manage class materials and attendance, send follow up emails and if you like – attend the classes!

New Volunteer Onboarding – we have a lot of new faces at SAFE each month! This role will help with the onboarding process which includes an online orientation once per week/month to talk about all the wonderful work we do at SAFE! It could also include overseeing their first couple weeks at the barn; creating name tags, checking in after their first day, making sure they feel supported during the process. You are the first experience our new volunteers have at SAFE so this is a very important piece of our process. Its also so fun to witness the excitement of new people and hear all about how they found SAFE and their interest in the horses.

SAFE High School Programming – each year, we have many local high schools reach out to include SAFE in their preferred volunteer programming for kids 16 and up. This role is a chance to truly own, develop and manage this program! This role will include reaching out to high schools as the SAFE point of contact, develop best practices in how to onboard high school volunteers, and work in partnership with local schools to make sure we maintain a reciprocal relationship. With so much local interest every year, this position has been a long term goal of SAFE! We would love to be able to make this happen.

Summer College Internship Program – each year, we have many University Equine Studies Degree Programs reach out to include SAFE in their preferred internship. We also have potential interns reach out directly on behalf of their university. This role is a chance to truly own, develop and manage this program! This role will be the point of contact for University Internship programs related to Equine Studies. This role will include responding to intern inquires, coordinating their program expectations and paperwork to make sure both SAFE and the University are in alignment. With so much local interest every year, this position has been a long term goal of SAFE! We would love to be able to make this happen.

Why Join Us

• Be part of a mission-driven organization that values kindness, collaboration, and impact.
• Gain leadership experience in community development roles.
• Work alongside a supportive team that celebrates every success—big or small.
• Flexible, remote-friendly schedule that fits your life.

How to Apply

If you’re excited about our SAFE volunteer community, please apply here: https://volunteer.safehorses.org/%f0%9f%8c%9f-volunteer-community-development-roles/

We are so grateful for everyone who is dedicated to our horses here at SAFE. Our diverse teams are expanding in 2026! Search all open SAFE Volunteer roles on idealist here:

Thank you in advance for considering,

Laurie Sasser

Volunteer Manager

SAFE | Save a Forgotten Equine

www.safehorses.org