Volunteers are core to the success of the CAS, and there are many ways in which you can be involved. While this article covers what volunteer opportunities are available for candidates, ACAS and FCAS members, future articles will look more closely at some of the specific volunteer opportunities.

Candidates

You may think that as a candidate you are not qualified to volunteer for the CAS, but that’s not true! There are several options available to you. The Candidate Advocate Working Group (CAWG) has candidate representatives who provide an important perspective. The CAWG acts as the voice of the candidates, and we are also responsible for producing Future Fellows. If you have any interest in writing compelling articles, discussing how the CAS can better interact with candidates or giving feedback on behalf of the candidates, then the CAWG would be a great fit for you. Applications for candidate representative are available every summer, so be on the lookout if you’re interested.

In addition to the CAWG, there are also opportunities to volunteer as a University Liaison or member of the New Members Task Force. According to the CAS website, “University Liaisons help the CAS meet its objective to increase our presence on college campuses through a variety of suggested activities. Liaisons typically work with the schools they graduated from, or schools near their current employers.” The New Members Task Force helps integrate new members into the CAS, and they provide new member perspectives to CAS leadership. To volunteer for either of these, you can fill out the VIP survey available year-round on the CAS website.

Associates

Once you have your ACAS, your volunteer opportunities expand significantly. There are 56 CAS committees, task forces and working groups to volunteer for and 96% of them accept new ACAS volunteers. To volunteer as an ACAS, you need to complete the VIP survey. In the survey, you will select your interest areas (some options are Admissions, Finance, Professional Education and Research). Next you select your areas of expertise to help align your skill sets to any volunteer openings. Finally, you will be presented with some current openings from which to select. Even if the group you’d like to join doesn’t have an opening, you should still complete the survey. Then the group knows you are interested if a spot becomes available.

Fellows

What changes in terms of volunteer opportunities when you get your FCAS? At that point, you can volunteer for anything mentioned above, and you are also able to volunteer with the exams. This includes things like writing and grading, which can both be very rewarding experiences. As an FCAS, you will also be able to hold different positions within other committees. For example, in the CAWG, you are only able to be the volunteer chair if you have your FCAS credentials.

Why volunteer?

In addition to shaping the future of the CAS, you’ll expand your network, gain opportunities to develop as a leader and see firsthand how fulfilling it is to volunteer. No matter where you are in your CAS membership journey, I hope you now know there are unique volunteer opportunities available to you. Go out there and see what volunteering is about!