How do you stop doing something where people depend on you?

[Salacioussally]

I started volunteering in an activity around 6 years ago as my dc were involved. As time.has gone on I have become an integral part of the club and without me it would not continue. We have approximately 70 members and we are quite successful locally. My dc outgrew the club a few years ago.

It takes up huge amounts of my time -every other Saturday and at least 2 x evenings per week including all night on a Friday. I also work FT and have 3 teen dc.

I'd like to step back but in order to do so, I need someone to take my place. I am working on succession planning but for insurance purposes we need people to be qualified and this takes a lot of time. I also need them to be invested as it is such a big commitment.

Has anyone been in this position and how did you manage to extract yourself?

Thanks

You give notice now that you are not continuing and someone else will have to step up. Your reasons are you have a full time job, family and your kids are no longer involved. Don’t feel bad about it, you have served your time! Do not make anyone make you feel guilty. One of the 70 members parents need to step up.

You don't need someone to take your place they need someone to take your place.

Just say you can't do it anymore and stop.

If you want to be nice give some notice so if people want the group to continue they can get all the training and insurance sorted, but make sure you don't keep going once you've worked your notice, even if they aren't ready.

Honestly, you're a volunteer. You don't need to do this if you don't want to and no one can make you.

I'd like to step back but in order to do so, I need someone to take my place

Give some notice if you want, but you don't really need to get someone to take your place. If you let people know you are leaving, perhaps another parent will step up to make sure the club doesn't close. But if no-one does, then, as unfortunate as it is, it's not your issue, and you certainly shouldn't feel bad about it.

Tell them you are finishing at Christmas. They need to start the New Year with someone else in place.

In the nicest possible way, OP, this is silly. You’ve more than done your time. It’s eating your life. If other parents want the activity to continue enough, one or more of them will replace you. If not, it will end. Which is not your issue.

It's difficult to know without knowing what it is, but I'd say that role is too much to expect of any one volunteer and you're unlikely to find a single individual willing to take it on.

I'd be looking at how you actually spend the time, does every single task have to be completed by a qualified person? Could some tasks be delegated to newer, unqualified volunteers? Can it be several different roles for people with particular sub interests?

What are the governance arrangements? I'd try to give a lot of notice (6-12 months) and ask to set up a working group of stakeholders to effectively plan for your succession, so it's not solely your responsibility. Have a medium term plan in place so handover is gradual and smooth not a cliff edge.

If you try all that and there is still no one willing, then sadly it doesn't continue.

I agree with @HardworkSendHelp and @TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot .

I did this earlier in the year. I gave a date for finishing a few months in advance and said I’d be around for a handover period but I was unable to continue in any formal role. The group is carrying on without me as people stepped up; and the messages/emails have dropped off almost complexly now.

I’d tried to leave 18mths ago but was too soft and said I was prepared to help out. It just resulted in me still doing everything so I’ve had to be really strict this time and accept that things might happen differently but actually, it’s not my problem.

You give the other members a reasonable amount of notice, say a couple of months, so that they can arrange for someone else (possibly multiple someones) to do what you are currently doing. Don't catastrophise; the worst thing that could happen is that the club will cease to function. Nobody will die.

consuder splitting it up into a number of roles.

do all the roles have to be qualified?

can you delegate out some tasks already?