Activities director vs activities/volunteer

The differences between activities directors and activities/volunteers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an activities director and an activities/volunteer. Additionally, an activities director has an average salary of $44,982, which is higher than the $32,875 average annual salary of an activities/volunteer.

The top three skills for an activities director include patients, rehabilitation and resident care. The most important skills for an activities/volunteer are community resources, senior care, and financial statements.

Activities director vs activities/volunteer overview

	Activities Director	Activities/Volunteer
Yearly salary	$44,982	$32,875
Hourly rate	$21.63	$15.81
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	6,845	4,126
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does an activities director do?

An activities director is responsible for planning engaging events for the participants, considering individual interests and the safety of procedures and resources. Activities directors guide the activity staff on assisting the participants, ensuring that they are comfortable with joining the activities. Since most activities directors work at a healthcare facility or elderly institution, they must also monitor the health of the participants by conducting therapeutic activities and evaluate the participants' progress for every program. The activities director must be a critical-thinker, as well as have excellent communication skills to coordinate with facilities personnel for successful activity completion.

What does an activities/volunteer do?

An activity volunteer is responsible for supporting community activities for the benefit of the citizens and social development in general. Activity volunteers assist in fundraising activities, coordinating with other organizations for sponsorship, recruiting target audience, planning the program outline, and releasing promotional materials, press releases, and media marketing. Activity volunteers must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on negotiating with suppliers and vendors for the activity materials with minimal costs. They should also be able to address the participants' inquiries and concerns and resolve any issues that may arise during the activity preparation.

Activities director vs activities/volunteer salary

Activities directors and activities/volunteers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Activities Director	Activities/Volunteer
Average salary	$44,982	$32,875
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $74,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Huntington, NY	-
Highest paying state	Mississippi	-
Best paying company	Microsoft	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between activities director and activities/volunteer education

There are a few differences between an activities director and an activities/volunteer in terms of educational background:

	Activities Director	Activities/Volunteer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Duke University

Activities director vs activities/volunteer demographics

Here are the differences between activities directors' and activities/volunteers' demographics:

	Activities Director	Activities/Volunteer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between activities director and activities/volunteer duties and responsibilities

Activities director example responsibilities.

Manage updated JCC social media, including Facebook.
Manage pet therapy/pat visitation protocol.
Attend interdisciplinary care plan meetings and document in MDS and resident medical records as appropriate.
Plan, organize, and run the afterschool
Create reports, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.
Assist teachers with reading and mathematics lessons and activities.

Activities/volunteer example responsibilities.

Address and resolve customer's complaints grievances regarding medical billing and treatments, consisting of Medicare and manage care claims.
Develop, coordinate, manage a diverse and balance activity program for general residence and specialize Alzheimer unit.
Create the first alumni database used to engage past alumni with the current fraternity members.
Provide overall leadership and management of the Alzheimer's neighborhood within an assisted-living community for senior citizens.
Train on proper administration of CPR.
Submit resident activity records to MDS.

Activities director vs activities/volunteer skills

Common activities director skills

Patients, 15%
Rehabilitation, 10%
Resident Care, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Home Health, 7%
MDS, 6%

Common activities/volunteer skills

Community Resources, 20%
Senior Care, 18%
Financial Statements, 14%
Memory Care, 13%
Local Schools, 12%
Budget Targets, 11%

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Activities Director
Activities Director vs Activities/Volunteer

Updated January 8, 2025

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