The Heart of Volunteerism - Endless Possibilities
A Mini-Conference for Volunteer Coordinators
May 4 - 8:30am - 6:30pm
May 5 - 10:00-11:30am
Sponsored by:
LSA's recent volunteerism survey reaffirms what we already knew – that Lutheran volunteerism is a robust part of the LSA system. An estimated 170,000 individuals volunteered last year.... just in the organizations that responded to the survey. But behind every successful volunteer effort lies a dedicated individual responsible for the coordination and support of volunteers. If you are one of those people, this mini-conference is for you. Meet your peers, learn best practices in risk management, hear about the findings of LSA's volunteerism survey, explore possibilities for continued peer networking, and learn about asset-thinking as the very heart of volunteerism.
Who should come to this first-ever LSA gathering of volunteer coordinators? Anyone in a member organization or Lutheran congregation who coordinates the work of volunteers - full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid, those who carry a formal title as a volunteer coordinator, manager or director, and those who do the work but don't hold a formal title. We also welcome other organizational leaders who are seeking to explore, initiate or expand their volunteer programs.
The mini-conference includes the opening session with lunch, three educational break out sessions, the LSA Annual Conference Keynote Address, and the Annual Conference Opening Worship event.
Fee for mini-conference only - $250
Fee for mini-conference plus annual conference - same as for full annual conference
Schedule
Wednesday, May 4
8:30am-12:30pm: Mini-conference opening session and lunch
In the mini-conference opening session, participants will hear:
- inspirational thoughts by Rev. Michael Wilker on discerning volunteerism and volunteer leadership as vocation
- learn from author Luther Snow about asset thinking as the very heart of volunteerism and how to use asset thinking to be an effective and inspiring volunteer leader
- hear about Lutheran Volunteer Corps' pilot project engaging skilled seniors in the Twin Cities and hear highlights from the report about what volunteer leaders in LSA member organizations describe as their biggest challenges, most successful volunteer engagement strategies, and what they want from LSA in the future to support their work and give volunteer management and coordination greater visibility and credibility in the LSA system
- participate in facilitated interaction with peers to share wisdom, successes and challenges in managing and coordinating volunteers and volunteer programs, and to explore possibilities for continued peer connection and networking - including future mini-conferences as part of the LSA Annual Conference and the possibility of establishing a formal network or consortium through LSA for volunteer coordinators and mangers serving in LSA member organizations and Lutheran congregations
Led by Luther Snow, author, The Power of Asset Mapping: How Your Congregation Can Act On Its Gifts; Cynthia Osborne, VP Strategic Initiatives and Program Development, LSA; Ruth Reko, Senior Volunteer Consultant, LSA; Rev. Michael Wilker, Executive Director, Lutheran Volunteer Corps; Laurie Beckman Yetzer, Jubilee Project Developer, Lutheran Volunteer Corps
1:00-2:00pm: LSA Annual Conference Opening Keynote Address by Allison Fine
2:00-3:30pm: Break Out Session A5 - Maximizing the Power of Volunteers by Minimizing Risk
The positive contributions of volunteers to help achieve mission are incalculable in many nonprofits. Yet along with that benefit comes risk. Common risk concerns identified by LSA member organizations include volunteer transportation services, direct client care that may involve volunteer-client touch, as well as the quality of volunteer performance or conduct. This session will look at the discipline of risk management in volunteer engagement for determining practical ways to address uncertainties, with a goal of avoiding or minimizing harm and financial losses while maximizing the power of volunteers to help achieve organizational mission. Participants will identify their organization's tolerance for uncertainty and the role of risk within it.
Presenter: Carlye Christianson, Senior Counsel and Director of Special Projects, Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Washington, DC
4:00-5:30pm: Break Out Session B5 - A Risk Solutions Clinic for Volunteerism
Are concerns about risk stopping or constraining your efforts to start new volunteer program initiatives? Do you feel your organization lacks some of the practical tools it needs to mitigate risk in volunteer engagement? Bring your concerns to this highly interactive Q & A "clinic" and get practical answers from one of the country's top risk management experts. Leave with new knowledge about how to administer a volunteer program with risk management in mind and take home some practical strategies and tools, including some new LSA branded tools emerging from LSA's work with the Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
Presenter: Carlye Christianson, Senior Counsel and Director of Special Projects, Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Washington, DC
5:30-6:30pm: LSA Annual Conference Worship
6:30pm: Dinner and evening on your own
Thursday, May 5
10:00-11:30am: Break Out Session C5 - From Challenges to Opportunities - Strategic Congregational Engagement
"If only they" is often a phrase that begins statements about the relationships between congregations & social ministry organizations. We know that congregations can bring people, money, and power to the work of our organizations; and health & human service organizations offer congregations the opportunity to live out their mission as faithful people who care about their community. But how? This workshop will draw on practical successes from Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis and on Luther Snow's understanding of positive group dynamics to train participants in models of strategic congregational engagement.
Presenters: Ann Vazquez, President and CEO, Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis; Luther Snow, author, The Power of Asset Mapping: How Your Congregation Can Act On Its Gifts
11:30am: Volunteerism Mini-conference ends
