It is Not Hard to Recruit Volunteers

Jayne Cravens

We're hearing a lot about a severe drop in volunteers since the start of the recent pandemic. But are there really less people who want to volunteer? Or is there something else going on, something that's been coming on for many years? This keynote will review all of the places people under 50 are expressing their keen interest in volunteering, and how their interests are going unanswered. We'll review the adjustments you need to make to reach this abundance of people interested in volunteering and to keep them engaged. 

Break

Lunch Break

Break

Brushing Off Burnout

Heather Stein, Femina Ajayi-Hackworth, and Karen Caldwell
Inclusion Arts Group

To truly shift mindsets, equity advocates need to be thoughtful, on-point, and share their hot takes in the right place, and at the right time. Being strategic and showing up sharp requires self-love, self-care, and unwavering compassion for others. But let’s be real, we are human and we have our moments when under pressure, just like others. In order to ensure you are truly showing up in the most effective way, Inclusion Arts Group will take you on an exploratory journey of the various states of compassion fatigue and share ideas for how to care for ourselves in these various stages.

Each participant will have the opportunity to clarify their personal self-care needs, so they can leave refreshed, and make the most of their opportunities to advance equity.

Mini Conference Wrap-up and Takeaways

Ashley Daniels is an AuDHD (autistic and ADHD) educator who has non epileptic seizures. She is passionate about disability inclusion centering an intersectional focus in order to create equitable spaces to accommodate and support from a compassion based approach. They hold a Master of Arts degree in Education and has adapted her capstone project of creating an Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder from an Autistic Perspective into giving keynote speeches for Saint Paul Public Schools to provide educators with the knowledge of how to identify and disrupt ableism in education.

Femina Ajayi-Hackworth is an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Consultant. She is an experienced leader who uses evidence-based practices to strategically integrate the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility into presentations. For almost 20 years, Femina has excelled in creating and presenting educational DEI Training in an engaging and informative manner. Femina uses best practices and maintains extensive knowledge of current events, equity, recruitment, community outreach, and retention issues which she incorporates into her work. Femina has a Masters in African American and African Diaspora Studies, and a Masters in Public Affairs. She was certified as a Certified Affirmative Action Professional, CAAP level in 2012.

Geng Wang, CEO of Civic Champs, leads our team of passionate change leaders to deliver the most intuitive and impactful volunteer management software for nonprofits and their champions. Prior to Civic Champs, Geng co-founded and sold two companies, RentJungle.com (an apartment search engine), and Community Elf (a social media management firm). Geng is also a former McKinsey & Company consultant and is a graduate of Michigan State University and Harvard Business School.

Heather Stein (she/her) (pictured left) is a dynamic and resilient business leader with over 12 years of progressive experience in human resources, workforce diversity & inclusion, equal opportunity, and adult education. She specializes in leading organizational change that carefully nurtures employee engagement, increases retention of talent, and optimizes culturally responsive service delivery. Heather enjoys building coalitions and thrives when serving as systems change agent. She has worked in public service for the State of Minnesota for nearly 10 years. In her current role, Heather oversees federal and state Equal Opportunity and ADA compliance, harassment and discrimination policy adherence, Affirmative Action, and DEIA programming and training. Heather lives in Minneapolis, MN with her partner and two daughters. She enjoys spending time in nature, visiting local restaurants and businesses, and giving back to her community.

Jayne Cravens is an internationally-recognized researcher, consultant, university lecturer and trainer. Her work is focused on communications, volunteer involvement, community engagement, and effective project management. She is the co-author, with Susan Ellis, of The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook, the most comprehensive work to date on involving and supporting volunteers using Internet tools. She is a pioneer and expert regarding the research, promotion and practice of virtual volunteering. She is also a veteran manager of various local and international initiatives, including United Nations programs, and has worked in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Germany, Egypt, Serbia and Poland, among other countries. She oversaw the transition of the UN's Online Volunteering Service from NetAid to the UN Volunteers program, and was a co-manager of the Secretary General's United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS), also at UNV. Jayne became active online in 1993, and she created one of the first web sites to help to build the capacity of nonprofits to use the Internet. For more than a decade she has tracked practices to prevent folklore, fake news and rumors from derailing humanitarian aid and development activities. She has been quoted in articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press, as well as for reports by CNN, Deutsche Well, and the BBC. Resources from her web site, coyotecommunications.com, are frequently cited in reports and articles by a variety of organizations, online and in-print. She was the Fall 2015 Duvall Leader in Residence at the University of Kentucky’s Center for Leadership Development and has guest lectured at classes at Portland State University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, and St. Edward's University. Jayne was a co-winner of the 2003 Dewey Winburne Community Service Award. Jayne received her BA in Journalism from Western Kentucky University and her Master's degree in Development Management from Open University in the U.K. A native of Kentucky, she lived in Germany for eight years and has visited more than 35 countries, some of them by motorcycle. She is based near Portland, Oregon in the USA.

Karen Caldwell MSC, BA (Hons), Artist, Socologist and Creative Wellness Coach, is an arts-based creative wellness coach with a Master of Science degree in Sociology from University College London. Her unique art-centered approach to wellness coaching empowers corporations, non-profit organizations, and individuals globally to facilitate self-expression, self-discovery, healing, and personal growth. With her sociological expertise, Karen has developed an innovative employee engagement program that utilizes the power of art-making to improve workplace well-being, boost productivity, encourage team-building, and improve overall employee engagement. Karen works collaboratively with her clients to create customized plans that address their specific needs and goals. She is passionate about helping individuals and teams achieve greater levels of success and fulfillment in both their personal and professional lives by using creativity and self-expression as essential tools for achieving mental, emotional, and physical wellness.

Karen Knight is a consultant, volunteer leadership expert, and a dynamic and engaging speaker. Her workshops are hands-on, practical and packed full of useful suggestions and thought-provoking ideas. Karen loves to challenge the status quo!

William Henry is vice president of Volunteers Insurance Service Association (VIS), which has been providing insurance, risk management services, and other benefits for volunteer-based organizations since 1972. He has presented more than 40 workshops -- on-site and virtual, and for state and national associations -- on managing the risks associated with volunteer engagement. William also is coauthor of The Crown of Life Society, the first novel ever to address exploitation of older persons, and family caregiving, as primary topics. He lives in the Richmond, Virginia area, where he is active in community theater and works on his lines while walking his beagle, JAH-JAH.