Happy Monday; I hope you had a great weekend! Tickets are now on sale for our 2024 Massachusetts Conference on Volunteerism, which will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester on May 7th.
With 14 workshops and many networking opportunities, our conference is designed to equip you with new skills, insights into best practices, connections to potential partners, and increased enthusiasm for tackling the big issues through engaging volunteers. We hope you'll join us!
Buy tickets for the main conference here, for the limited-spot leadership track here, or read more below on both events!
Bringing Your Authentic Self to Your Nonprofit
How can you support your volunteers and staff in cultivating a growth mindset so that your organization is promoting inclusion and developing a culture of belonging? This session will allow for an interactive discussion about innovative strategies that promote a culture of lifelong learning, nurture volunteer empathy through diversity, encourage vulnerability to assess biased volunteer policies and language, and stimulate community impact.
Led by Victoria Thornton, Director — Volunteer Community, Citizen Schools; Meme Cisse, Manager of Operations, Citizen Schools; Shanay Reed, Manager of Education Development, Citizen Schools
Introduction to Disability & Inclusion: Building an Inclusive Volunteer Program
Did you know that one in four people in the U.S. has a disability at any point in time? Statistically speaking, if you serve more than four youths and/or work with more than four volunteers, you are working with people with disabilities in your program. Join Partners for Youth with Disabilities to learn about disability inclusion best practices, promising models, and available resources. Increase your confidence, knowledge and skills and be prepared to take the next step in your organization's disability inclusion journey.
Led by Kristin Humphrey, National Disability Mentoring Program Director, Partners for Youth with Disabilities; Courtney Brown, Community Outreach Manager, Partners for Youth with Disabilities
Leading Older Volunteers Into Action
A team of aged 65+ volunteers will facilitate this session along with one staff member of AARP MA. The team will share their current volunteerism and what it means to them. Presenters will discuss how to connect with and offer ways to recruit the 65+ population.
Led by Polly Mendoza, Community and Volunteer Engagement Director, AARP Massachusetts; Theresa Chaklos, Speakers Bureau Volunteer, AARP Massachusetts;
Fran Nase, Speakers Bureau Volunteer, AARP Massachusetts
Mobilizing Community to Solve the Refugee Crisis in Massachusetts
Olga's List helps refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. The organization was born in February of 2023. At that time, we had $0 funding, 5 volunteers, 1 client family (a single mom and her teen daughter) in one town. In October of 2023 we were awarded a three-year, $780,000 federal grant aimed at supporting refugees from Ukraine in Massachusetts. In February 2024, organization serves over 400 individuals across the state with a group of over 100 volunteers of all ages and origin. In this session you will learn about our journey, our methodology of mobilizing community to respond to a migration crisis, our ability to raise funds and most importantly, of how a small group of people who rose to the occasion to save people who suffer from war became an organization.
Led by Olga Yulikova, Founder and Executive Director, Olga’s List, Inc.; Anastasiia Hernandez, Director of Case Management, Olga’s List, Inc.
… and 10 other exciting workshops!
Christal M. Cherry, The Board Pro, worked 23 years as a nonprofit fundraiser serving higher education institutions, seminaries, and human service organizations. Now as a board consultant for nonprofits, she equips and empowers boards to support their missions and change the world. Her services as Principal and CEO of The Board Pro include recruitment, governance, fundraising, conflict resolution and diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging. To read more click here.
MSA is thrilled to partner with The SISGI Group in offering a special Nonprofit Leadership Track at our conference!
This transformative workshop track led by Dr. Thenera Bailey — specially curated for nonprofit executives, senior leaders, and board members - will embark on an introspective and strategic journey, focusing on the multifaceted challenges and opportunities in the post-COVID era.
This leadership track is not just about leading organizations — it's about redefining leadership with authenticity, inclusivity, and mindfulness at its core.
Read more about the leadership track and presenter, Dr. Thenera Bailey, on our conference site here.
Note: Participants of the Leadership Track will attend the Opening Session and Lunch and spend the remainder of the conference in the Nonprofit Leadership track's sessions.
