Those who lead volunteers and serve communities carry deep compassion — and often, deep exhaustion. Constant giving, emotional labor, and limited capacity can quietly erode both personal wellness and workplace culture.

This 60-minute session invites mission-driven professionals to reclaim self-care as a leadership practice, not a luxury. Grounded in a practical framework, participants will explore key dimensions of well-being and reflect on where they most want to grow — leaving with one meaningful, personal goal and a small but intentional step toward more sustainable habits.

Space for honest reflection. Something actionable to take home.

The full workshop, featuring an in-depth self-care assessment and personalized self-care planning, is available for organizations and teams looking to go deeper.

When your volunteers are out in the community – whether on-duty or not — are they ready, willing and able to “sell” your organization and volunteer opportunities to anyone they meet? Why not give them the script and skills to make them spark connections and be the best ambassadors for your organization. Let them develop their own elevator speech! Each webinar attendee will get an elevator speech builder template to adapt and share with your volunteers.

Nonprofits and volunteer-driven organizations are being asked to do more with less—while navigating increasing complexity across communities, cultures, and care needs. Yet many teams remain siloed, under-resourced, and overwhelmed.

This session introduces a practical, human-centered approach to using AI as a bridge—connecting volunteers, staff, and communities through scalable, inclusive support systems.

Led by Neomatics (AI solutions for social impact with focus on neurodiverse families and care ecosystems), this session will demonstrate how organizations can:

Extend volunteer capacity without increasing burnout
Improve accessibility and inclusion for diverse populations
Create consistent, high-quality engagement across touchpoints

Participants will walk away with real-world use cases, simple tools, and an actionable framework to start implementing immediately—no technical background required.

Most volunteers are leaders in disguise. They rally teams, raise money, hold missions together, and they do it all without a title, a paycheck, or a playbook. So when friction hits, they don’t pivot. They quietly step back. And the organization loses one more good one.

The SOAR Mindset™ changes that. It is a leadership framework built for people who lead through influence, not authority; exactly the conditions every volunteer operates in. Four pillars: Storytelling, Ownership, Abundance, and Resilience, give volunteer leaders the language and the muscle to lead on purpose.

In this hands-on workshop, attendees take a live assessment, uncover their dominant SOAR™ pillar, and apply the framework to real volunteer challenges: recruiting, conflict, burnout, restarts. They leave with a personal SOAR™ profile, a one-page leadership plan, and a new way to show up the very next time they serve.

Organizations often focus on volunteer tasks, event logistics, and participation numbers. But what if the real impact of volunteer engagement is something deeper?

This session explores how creative, community-centered experiences can strengthen connection, reduce isolation, and create meaningful belonging across generations, abilities, and backgrounds.

Drawing from real-world programs that bring together seniors, individuals with disabilities, families, community organizations, and volunteers, Linda Bonner shares how simple acts of creativity and intentional inclusion can transform the way people experience community engagement.

Attendees will discover practical ways to design volunteer and community experiences that move beyond “activities” and create spaces where people feel welcomed, valued, included, and connected.

This session combines storytelling, actionable strategies, and fresh perspectives to help organizations build stronger bridges across communities through creativity, dignity, and human connection.

This workshop is designed to impact and increase volunteer recruitment and volunteer retention for large-scale special events that draw in large crowds. Volunteer managers will be able to access the Volunteer Playbook for Special Events. We will walk through planning, logistics, committees, scheduling, volunteer FAQs, volunteer perks, and more to grow your special event. Walk away feeling empowered for success this year and build your master volunteer plan so volunteers are eager to return the following year! These same principles apply to special events for 100 guests or 10,000 guests!

In today’s high-stakes business environment, conventional thinking may be your greatest vulnerability. While organizations value consensus and alignment, these same qualities often lead to costly blind spots, missed opportunities, and avoidable mistakes.

What if your organization’s competitive edge lies in systematically challenging your own assumptions?

Join Jim Benvie, “The History PM,” as he reveals why today’s elite organizations are deliberately institutionalizing skepticism as a strategic advantage. Drawing from historical case studies and contemporary business examples, Jim demonstrates how structured challenge transforms decision quality and exposes hidden risks before they become costly missteps.

The “Deliberate Disruptor” methodology isn’t about creating conflict—it’s about implementing a disciplined framework for critical thinking that:
· Prevents groupthink and assumption-based errors that plague even the most experienced leadership teams
· Reveals blind spots in strategy that competitors are waiting to exploit
· Stress-tests critical decisions before significant resources are committed
· Creates psychological safety for authentic discussion without undermining team cohesion
· Builds organizational resilience in today’s volatile business landscape

As businesses navigate increasingly complex challenges, from digital transformation to market disruption, the ability to systematically question assumptions provides an essential safeguard against failure.

Discover how historical wisdom and contemporary leadership techniques combine to create a powerful framework for superior decision-making that elite organizations already employ.

In high-demand professions, leaders are often trained to focus on performance, outcomes, and responsibilities—but rarely on themselves. This keynote introduces a powerful internal leadership framework that helps individuals lead from clarity, confidence, and purpose.

“Know Your N.A.M.E.: Leading from Within” equips participants with a practical model for self-leadership, helping them become more intentional, effective, and grounded in how they show up personally and professionally.

The most critical blind spot for modern non-profits and civic organizations is the inability to attract high-level, executive-tier talent to unpaid volunteer roles. How do you convince a seasoned corporate leader, a thriving business owner, or a specialized professional to dedicate their time without compensation?

​This session bridges the gap between grassroots volunteerism and high-level corporate governance. Drawing on experience as the Vice Chairman of a major Texas credit union and the Chairman of a federal quasi-judicial board, this presentation unpacks the psychology of the “executive volunteer.” Attendees will learn how to shift their recruitment narrative from simply “asking for a favor” to offering a prestigious platform for legacy building, governance training, and civic duty. We will explore the exact frameworks needed to not only attract high-quality volunteers, but to retain them by treating volunteer roles with the same operational weight as a paid corporate board seat.

Many nonprofits operate volunteer engagement and development as separate functions, creating missed opportunities for deeper partnership and impact. This session explores how bridging these traditionally siloed areas can strengthen corporate relationships, increase long-term support, and create more meaningful volunteer experiences.

Through practical examples and real-world case studies, attendees will learn how to align volunteer engagement and fundraising strategies, steward corporate partners beyond a single day of service, and transform volunteer projects into pathways for ongoing community investment. Participants will leave with actionable tools for fostering cross-departmental collaboration, strengthening stakeholder relationships, and building a sustainable pipeline of volunteers, advocates, and supporters.

By breaking down internal boundaries and connecting people to purpose, organizations can create lasting partnerships that advance their mission and deepen their impact.

In a culture that rewards constant productivity, many leaders and volunteers are quietly operating from exhaustion rather than purpose. This interactive workshop equips participants with practical, sustainable strategies to reclaim wellbeing without sacrificing impact. Through guided reflection, real-world examples, and actionable tools, attendees will learn how identity-driven leadership creates healthier teams, stronger collaboration, and long-term effectiveness across organizations and communities.

Participants will explore how burnout affects decision-making, engagement, and connection while gaining resource-oriented practices that can be implemented immediately in volunteer management, nonprofit leadership, and community work. The session includes interactive discussion, self-assessment activities, and take-away resources designed to help professionals bridge the gap between performance and personal wellbeing.

This workshop is ideal for leaders seeking to create cultures where people can thrive while still producing meaningful, mission-driven outcomes.

I truly believe strong volunteer programs are not built through policies, titles, or perfectly planned systems alone… they are built through people, intentional connection, and the small moments that make others feel seen, valued, and supported.

In this interactive session, I’ll share practical strategies that help strengthen volunteer engagement, build trust, and create meaningful relationships that lead to long-term impact. Through storytelling, hands-on activities, real-life examples, and actionable tools, participants will learn how small interactions can bridge communication gaps, strengthen collaboration, and positively shape volunteer experiences across diverse settings.

Whether you are brand new to volunteer management or have years of experience, you will walk away with practical tools you can immediately implement within your organization and community… because I believe relationships are built 60 seconds at a time.

From writing clear, descriptive event listings that give volunteers the context they need, to choosing and communicating about accessible venues, to crafting thoughtful sign-up forms that ask the right questions, we’ll cover the full volunteer journey through an accessibility lens.

Whether you’re just starting to think about inclusion or looking to strengthen practices you already have in place, you’ll walk away with concrete strategies and tools to create volunteer experiences where everyone feels informed, included, and empowered to participate.

Volunteer programs can do more than fill volunteer slots, they can shape future leaders and strengthen entire communities. This session explores how to engage whole families in service, create meaningful opportunities for children and teens, and build volunteer programs that foster long-term connection and impact.

Attendees will learn practical strategies for developing sustainable family volunteer programs, creating age-appropriate service opportunities, bridging generational gaps through volunteerism, and designing experiences that increase retention and engagement. Through real-world examples, interactive discussion, and actionable tools, participants will discover how to transform volunteer experiences into leadership development opportunities that inspire lifelong service.

Volunteer management is leadership without formal authority, where success depends on trust, communication, and influence. This workshop focuses on practical, real world leadership tools for anyone who leads, supports, or coordinates volunteers and diverse teams in fast paced service environments.

Participants will learn how to build trust quickly, communicate with clarity, and create alignment across people with different motivations, expectations, and levels of experience. The session will also address common challenges such as miscommunication, lack of follow through, and inconsistent engagement, offering simple strategies to improve coordination and team effectiveness.

This is an interactive session designed to give attendees practical tools they can apply immediately. The goal is to help leaders strengthen relationships, improve engagement, and lead more effectively without relying on positional authority.

This session explores how a strategically designed annual volunteer summit can break down silos across sectors, strengthen community connections, and serve as a catalyst for sustained engagement. Participants will gain practical tools, real-world case studies, and interactive strategies to design or elevate their own summit into a year-round engagement engine that drives collective impact.

Nonprofits don’t just need more volunteers, they need the right volunteers engaged in meaningful ways. At the same time, companies are looking for service opportunities that align with their CSR goals, engage employees, and demonstrate measurable impact.

Led by the Executive Director of Texas Trust Gives Foundation, this interactive session provides a behind-the-scenes look at how corporate volunteer programs are designed and what nonprofits can do to become valued partners. Participants will gain practical strategies to align volunteer roles with corporate priorities, design engaging experiences, and communicate impact effectively. Through discussion of real-world examples, attendees will learn how to move beyond one-time projects to build lasting partnerships that drive collective impact. Participants will leave with actionable tools and adaptable strategies to strengthen their volunteer programs across diverse settings.

Over the past four years, the SPCA of Texas and Uplift Education have transformed a traditional career-day partnership into a structured, equitable youth workforce pipeline that provides high school students with meaningful, hands-on internship experiences. This session will explore how the program evolved from career exposure events into a multi-pathway internship model spanning animal science, outreach and event operations.

Attendees will learn how the SPCA of Texas designed a scalable system using cross-sector collaboration, including the implementation of the SchoolLinks application platform, a standardized selection and scoring process, and clearly defined learning objectives across departments. The program also integrates professional development through 1:1 leadership mentorship, resume-building workshops, scholarship and paid internship opportunities to reduce financial barriers and exit surveys.

This session will provide a replicable framework for nonprofits and education partners seeking to build equitable, structured youth workforce pipelines with measurable impact and sustainability.