Family Volunteering Insights for Small Organizations

We interviewed 1,000 participants of organizations with under $1 million in revenue

to understand how to encourage schools and

to engage families in

. We wanted to know how to create programs that work for families, how to recruit families to participate and how to make it easy – and fun – for them to volunteer.

Here’s what we heard from project coordinators we surveyed about how to engage families and young people in volunteer efforts:

Include Youth Voices When Planning Family Volunteering Opportunities

Talk to young people about why volunteering matters. Let their excitement help make it a family priority. Let them describe what they’re doing, and explain how they’re having an impact.

Communicate Via Multiple Methods Well in Advance With Reminders

Send an email and a text. Remind volunteer families several weeks before, a week before, a day before and the day of. People are busy, and reminders help ensure they fulfill their intention and their commitment to volunteer. If you can, keep your events at the same time of year to make it easy for families to plan and stay engaged year after year.

Create a Family-friendly Environment

Ensure families know that children of all ages are welcome. Make plenty of age-appropriate activities available and create opportunities for little ones to help. Provide kid-friendly refreshments, too.

Reward Volunteers

Create incentives for your volunteers to want to come back, and share the impact they’re having. Offer student volunteers extra hours if they bring parents, or feature students with families who volunteer on social media.

Start Early, Plan and Be Organized

Make sure people feel as if their time is being used well. If they have a great experience, they’re more likely to return. Some organizations don’t have a lot of success doing several small family volunteer events throughout the year in cities where there are so many competing interests. However, doing an “end of the year” project, for example, where students get to show off their work and win prizes, combined with the group volunteering experience, often results in higher attendance and participation each year.

Family and youth volunteer projects are so impactful, and getting them right makes a huge difference for families and for the people and organizations who benefit from their service.

Download the full

Small Organization Family Volunteer Insights

Social Media and Volunteer Engagement: Expanding Your Organization’s Reach

It’s a common scenario – an organization is hosting a day of service for a large group of volunteers. But at the end of the day, the only social media posts that can be found outside of the organization’s own posts are from just a small handful of the volunteers. As a result, a great opportunity to promote the day of service and the organization to a wider audience has been lost. Don’t let this be your organization. According to

Smart Insights

, 59% of the world’s population used social media in 2022. Between Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, most of your volunteers have a network of hundreds – if not thousands – of followers who have the potential to become future volunteers or donors. Leverage their social media reach by mobilizing your volunteers to share their experiences. Here are some easy ways to get started.

Visible Signage that Highlights Social Media

Post signs around the project site with your social media handles and relevant hashtags so volunteers know who and what to tag. You want to make it easy for those that may see the volunteer post to find your organization and learn more. If volunteers aren’t clear on what to tag or don’t remember, they’ll likely skip this important step.

Address Social Media During the Project Orientation and Closing

You have the signs up. Now make sure you are actively encouraging the volunteers to share their experiences on social media. Reinforce that you want them to tag your organization and if applicable, use a hashtag. You’ll want to be specific about any additional asks you have of them – “share your favorite photos from the project” and/or “share your favorite moment during the project.”

If Volunteers are from a Company or Civic Group, Align with Them in Advance

Chances are that if you’re engaging a company or civic group, they are planning to promote their participation in the project on their social media channels. Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of their strategy so your organization is well represented. Connect with the group leader in advance to discuss their social media goals and design a plan that is mutually beneficial. Any signage and volunteer instructions should capture social media information from both your organization and the group.

Build a Social Media Call to Action into the Project

If you don’t want to leave it to chance, build a five-minute window for social media into the project itself. For example, at the end of the project when the volunteers come back together, ask everyone to pull out their phones, open their favorite social media app and post about the project.

Acknowledge Volunteer Social Media Posts

It’s all about the “likes”! If volunteers have taken the time to promote your organization on social media, make sure that you recognize this by liking their post, thanking them in the comments or sharing on your own channels. It feels good to be acknowledged and your volunteers will be more inclined to share their experiences again in the future if you do so… not to mention, your own social media followers will be able to see what’s going on and may be encouraged to get more involved!

15 Volunteer Management Strategies for Times of Disaster

Most nonprofit organizations aren’t solely focused on disaster relief as part of their missions so may not have the dedicated staff or resources for enacting a disaster-response volunteer strategy. However, depending on the nature of a disaster, your organization may be called upon to address community needs or how your constituents, assets, etc., are impacted when a disaster strikes. Before you jump headfirst into disaster relief efforts, consider the following 15 volunteer management strategies in times of natural and human-made crises.

1. Develop Position Descriptions

Create a position description for each volunteer activity. Keep them short and simple. Be sure that everyone has a position description, regardless of the position they fill. Each volunteer should be provided a copy of their position description to set clear expectations for their role.

2. Identify Volunteer Leaders

Make sure you identify volunteers who have the skill set and the drive to manage tasks, processes and fellow volunteers. You cannot be everywhere all the time, so

leverage the talents of your volunteers

and create a communication system that allows you to delegate tasks.

3. Protect Your Organization and Be Proactive About Risk

Check with your insurance agent to be sure your organization is fully covered during periods of emergency. You may want to consider adding a rider to your policy.
Make sure volunteers sign waiver and liability forms as well as any other organizational documentation. Volunteers should also sign in and out of their shifts.
Document the orientation and training given to each volunteer. Ensuring the safety of life and property is critical. By reviewing the volunteer activities for possible hazards and educating volunteers about safety, you will reduce the chance of someone getting hurt.
Keep a first aid kit and automated external defibrillators (AED’s) on hand if possible.

4. Create a Call List

Exchange cell phone numbers with all key contacts and update it regularly. Set up redundancies in communications in case cell phones are ineffective. Some suggestions of numbers to have on your call list include, but are not limited to, the following:

Emergency contacts
Volunteer leader contacts
Volunteer reception center contacts
Disaster response organization contacts
Contacts for organizations that accept donations
Media relations contacts
Mental health service contacts

5. Identify and Schedule Shifts

Identify and schedule appropriate shifts for each position. It is effective practice to identify shifts in two- to four-hour increments. To prevent burnout and fatigue, you should strongly discourage volunteers from filling more than two consecutive shifts. Also, make sure you have at least one volunteer leader (clearly identified) scheduled during each shift.

6. Inform Volunteers of Logistics

Communicate important logistics to volunteers prior to their shift. In addition to directions and shift times, volunteers may need to bring photo ID, gear and protective clothing.

7. Meet Basic Volunteer Needs

Make sure volunteers have access to food, water and restrooms. Remind volunteers to take breaks, eat, hydrate and call family. Oftentimes adrenaline will take over in disaster situations, and volunteers (and your staff) may need to be reminded to take care of themselves and their families. Ensure that standards of health and hygiene are maintained during long shifts and in any public facility. Arrange for sufficient supplies to sustain these standards.

8. Orient and Train Volunteers

Be sure to take time to orient and train the volunteers to their position duties and roles, and to the situation. Volunteers could be in situations in which they may view and/or experience traumatic situations. Volunteers must be oriented not only to their tasks, but also to potentially negative experiences. During particularly active periods, volunteer leader should give frequent updates to keep all volunteers informed of the most current situations.

9. Protect Your Volunteers

Make sure your volunteers are only engaged in work in which they are trained. If the scope of work changes, training should be provided to support the development of necessary skills and knowledge. Volunteers should be properly identified for ease of recognition by the public and by each other. Make sure that each volunteer has the equipment and tools needed to do their job.

10. Plan for Knowledge Transfer

Every position description should include an end-of-shift debrief/orientation process whereby the volunteer leaving his or her shift should communicate important information to the incoming volunteer (i.e., what is working well and what is not working, etc.). Volunteer leaders during each shift should ensure that this transfer of knowledge occurs in a timely and clear fashion.

11. Provide Ongoing Support

Monitor and support volunteer activities. Thank volunteers for giving their time. If you see volunteers who seem tired and worn out, encourage them to take a break. Remember that disasters may take a heavy toll on the physical and emotional well-being of volunteers and staff alike. Provide resources to volunteers to help take care of their health, such as access to mental health practitioners.

12. Establish and Maintain Standards of Conduct

Instill pride in performance but don’t hesitate to correct behavior that is counterproductive or injurious to the reputation of your organization or the best interests of the public. On rare occasions, it might even be necessary to relieve a volunteer of duty. Ensure at the outset that all of your volunteers know their terms of service. Keep handy a printed copy of your Volunteer Policy Manual.

13. Recognize Volunteers

Volunteers should be consistently thanked. You may not get a chance to formally thank your volunteers until after the disaster response is over, so take every chance you get to remind the volunteers that you appreciate them and their efforts to respond to the disaster. After the disaster response efforts have subsided, you can plan a more formal way to recognize them (examples include recognition event, formal email or letter, phone call, etc.) Recognize outstanding and dedicated volunteers by nominating them to be a

Daily Point of Light

or become a certifying organization for the

President’s Volunteer Service Award

14. Conduct an Event Debriefing

Plan for a debriefing for all staff and volunteers at the conclusion of each shift, as well as the end of the disaster operation. Acknowledge the many positives and identify lessons learned that can be addressed for upcoming shifts and future disasters. Capture recommendations in your After Action Report for future reference and development of next steps for your program. Follow through on the key steps.

15. Track Your Efforts

Always be mindful of organizational reporting requirements and develop processes to capture appropriate data. Tracking volunteer data in times of disaster may assist jurisdictions with in-kind matches for federal reimbursement. Capturing data is also important to tell your story to future funders, to your community and to your volunteers. Ideas for types of data to capture could include:

Number of volunteer hours
Number of volunteers
Number of meals served
Number of houses worked on or re-built
Number of people or families served

7 Tips for Managing Volunteers

Volunteering is often painted as a rosy prospect — you don’t typically hear people acknowledge the challenges that can come along with bringing a variety of personalities together. The truth is, managing volunteers can involve managing conflict resolution and people with different perspectives. Understanding who your volunteers are can help you assign them to the right task on the project so they can have the best chance of personal success and compatibility with you and other volunteers. Some volunteers want to lead, some want to socialize, some pay attention to details, and others are compassionate and dependable.

You may also encounter volunteers who are headstrong, who aren’t actively involved or who might complain excessively. When dealing with volunteer groups, you are almost guaranteed to encounter clashing personalities at some point. Just remember to treat every individual with dignity and respect, and use these tactics to help navigate any problems that come up.

4 Tips for Conflict-Resolution When Managing Volunteers

When dealing with conflict from or between volunteers, here are some quick strategies to manage the issue effectively.

Talk openly and professionally with your volunteer to try to mitigate the problem.
Consult with another staff person or volunteer leader who can troubleshoot with you on ways to resolve the problem.
Document any incidents immediately, and contact a supervisor if you do not feel you can resolve the problem.
If the project is taking place at a partner organization or school and a client/student of that partner organization is causing the problem, consult with the organization/school contact immediately. Keep in mind that the organization/school is responsible for managing the clients/students. You are responsible for managing the volunteers.

3 Ways to Manage Challenging Volunteers

It is important to recognize and know how to deal with challenging volunteers. You can’t simply ignore the problem and expect it to go away. If you do, the circumstances may affect other volunteers and their experience, and may influence them negatively.

Here are three ways you can deal with challenging volunteers:

Ask them to play a leadership role in solving the problem. Doing so allows you to determine whether or not the challenging volunteer is willing to step up and help lead everyone toward a solution, or if they just want to complain about the situation.
Assign them to a volunteer “partner” to help address their specific issue(s). If they don’t want to help resolve the situation, assigning a volunteer partner to work with them may be the next best strategy for controlling an otherwise negative influence on the project. The one-on-one attention that an assigned volunteer partner (who has been fully briefed by the project leader) can offer a challenging volunteer will likely diffuse their complaints.
In very rare instances, it is necessary to ask a volunteer to leave if their behavior is too disruptive or inappropriate. This should be a last resort and only used when no other strategies are proving effective or the success of the project is threatened.

If you’re a volunteer coordinator or leader at your organization, remember that managing volunteers – even the challenging ones – can be done with the right leadership and techniques. If you approach a challenging situation like a puzzle, you can begin to find ways to show your volunteers how opposite personalities can complement each other if they try to understand the other’s perspective.

3 Ways to Leverage Volunteer Leaders to Build Capacity

There are many factors that influence the number of volunteers you should plan to have involved with your organization’s service projects, including budget, supplies and space. However, if the barrier to hosting a larger project is staffing, it’s time to think differently about how you manage projects.

Leveraging volunteer leaders is a great way to increase the size and scale of your projects while also building your organization’s capacity and community impact. As you explore adding volunteer leaders to your projects, consider these three ways to make the most of volunteers who want to impact their communities as well as your own organization’s capacity opportunities: .

1. Create a Position Description

It’s important to know what you’re looking for in a volunteer leader and which role you want them to play. What experience do they need to have? Do they need to be comfortable with public speaking? Should they have a specific skill or certification? Be clear on the profile you’re targeting when searching for volunteer leaders, as well as their roles and responsibilities, and then capture the details in a position description.

2. Recruit Volunteer Leaders Strategically

Sometimes you need to look no further than your existing network of volunteers to find great leaders. Most of us have that group of rock star volunteers who bring a lot of energy to projects, demonstrate great leadership and are dependable. Let these volunteers know that you recognize their contributions to your organization by sharing the opportunity with them.

Consider other ways to recruit volunteer leaders:

Post the position on your website.
Promote the position on your organization’s social media channels.
Reach new potential volunteers by posting the position on Points of Light’s volunteer database.
Share the position with local professional groups, civic engagement organizations and community service clubs of local universities.
Ask those rock star volunteers to share the position with those they think would be a good fit.

3. Offer Training and Support for Volunteer Leaders

Volunteer leaders are still volunteers, and it’s important to maintain a personal connection with them. After orientation and training, you will still want to coach and mentor them to help individual leaders grow their thinking and capacity to lead.

Provide clear guidelines, due dates, reminders and clarification of requirements. More importantly, know your their strengths, as well as opportunities for growth, so that you can better help them develop their skills. If you foster their development as you do for staff, your organization is more likely to retain a strong and growing body of committed, qualified volunteer leaders.

Decide whether you want to support volunteer leaders formally or informally. Formal support can include regularly scheduled meetings and task-specific training. Informal support occurs as it is needed rather than at scheduled times and can include calls or emails to check in.

Provide opportunities for volunteer leaders to share best practices and learn from each other, such as casual gatherings at a coffee shop or a virtual meetup. Recognize outstanding and dedicated volunteers by nominating them to be a Daily Point of Light or become a certifying organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Through this continued support, you are preparing volunteer leaders to take greater responsibility, and in doing so, engage even more volunteers.

3 Ways to Prep for Global Volunteer Month

Global Volunteer Month

is an annual event to encourage volunteerism and civic action. Learn how to recognize volunteers who are actively participating in bettering their communities for this monthlong event, including National Volunteer Week and year-round. Nonprofits get the opportunity to raise awareness for their organization’s current needs and funding opportunities, businesses have a way to engage every employee in spring volunteer initiatives, and individuals are able to give back to their local communities.

The celebration happens in April of 2023, but now is the time to begin to mobilize your community, employees, family and friends, or your volunteers to participate. Here are three ways to get the ball rolling on your Global Volunteer Month efforts early, so you can maximize turnout.

Plan Your Participation in Global Volunteer Month Starting Now

Contribute your time and talents personally:

So you want to volunteer, but you’re not sure where to get started. Find local nonprofits in your area by searching online, and reach out to them directly to see what their needs are. Maybe there’s a donations drive you can support by donating gently used clothing or canned goods. You can also search for in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities on

Points of Light Engage

, the world’s largest digital volunteer network featuring hundreds of thousands of volunteer opportunities throughout the world. You can even check out these

DIY projects

that are easy to do from home.

Motivate your volunteers or employees

Nonprofit organizations will want to consider which programs to elevate during Global Volunteer Month. Invite supporters to make a difference by participating.

Companies looking to engage employees in volunteerism and civic action in the spring might consider partnering with a

Corporate Services & Solutions

partner. Working with a knowledgeable partner in the nonprofit space can help connect you with valuable volunteer opportunities, create strategic plans for employee engagement, increase volunteer turnout across your organization, measure your success and celebrate your employees accordingly.

Share Your Message

Get your stakeholders on board. Points of Light’s

Global Volunteer Month toolkits

include logos, social media graphics and sample messages to easily share your participation with your audiences. It’s critical for nonprofit organizations to communicate consistently throughout April through donor and volunteer outreach. It’s not unusual for people to need to hear about events up to ten times before the message “sticks,” so don’t hesitate to promote your programs, needs and fundraising opportunities for this month early and often.

Companies seeking optimal turnout among employee volunteers will need to do the same. Promote the employee volunteering activities your company is offering, and be clear about how employees can participate. Send out information in your employee newsletters, email blasts or other internal communications, and promote events on social media as well.

Tell Amazing Stories

Finally, you’ll want to make a plan to recognize and celebrate all of the ways your volunteers are contributing to their communities! For individual volunteers, this could mean posting on social media to share the civic actions you took during the month. For nonprofits and companies, you might consider collecting and sharing volunteer stories, videos and photos for publishing throughout the remainder of the year. You might throw a month-end luncheon or other event to celebrate your work.

Recognition and celebration takes careful planning and preparation, so as you’re laying out your plan for the month, make this the final phase and figure out how you will reward your volunteers throughout the month and year round. Two ongoing opportunities for volunteer recognition include

The Daily Point of Light Award

program, which rewards and lifts up individual stories every day, as well as the

President’s Volunteer Service Award

, which recognizes the important role of exceptional volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. Your nonprofit can even

become a certifying organization

so you’re able to offer this prestigious award to your own volunteers.

Download the

Global Volunteer Month toolkit

that’s tailored specifically to you, whether you’re an individual, nonprofit, company or government official. However you choose to get involved in Global Volunteer Month, we can’t wait to hear about the social impact you make in 2023.

Find Your Nonprofit Voice: Build a Bridge Between Donors and Trust

Using your voice to advocate for the causes you care about is a critical part of civic engagement. At the individual level, people use their voices through the conversations they have with friends and family members or what they post on social media. But what does an organizational voice look like – specifically for nonprofits looking to build a bridge between donors and trust? Below are four tips for finding your nonprofit voice.

Learn More About Advocacy

A critical step to unleashing your voice is to be clear that advocacy and lobbying are two different things. Broadly speaking,

advocacy

is defined as “public support for or a recommendation of a particular cause or policy,” whereas

lobbying

is urging “…the public to contact members or employees of a legislative body for the purpose of accepting, rejecting, proposing, supporting, or opposing legislation,” according to the United States Internal Revenue Service. Most nonprofits heavily lean into advocacy to advance their missions and individuals impacted by their work. In fact, advocacy is the backbone of many nonprofit efforts. As an organization, you can add your voice to the public square and join the chorus of individuals seeking to effect positive change.

One useful resource is

Bolder Advocacy

, an organization consisting of lawyers, coaches and nonprofit experts who provide educational resources for nonprofit and foundation leaders on advocacy. They offer a wide range of information, tools and training to help organizations navigate advocacy rules and regulations.

Find Your Voice

When you represent a nonprofit organization, you may feel hesitant to engage your voice in some of these movements or policies that might drive or impact them. You might avoid using your platform in new or bolder ways out of fear of putting off volunteers, funders or other stakeholders. You may be concerned about appearing “too political” or “too controversial” by speaking up about current social or political issues. But in doing so you miss opportunities. You miss advancing your mission, as well as building deeper connections with donors and the very people we serve.

Your staff and Board of Directors should decide on your advocacy strategy. Identify the issue(s) that are connected to your mission and your organizational values. Where it makes sense, engage other constituents such as volunteers or members of your community. Use

this checklist

from the Council of Nonprofits to help you plan effectively.

Listen and Learn

Educate yourself more deeply on current social movements that relate to the issue(s) your organization has identified. From Black Lives Matter to #MeToo to the LGBTQIA+ rights movement to campaigns like the Ice Bucket Challenge, there has been a range of social movements that inspired, motivated and empowered our society in recent history alone.

Evaluate which tools, resources and strategies already exist and which organizations might already be engaged in advocacy related to those issues. Take note of how nonprofits use social media to engage with their communities on these topics, then mimic these strategies on your own social media channels.

Inform Your Network

Finally, spread awareness and share resources, like the “Civic Life Today” issue about

Voice

, offering educational resources help to deepen everyone’s understanding of the issue(s).

Distribute information and answer questions about your new strategies. Help to inform your network about your nonprofit’s current or planned advocacy efforts and why they matter to your organization and the people you serve. Leveraging learning and advocating together strengthens your organization’s connection with your constituencies as you work toward systemic change.

5 Tips on How to be Transparent With Donors

Making sure you know how to be transparent with donors is essential to building trust. While every organization is different, many nonprofits rely heavily — sometimes exclusively — on donor support. In 2021, overall

charitable giving

in the United States increased 8.5% compared to the previous year. While you may be used to considering factors such as

donor churn

and

donor retention

, there’s another area to consider: donors and trust.

As a nonprofit organization, you thrive when your donors trust that their gifts are being spent wisely and effectively. But how do you communicate the impact that donations have in order to meet that gap between donors and trust? The answer is simple — transparency.

Donors and Trust, by the Numbers

The Independent Sector’s

Trust in Civil Society

report explores factors that drive trust in American nonprofits and philanthropy. As part of their key findings, they share that there appears to be a two-way street between trust and civic action.

Donors and volunteers both indicate they have higher trust for nonprofit organizations, while also identifying trust as a necessary factor for them to support the organization.

From the survey:

63% agreed that “many factors, including how much I trust a nonprofit to do what is right, determine whether or not I support it financially, or through volunteering.”
83% agreed that “nonprofits must earn my trust before I support them.”

According to the report, there are four primary dimensions that comprise trust capital: ability, dependability, integrity and purpose. For nonprofits, statistical modeling indicates that the latter two dimensions, integrity and purpose, contribute the most to building or reducing trust.

Transparency demonstrates both of these facets, even when it means admitting failure. In the article, “

Why Failing Transparently Is a Good Thing

,” author Wayne Elsey, founder and CEO of Funds2Orgs, explains that discussing failure, and the learnings from it, can be a pathway to earning trust.

Here are Elsey’s quick tips for being more transparent with your donors and supporters.

Publish your nonprofit financials.

Even if you have a small organization, place your audited financials on your website. This action alone can significantly help bridge the gap between donors and trust.

Consider getting a Guidestar Seal of Transparency.

With a

Seal of Transparency

from Guidestar, you may be able to increase your donations by 53%. Guidestar is an independent organization, and having their approval can showcase the dependability and credibility of your nonprofit.

Publish your outcomes and impact.

Donors want to know what your organization does and your metrics for success. Be clear and transparent. For all of your programs, give regular updates via a newsletter or email blast. Always publish an annual report of achievements from the past year.

Make sure to have whistleblower and conflict-of-interest policies.

Have policies in place to discourage illegal or corrupt activities and promote speaking up. Not only is this tenet vital to maintaining your organization’s integrity, but it also demonstrates to donors that you understand best practices in these arenas and take corruption seriously.

Experiment and create pilot programs or initiatives.

Finally, nonprofit leaders must develop their organizations. Thinking outside the box with vision and transparency shows you want to be a better nonprofit leader and expand your outcomes and impact.

Want to learn more? Donate is one of the nine elements in the

Points of Light Civic Circle

Ⓡ

, your system for changing systems. Our Civic Life Today issue on

Donate

explores the act of donating, thoughtfully encourages individuals to understand the power of their donations and shows people how to approach donating through a thoughtful lens in order to have the greatest impact.

Learn How to Spot Social Intrapreneurs Within Organizations

Social entrepreneurship is one of nine elements in Points of Light’s

Civic Circle

, a framework to help people understand how doing good can come in many forms. (If you haven’t read the Civic Life Today issue on

social entrepreneurship

, we highly recommend it!)

Social entrepreneurs get to the root causes of today’s issues and work to find innovative solutions. They identify a need that has not been met by traditional structures, research the existing landscape and then lead the charge to solve the issue in a new way.

While social entrepreneurs operate outside of organizations, did you know that they can exist within organizations too? Social “intrapreneurship” has a few definitions, but generally, it is the “Successful adaptation of entrepreneurial attitudes and strategies inside of a bureaucratic organization.”

Think about your own organization – do you know any intrapreneurs? They could be existing leaders at your organization or even highly-engaged volunteers that serve with you. Or maybe you are one yourself. There are many different qualities you might expect from an intrapreneur, but here are a few common ones.

Qualities of Social Intrapreneurs

Social intrapreneurs are passionate about the cause or issue they are supporting. Like any successful social entrepreneur, they take the time to understand the issue they are seeking to address. (By the way,

listening and learning

about issues before acting on them is another element of Points of Light’s Civic Circle!)

They’re also willing to take risks. They don’t see the status quo or any traditional approaches as limiting to their potential, and they’re comfortable with taking data and their broader lived experiences to try different ways of solving issues.

Social intrapreneurs are resilient and driven, helping them to be more adaptable to adversity. Beyond resiliency though, there is a hopeful optimism they possess. They truly believe change is possible and that they have the passion to make it happen!

Intrapreneurs are also able to understand and work within existing organizational structures, while also seeing opportunities to adapt them in order to foster change. Intrapreneurial talent can be a significant benefit to your organization in moving your mission forward and serving your community. Instead of forcing these individuals into a box, it’s a good idea to cultivate their creative solutions and encourage idea sharing.

Supporting Your Social Intrapreneurs

If you read through that list of qualities and have one person or a few people in mind, read on for a few ways your organization can help support and cultivate their intrapreneurship (ideas adapted from

The Innovators Handbook

First, create a culture of learning. This may come as no surprise, but an organizational culture that is unwilling or unable to adapt and learn will likely not be able to support new, entrepreneurial ideas. A culture that values creativity and future thinking will better fit intrapreneurs seeking to create change.

Next, recognize biases. We all have them; no one is exempt. Fostering a culture or system that avoids biases isn’t possible unless you can recognize them in the first place. Three to be particularly aware of:

Authority bias: Our tendency to attribute greater accuracy to anyone in a higher position. Also known as the HiPPO effect – or the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion.
Bandwagon bias: Our predisposition to replicate and emulate what others are doing.
Law of the instrument: Our habit of becoming unquestioningly enamored with a methodology, process or tool. Hence the well-known idiom, “if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

Finally, try to see innovation as an opportunity, not a requirement. Great ideas can come from anywhere, but they shouldn’t just be more criteria on a job description. Ideas are opportunities and leaders should assume that there is already much untapped potential throughout their organizations. Organizational structures should invite everyone to the innovation table.

What other ways can your organization foster innovation and creativity to support social intrapreneurs? Do you have any particular intrapreneurs who have inspired you? Share with us on

Facebook

Instagram

and

Twitter

Top 5 Reasons to Attend the Points of Light Conference 2023

The

Points of Light Conference

, an annual event that draws global nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders from all over the world, is the premier civic engagement, volunteer and CSR conference to keep you educated and inspired. Here are five reasons you should attend the Points of Light Conference in 2023.

What sets this civic engagement conference apart?

There’s no better way to access compelling professional development and CSR networking opportunities. A post-event survey from The Points of Light Conference 2022 showed that 81% of respondents left with new knowledge that they were able to apply in their work. One attendee said the conference “…was terrific – friendly, inspiring and educational!” Another leader reported, “We had team members from several different departments attend and everyone gained something!”

“There was a great diversity of perspectives and strategies about the subject matter, volunteering and the devotion to civic improvement that transcended a variety of international cultural perspectives. Additionally, everyone was very driven and practical in regards to outlining strategies for success that can be applied to a daily lived experience and can be scaled up or down.” — Points of Light Conference Attendee

According to

recent research

, “58% of employees feel that their employers should lead in initiating higher standards to address various social justice issues affecting their communities,” while “64% of Millennials are not interested in working in companies that don’t value social responsibility” and “97% of past volunteers are more motivated in their duties” since the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no doubt about it: The Points of Light Conference is sure to provide a rich experience to aid you in the important, impactful work you do.

1. Get inspired by top speakers

Each year, Points of Light hosts inspiring speakers and presenters from across the globe who are making massive impacts in their spheres. Whether you’re a

business leader

, a nonprofit employee or a passionate

volunteer

, you will hear from some of the leading voices in the CSR and ESG fields. Past conferences have welcomed news anchors, bestselling authors, actors and entertainers, and leaders of some of the largest organizations in the world to the stage. Expect to hear inspiring stories from this year’s cohort and gain insight into steps you can take to increase and sustain your own impact.

2. Grow your network

One of the top reasons to attend this civic engagement conference is for the networking opportunities. Not only will you have the chance to meet inspiring leaders working toward the common good, but you get to rub elbows with like-minded people doing similar work. Want to exchange successful marketing strategies you’ve been using? Catch up on new initiatives your colleagues have implemented this past year? Have lunch with a friend from last year’s conference? Now’s your chance to build and sustain your own professional network.

3. Get equipped with the latest research and tools

Attending this CSR conference can open the door to ideas and resources that will transform the way you work. Explore the

research and trends

shaping the social sector and deepen your impact with new tools and solutions to current problems. As the landscape has shift due to COVID-19, you can’t rely on pandemic-era methods of volunteer or employee engagement. At the Points of Light Conference, you will dive into the topics and tools most relevant to where you are now.

“The Points of Light Conference is a place for both bold civic engagement strategy conversations and re-energizing reflection to fuel your day-to-day work. It’s an investment of time and budget that pays off tenfold in new ideas, fresh inspiration, and relevant connections” — Katie Stearns, Chief Global Corporate Solutions Officer, Points of Light

4. Revitalize your passion and commitment

Keep burnout at bay by stoking your passion for civic engagement. When times get tough, how do other leaders and their teams handle the hurdles? What are the key moments that keep them engaged and committed to the work over the course of decades? Reconnect to the reasons you started on your civic engagement journey in the first place. From Main Stage moments to workshops and presentations, you’ll experience moving stories of both successes and failures. You’re sure to find a story you can personally relate to and draw on later through good times and challenges.

5. Make the most of your time in Chicago

This year’s conference provides a brand-new opportunity to explore a major metropolitan area: Chicago! We’re hosting the Points of Light Conference in the middle of June, which is the perfect time to explore the beautiful weather of the Midwest. Snap a selfie at Cloud Gate, (aka “The Bean”) at Millennium Park. Grab your group and head to The Garfield Park Conservatory or the Art Institute of Chicago, cultural staples of this bustling city. History buff? Take a 90-minute cruise along the Chicago River to hear about the origins behind the stunning Chicago architecture.

“We are thrilled to welcome the global Points of Light community to Chicago!” said Points of Light Conference Co-host Ellen Ray, CEO of Chicago Cares. “We look forward to the Points of Light conference serving as an opportunity to celebrate and strengthen the ways our beautiful and complicated city brings the power of people to the work of change.”

Register for the Points of Light Conference 2023

Whether you’re in the corporate world or the social sector, leading teams or new to your organization, don’t miss this powerful conference. The Points of Light Conference is your chance to refine your skills, revitalize your passion and network with other people making waves in the world of civic engagement. Head over to our

2023 Points of Light Conference page

to sign up for updates and stay abreast of announcements.