5 Reasons Why You Should Present at the 2021 Points of Light Conference
Sue Carter Kahl
It’s that time of year—school is (sort of) back in session, pumpkin muffins are popping up everywhere, and Points of Light is seeking presenters for the 2021 Points of Light Conference, scheduled for July 14-16. This year’s hybrid event will include in person and virtual experiences, with live sessions occurring at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida, and online sessions for a virtual audience. As a past presenter, I am sharing a few reasons why I am submitting a proposal this year, and why you should, too.
You (and I) have something to say.
Sometimes I question what I can add to the conversation on volunteerism. What’s so special about my voice among a lineup of “experts”? Yet that is the beauty of our field: individuals who take our experiences and observations about community engagement—and translate it into insight, solutions and hope. No one else can deliver the message that is yours or mine to share. If we don’t share it, no one will.
Someone needs to hear what we have to say.
Have you ever been to a conference session where the presenter said something that lit you up, made you want to shout (or tweet) “yes!” to their message because it was so on target, or left you feeling deeply seen? That is the power of connecting the right message with the right audience. Someone is waiting to hear that message from you.
Presenting helps create meaning of our work.
I’m a Crock-pot in an Instant Pot world. I have to marinate in ideas to sort out what I know and what is still emerging. Crafting a presentation allows me to be in crock-pot mode and explore the rich stew that comes from simmering in this bit of research or that meaningful project. It also challenges me to figure out how to share what I am learning so others can apply and learn from it, too.
Co-creating enriches your thinking.
I’m an introvert who loves to noodle through problems on my own. Yet, there is no denying that my ideas and practices improve when I work through them in community. Points of Light Conference attendees are smart and engaging collaborators. The participants in each session I have facilitated have helped me clarify and refine my work. Our field is all about engagement—this is a chance to walk our talk about connecting with others to co-create a better future for us all.
Effecting positive change is a team effort.
My vision is to help leaders see volunteerism as a powerful strategy to advance their missions and engage their communities. I know this vision is possible when we frame and invest in service in meaningful ways. However, there is only so much I can do on my own. Presenting at the Points of Light Conference allows me to add my voice to a larger movement, meet co-conspirators for the common good, and join efforts with others who are committed to our communities.
I’m looking forward to attending next year’s conference and hearing the message that only you can share.
Sue Carter Kahl is president of Sue Carter Kahl Consulting, and a past Points of Light Conference presenter.
How Companies Can Build Communities and Solve Social Issues
A sense of belonging – whether to a team, a neighborhood, a city, a state, a cause, a school or company – shapes our identities, making us healthier and more community oriented. We form communities in hundreds of ways. And yet for many people, the reality remains that they feel singled out, left behind, different. So how do we build stronger communities in all their forms, stopping attitudes and actions that isolate, and build more belonging?
Jenny Lawson, Chief Civic Innovation Officer
The 2019 Points of Light Conference left me with a vision for the answer. As we stand at the dawn of a new era – the Civic Century – where we imagine everyone being fully engaged, the idea of connecting to each other is an incredibly powerful stepping stone to the world we are yearning to create.
The strongest, most sustainable support for the Civic Century may come from companies. And why not? We will spend about 90,000 hours – almost one third of our lives – working. Companies can use this opportunity to educate, influence, and improve attitudes, skills and behaviors that can break down barriers and build more connected communities.
At the conference, companies came together – along with individuals and nonprofits – to hear from leaders in the sector on how building communities is not only good for the world, but good for business. Marc Freedman, president and CEO of Encore.org and author of the best-selling book
shared a vision of how we might increase our sense of belonging in the workplace. His premise: the barriers and boundaries we have created between young and old create separateness and isolation that might serve some definition of efficiency in the short run, but leave us less connected and less effective in the long run. His solution: look for ways your older employees can serve as coaches and mentors to younger employees – both in the workplace and in the community. Or, consider how younger employees may be able to help older employees polish 21st-century skills and redefine the value and opportunity offered by an aging workforce. While these tasks offer measurable value, the connections they create help to build a culture of belonging in the workplace and beyond.
In addition to Marc, speakers throughout the week discussed how businesses must focus on building community and purpose. Alison DaSilva, executive vice president of Cone Communications, discussed the value Gen Z places on purpose-driven brands, and Amy Smith, chief giving officer for TOMS, reminded corporate audiences that “staying on the sidelines and playing safe is no longer an option if you want to stay relevant.”
So how will we use community to solve the social challenges in front of us?
Points of Light is
, and the communities where their employees work and live, to move beyond deep divides and unite in action to improve the world. Bringing our collective partners of value and values along on the journey is how we will create the world that we envision. I hope you will join us in the year ahead.
Take a Look at Highlights from the 2019 Points of Light Conference:
Bringing MAVA to the Masses at the Points of Light Conference
had the unique opportunity to join forces with Points of Light as content partner for the 2019 Points of Light Conference, held in St. Paul, Minnesota. MAVA focused on what it does best — providing educational sessions for hundreds of nonprofit professionals looking for best practices in their industry. Points of Light brought its large following to Minnesota, exposing so many new people to our work, and the response was immense! Extra sessions added to meet the demands of the larger audience gave conference attendees from all over the world the chance to get their first taste of what MAVA has to offer.
Many participants were introduced for the first time to established leaders in our industry. Rob Jackson, director of Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd., and Beth Steinhorn, president of VQ Volunteer Strategies, led an inspiring educational plenary at the Nonprofit Volunteer Engagement Opening Session, focused on the far-reaching effects that can be seen when we engage and enable volunteers. Attendees watched a series of videos, collected from across the globe, featuring volunteer managers speaking to the ripple effects that volunteers have had on projects within their communities. Buzzing with ideas and new motivation, the crowd set off for two and a half days of learning and sharing best practices, conversations with colleagues and those “ah ha!” moments. Sessions on creating an environment of inclusion displayed the trend of demographic changes in the volunteer population and our need to stay on top of them. And MAVA’s own Lisa Joyslin presented data collected from a recent inclusion study and the
. The need for data tracking and reporting on trends grows with the industry, and MAVA is a leader in these studies.
Beth Steinhorn and Rob Jackson lead an inspiring educational plenary at the Nonprofit Volunteer Engagement Opening Session.
“The interactions and questions that sprang forth from the participants were energizing, and really displayed the need for continued transparency and establishment of best practices to help each other move the industry into the professionally recognized and rewarding job we know it can be,” said Kristina Wilkes, manager of volunteer projects at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Kristina was among the volunteers staffing the MAVA information table, which offered attendees the opportunity to learn how MAVA might benefit them — even if they’re not in Minnesota.
“As a member who lives and works in Chicago, I was able to talk to the benefits that institutions receive even if they aren’t within the Minnesota State lines,” Kristina said. “It was empowering to share how best practices for the management of volunteers are being presented from state to state and professional to professional every week through MAVA. The foundation may lay in the Twin Cities, but the work we do is universal.”
With the learning and networking that we did at this year’s Points of Light Conference I know that next year’s MAVA Conference, June 3-5 in Minnesota, will be another great step in supporting not just Minnesota, as the land of volunteering, but all of America.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Points of Light for bringing the conference to Minnesota and for shining a light on MAVA,
and the stellar volunteer engagement work conducted in Minnesota.
The 2020 Points of Light Conference will be held June 10-12, 2020, in Washington, D.C.! Subscribe to our email newsletter, and be the first to get conference-related news and updates, including the call for proposals and early-bird registration discounts.
Karmit Bulman is the executive director of the Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administration. She oversees strategic planning, board development, financial management, fundraising, program development and day-to-day programming at MAVA.
Power of People: Highlights from the 2019 Points of Light Conference
Wow! I’ve just returned from our annual Points of Light Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, and all I can say is “wow!” That’s it. Just, “wow.”
Every year, our conference convenes thousands of leaders from all around the world to celebrate, learn, network and engage with one another. And our attendees told us that this year’s conference was exceptional! Of course, there is always room for improvement, and we look forward to creating an even more spectacular experience in the years to come.
Natalye Paquin, President & CEO, Points of Light at the 2019 Points of Light Conference.
This year, attendees from 30 countries around the world gathered for four days of inspiration, elevation and celebration. We celebrated people using whatever tools they have to support any issue they care about. They’re doing things like raising their voices through social media or joining a hashtag revolution; donating to a nonprofit; becoming a social entrepreneur; directing their purchasing power to support businesses that demonstrate social consciousness or voting for a candidate who ideals align with their own; choosing to work for a company that prioritizes profit and social purpose; spending a year of service or taking time out of their busy lives to volunteer.
We celebrated all of it this week. And we reaffirmed that through the collective “power of people,” around the world, we are creating the Civic Century. Together, we are unquestionably demonstrating the holistic power of people to make change! The Civic Century is about recognizing the unique and individual contributions each one of us can make to our communities, even when it doesn’t fit under the mantle of “volunteering.”
Did you know that while 30% of Americans say they volunteer (which is great!), 62% say they “help out in other ways,” meaning they give of their time at work, with their families or neighbors. That is additive and communities need that!
At the conference last week, we also talked about how employers, nonprofits, companies and individuals can support and invest in individuals. This multiplies and accelerates their impact. And multipliers’ actions often inspire others to act, compounding the effect they have on communities.
Attendees gather at the Points of Light Conference for forums, activities and civic talks.
It is exciting to highlight just a few multipliers who took the stage last week and created some very special moments during the conference:
How incredible it was to recognize HandsOn Twin Cities for one hundred years of service to the community (talk about a civic century!) and to celebrate with their Executive Director, Tracy Nielsen.
I loved it when Lindsey Peoples Wagner, the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, told our Youth Summit participants that there is no one way to do good in your community. And she reminded the adults that youth are not the future – they are the NOW!
It was great to hear social entrepreneur Marc Freedman speak with the corporate community about the importance of building bridges between generations. Most work environments are multi-generational and Marc’s theories about how we can all be more productive were riveting.
There was not a dry eye in the house when Neil Bush reflected on how other people eulogized his dad, our founder, former President George H.W. Bush. He said that people remembered his dad, not for his accomplishments in business or in politics, but for his character and the way he lived his life as a civic servant.
Of course, the audience cheered when former NFL player and current activist and corporate coach Wade Davis reminded us all about the impact of our language and not viewing the world through a deficit lens. He made everyone think about the words we use and the unconscious biases we all have.
And attendees were inspired by Nadya Okomoto and Christina Meredith, women who are using their personal experiences to take up huge causes like gender equality and foster care reform and using their powerful voices to challenge the status quo.
There were so many phenomenal moments throughout the week, and we had such a great time. I hope you will check out some of the
from the conference that are posted online and on social media.
If you want to learn more about what we do at Points of Light, or want to be part of it, join us! We’d love to have you. You can learn more at pointsoflight.org. Maybe we’ll see you at next year’s conference in Washington, D.C.!
Our World is Small, but Our Capacity for Service is Enormous
The world is small. Even though we’re 7 billion people. Speaking 6,000 languages. Living in more than 180 countries. We’re diverse and divided by oceans and time zones. But still, our world is small and it’s shrinking all the time.
We’re more connected than ever, thanks to technology, and those connections remind us that we have more in common than not. Think about the things that go viral. No matter our language or location, we think the same videos are funny, or sweet, or kind. We like the same kind of quotes that inspire us to seek out and become our very best. We’re empathetic, and we share the same belief that helping each other can have a profound impact.
Natalye Paquin, President & CEO, Points of Light
Last month at Points of Light we announced an expansion of a partnership with The Starbucks Foundation. It involves Starbucks employees (they’re called “partners”) working part time at community non-profit organizations – often Points of Light Global Network members – to provide not just support for the organization, but an expanded skill set and opportunity for the partner.
This innovative model allows Starbucks – as an employer of more than 280,000 people around the world – to help its partners become involved in their communities. Points of Light helps connect Starbucks partners with organizations who are doing deeply impactful work on the ground.
Employer-supported volunteering is essential to building the Civic Century we talk about so often at Points of Light. When employers help their employees volunteer during the workday – and make it easy – their capacity for service grows exponentially. Plus, it means more people have opportunities to give back.
A recent report from the UK’s National Council for Voluntary Organizations found that participants in employer-supported volunteering tend to be younger, male and from urban areas. The same report found that demand for these types of programs is growing and that about half of participants apply their professional skills to their volunteer service. Said another way: More people want more opportunities to apply their skills in ways that help people.
That’s what the Civic Century is all about. Finding ways that every individual can apply their skills and be fully engaged in every area of their life. We’ll be talking more about all of this at the 2019 Points of Light Conference in St. Paul (starting tomorrow!) and I’m very much looking forward to it.
Each year, the conference brings together individuals, nonprofits and corporate partners from around the world, who are working together toward making our vision for the future a reality, come together and share best practices and new ideas. Last year I left feeling inspired and exhilarated – and I want you to feel that way too! I hope you’ll join us in-person or follow along online using #PointsofLight19.
A Dozen Things to Do in St. Paul During the Points of Light Conference
The Points of Light Conference offers incredible opportunities to take in the Twin Cities rich culture. From museums, theater and dining to sports, music and historic districts, there’s something new to experience for every attendee.
Network with people from around the world and your own backyard.
Recharge your enthusiasm for volunteerism and gain new insights to take back home.
With more shoreline on the Mississippi River than any other city in the U.S., cruise on a river boat, take a leisurely walk or ride a bike by the river and take it all in.
Mall of America is an easy train ride away. With over 520 stores to choose from, it will be easy to shop till you drop.
Nerd out at the Minnesota Science Museum, located across the street from the Points of Light Conference and listed as one of National Geographic’s Top 10 Science Museums in the U.S.
See a show at one of the many historic theaters and show houses located in St. Paul or Minneapolis.
The Twin Cities metropolitan area is a foodie destination. With cuisine from all around the world, from hotdish to pad thai, we have it all.
St. Paul used to be known as a mobster’s paradise during Prohibition. Re-live history while exploring Wabasha Caves or the hidden secrets and hideouts around St. Paul.
Visit elegant Summit Avenue, the longest preserved Victorian avenue in the U.S. In addition to being home to the governor’s residence, authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis both lived on Summit Avenue at the same time.
Grab a bite to eat at the iconic Mickey’s Diner, a local favorite that has been featured in three movies including “The Mighty Ducks,” “Jingle All the Way” and “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Weather not to your liking? No problem. Take the skyway instead! The city’s 5-mile long continuous skyway system is one of the longest in the U.S., second only to her twin’s skyway network in Minneapolis.
Look up and be amazed inside the Minnesota State Capitol, home to the second largest unsupported marble dome in the world. If you must know, the first is St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with the Taj Mahal in India at third.
, content partner of the Points of Light Conference.
Co-hosted with HandsOn Twin Cities, the 2019 Points of Light Conference will offer unique opportunities for networking and exploring the Twin Cities and its rich history of volunteerism. View the agenda, featured speakers, special events, and register today at
Is there something special about the Twin Cities? Yep. You betcha. It’s the volunteers
In two weeks, the 2019 Points of Light Conference will kick-off in St. Paul, Minnesota. Our state is known for our 10,000 lakes, snowy and cold winters and his royal purpleness, Prince. But in the past few years, we’ve also hosted a Super Bowl, a men’s basketball Final Four, and countless events and national conferences.
Visitors to our region are often surprised by the fantastic food scene, bountiful cultural and natural attractions, and the giant Mall of America (with no sales tax on clothing or shoes!). But, just as often, are met with the feeling of being warmly welcomed by the volunteers who work at the events they’ve come to Minneapolis/St. Paul to attend.
Year after year, the Twin Cities is ranked the No. 1 metro area for volunteering. People here value service to others, stewardship of our community and participation in our common good. We are typically shy about bragging about our state, but one area we love telling people about is our willingness to spend time helping each other out. It’s no surprise HandsOn Twin Cities is the oldest volunteer center in the nation. And this year, we’re celebrating 100 years of supporting service and volunteerism.
We are home to a high number of Fortune 500 headquarters, an amazing tech and med-tech startup scene, and small businesses galore. We have a spirit of innovation and industry that comes from our fantastic education system, and a cornerstone of our corporate and educational culture is service. It is hard to understate the commitment of our business sector to volunteerism and civic participation.
When you land at MSP International Airport, we invite you to experience the lakes, the theaters, the restaurants and some meaningful professional development at the Points of Light Conference, which HandsOn Twin Cities is excited to co-host this year. But we also invite you to get to know what makes the Twin Cities such a fertile place for volunteerism. Talk to the conference volunteers and find out how many different organizations they serve with. Ask the people at your hotel how their company supports volunteer time off. Keep your eyes peeled when you go by any park, field or playground, and we bet you will see people volunteering.
So, we uncharacteristically boast about our No. 1 ranking in volunteerism. Is there something special about the Twin Cities? Yep. You betcha. It’s the volunteers.
Tracy Nielsen is executive director of HandsOn Twin Cities, a member of the Points of Light Global Network. She co-authored this blog with Andy Goldman-Gray, who serves as chairman of the HandsOn Twin Cities board of directors.
Co-hosted with HandsOn Twin Cities, the 2019 Points of Light Conference will offer unique opportunities for networking and exploring the Twin Cities and its rich history of volunteerism. View the agenda, featured speakers, special events, and register today at www.pointsoflightconference.org.
What Will You Do This Summer?
It’s graduation season. School’s out for summer. And all around us, young people are setting off on exciting paths – heading to college, to graduate school, or starting their careers. At graduations, we recognize and celebrate accomplishments, and the promise of what’s to come.
Natalye Paquin, President & CEO, Points of Light
I read an article recently about a high school in Minnesota where students can letter in service, just like they can letter in sports or academics. How incredible is that? This school, and others like it, are recognizing service as an achievement and signaling to the entire student body that it’s worthy of celebration. At graduation, their service is lauded as an accomplishment.
This week, one of my colleagues shared with me that this summer her kids are attending a summer service camp. Using their time to serve others – and finding outlets for that service in their communities – is so important. Increasingly, young people are being celebrated for their service, and seeing role models and peers around them celebrating service, too.
The Civic Century we talk about so often at Points of Light depends on a generation of young people for whom service is second nature, and who understand it impact. It’s up to us to show them.
Next month, we’ll be in St. Paul for our annual
. We’ve got a number of partners coming to the conference who will share what they’re doing to increase service and participation in their communities. While we’re there, we’ll also spend an afternoon outdoors, partnering in a service project with the
, an organization focused on helping the city’s Mississippi River Recreation Area. We’ll join volunteers in planting native species, removing invasive ones and cleaning up the river area. I’m really looking forward to it being just one of the ways I’ll give back this season.
So, my question to you is: What will you do this summer? Will you take one day, one excursion, one weekend to give back? The same joy, the same sense of peace, the same feel-good feeling we find in traditional summer things, like a vacation or a trip to the beach, can be found in service. And the impact lasts a long, long time.
Tell us what you’re doing using #summerservice and tag @PointsofLight on social media.
5 Reasons Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Skip the Points of Light Conference
Brian Dean, left, with Jersey Cares staff at the 2018 Points of Light Conference in Atlanta.
I don’t have time to go to St. Paul in June. That’s a busy time of year inside and outside of the office, and as the head of a nonprofit, I can find a lot of other things to do with the money I would spend on that trip. Our budget is definitely more tiny house than McMansion.
But I am going to go to St. Paul, and I’m going to make the investment to send other members of our team as well. The choice was easy, in spite of all of the reasons we have not to go. The
in St. Paul will be filled with remarkable people making a difference, and the chance to join with them to build a better world is a once-a-year, not-to-be-missed opportunity.
If you’re wondering how you would find the time or why you should find the money to attend the Points of Light Conference, I can offer you five reasons why you’ll want to do both and enjoy St. Paul in June:
Discover new ideas to transform old paradigms.
Challenge your existing mechanisms and spark new thought by spending a few days immersed in the company of smart people who ponder the same issues that you do. The 2018 conference sent me home with pages of ideas that have inspired new ways of thinking, elevated my organization’s work and brought people together in new ways.
Get inspired by new friends who are passionate about the same work that gets you out of bed in the morning.
The Points of Light Conference grants you the opportunity to share in the enthusiasm of inspired and inspiring people who remind you why you began this journey. You’ll return home ready to leap out of bed with the energy you’ve found among your new worldwide network.
Know the name and face to call when your local partner wants to work globally.
Meeting the great people who love making the world a better place is only part of the benefit. Expanding your local partnerships by assisting the people, organizations and companies critical to your work with their national and international efforts helps you improve your place in your corporate partners’ CSR portfolios and elevate your voice in local changemaking.
Break out of your personnel and financial audits mindset to spend quality time with your big picture.
The Points of Light Conference brightens and broadens your vision while redirecting your focus when the daily details are all you can see. Set your sights on the bigger and better, and be the bigger, better leader your community needs.
Share in the excitement of Points of Light’s new energy under the leadership of Natalye Paquin.
Points of Light’s re-commitment to local organizations and volunteers as central to our collective work in changing the world is your opportunity to reach beyond your service area and grow a global movement. This moment is your invaluable chance to imprint your passion, purpose and plans onto a global effort and accelerate your local work into a cultural transformation.
If you’ve never attended a Points of Light Conference, take a chance and see for yourself how a few days can propel your personal mission. If you haven’t attended for a while, come and see how a new direction and a new commitment to you can advance your work. And if you came last year, you probably already have your ticket. Whatever your history, hopefully your future includes joining new friends to share your story and shape the way you, and we collectively, are changing the world.
Brian Dean is the president and CEO of Jersey Cares, a Points of Light Global Network affiliate located in Livingston, New Jersey. This will be his 16th year attending a conference with Points of Light.
5 Reasons Why Nonprofits Leaders Around the World Should Attend the 2019 Points of Light Conference
Kostapanos Miliaresis (center) of Ethelon participates in a panel discussion on global changemaking at the 2017 Points of Light Conference in Seattle, with Daniel Morais (left) of Atados and Sue Toomey of HandsOn Hong Kong.
in Greece, one of the biggest benefits of my role is connecting with people from all over the world who are trying to make this world a better place. The highlight of this is having the chance to meet those people in person, and there is no better place to do that than the annual
I will never forget the first moments at the 2017 Points of Light Conference in Seattle when, even before the opening of the conference, people from all over the world were hugging one another like they were relatives coming together for Christmas. That was the first time I understood that the global Points of Light Network is something more than the emails, the internal group and the common projects. It is your international family, a place where you feel welcomed, beloved and safe to get out of your comfort zone.
At the 2017 Points of Light Conference in Seattle, Kostapanos (center) visits Pike Place Market with Maria Feliza Cojuangco (left) of Hands On Manila, Neha Shrivastava of iVolunteer, Sue Toomey of HandsOn Hong Kong, Ana Cristina Perez of Voluntarios de Panama, and Dondon Marquez (right) of Hands On Manila.
2. The Conference Outside the Conference
We are all well aware that at these types of events… content is the king! The difference is that the Points of Light team makes sure each participant makes the most out of it, even outside the core agenda. Parallel events, private venues, activities, and a cultural tour around the city are only a few of my top memories from the 2018 conference in Atlanta.
3. All-Star Team
Imagine if you could select individuals from different organizations, each with their unique added value, and combine them all together. In the NBA, they call it the All-Star Game; in civil society, we call it the Points of Light Conference.
For three days, you have the chance to listen to amazing case studies from all over the world, from organizations that are leading their sector. The best thing? It’s up to you to select who you want to hear from and what you want to learn, thanks to the flexible DIY conference agenda.
4. What If… Why Not Me?
During the sessions or the breaks, and especially while you are traveling back home, you get this feeling. “What if I could also do that?” “Could it be me and my organization presenting next year?”
The motivation and out-of-the-box new ideas that you take back with you give you what you need to feel ready to create change in your community, knowing that other folks around the world have already made it!
5. The Power of Connections
The Points of Light Conference lasts less than a week, but its impact lasts forever. The real magic starts through all the new collaborations that are being created with the amazing people you met at the conference. It’s there that you understand that if you connect your powers, nothing can stop you!
I could write so much more, but the truth is — it cannot be fully understood, until you experience it. Greetings from Greece, and hope to see you all in St. Paul!
Kostapanos is the general director of Ethelon, a Points of Light Network affiliate located in Marousi, Greece. The 2019 Points of Light Conference will be his third.
