3 Themes From the 2022 Points Of Light Conference to Support Your Nonprofit’s Impact

The annual

yields a wealth of unique opportunities, and a big one is hearing from experts in the nonprofit sector on current issues, innovative ideas and best practices. The 2022 conference hosted a variety of inspiring speakers from nonprofit organizations from around the world offering insightful and educational messages. Here are a few key takeaways for nonprofit leaders that emerged from this year’s stage:

People will engage with what they’re most passionate about.

Work in the nonprofit sector can be uplifting

, but it isn’t always easy. Knowing how to keep the flame alight among your team, your volunteers and your stakeholders is crucial to avoiding fatigue and burnout. This year’s conference theme was “Revitalize. Reimagine. Recommit.” and we featured speakers and sessions that spoke directly to this mission… like Jennifer Taylor, who shared on the topic of “rage giving.” With increasing polarization on the political and social landscapes, now is the time for nonprofits to develop specific strategies that allow people to act on the very causes they feel most strongly about. How can you leverage what you and your stakeholders are most excited, hopeful, frustrated or angry about to sustain your impact?

Listen to the communities you serve to learn what they need.

Intentional listening and learning in the communities you serve allows you to find solutions to the

true

unmet needs of that community, rather than the issues you might

assume

to be the most pressing. In the Opening Plenary, Points of Light CEO Natalye Paquin shared a story about

Daily Point of Light Honoree Briana Daniel

, an Orlando native. When she chose to voluntarily live alongside the people she was working with who were unhoused, she found that food insecurity was not their greatest unmet need, but hygiene was. This knowledge led her to create Street Team Movement, a nonprofit providing laundry services, haircuts and hygiene products to people experiencing homelessness, offering solutions to the exact needs the community expressed were most urgent.

PEOPLE FEEL significant positive impact from VOLUNTEERING.

Several conference sessions discussed the immense benefits that come from volunteer work – not just to communities, but also to the volunteers themselves. Points of Light

civic engagement research

shows that

one in four people said a reason they took action was, “I believe it supports my own personal well-being.”

As you engage volunteers in your efforts, keep in mind that they are likely benefitting from this work as much as the communities they serve. Volunteering can

boost memory, cognition

and

mental health

as well as provide job skills One

study

even asserts that:

Volunteers are as healthy as non-volunteers who are five years younger.
Volunteering activities on a resume can yield higher employment opportunities.

You can begin to see that this benefit goes beyond the altruistic feelings of spending worthy time in support of social impact. Often, volunteers walk away with new skill sets, relationships and perspectives they may not have the opportunity to gain anywhere else. Framing volunteer work in this way can help organizations to promote greater equity and remember that they are providing mutually-beneficial resources rather than just rescue.

One thing we know from working with our

Global Network

of affiliates from around the world is that the nonprofit sector is teeming with innovative thinkers and creative problem solvers. Nonprofit leaders, what are some insights you’d add to this list?

We’re already gearing up for the 2023 Points of Light Conference in Chicago on June 14-16, 2023, with a special pre-conference day for nonprofit professionals. Sign up to receive updates, and join us next year for another powerful conference.

Changemaking in Action: Highlights From The 2022 Youth Summit

The 2022

Points of Light Conference

was filled with memorable moments, but one that stood out in particular was this year’s Youth Summit. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of what went down… Don’t forget to mark your calendar for June 14-16, 2023 so you can be in attendance at next year’s Conference.

The Youth Summit opened with a welcome from

Points of Light President and CEO Natalye Paquin

and

Points of Light Board Chair Neil Bush

. After sharing about his father’s founding of the

Daily Point of Light Award

program, Natalye and Neil awarded

Michelle Song of Greenville, North Carolina

with the day’s Daily Point of Light Award for her efforts in environmental conservation.

“With the right support, young people, you are changing the world,” Natalye said, before handing things off to President and Board Chair of KPMG Foundation Anita Whitehead. Anita introduced the various ways the KPMG Foundation has revitalized its mission and poured funding into equity and diversity efforts, committing millions of dollars to this focus.

Anita then interviewed the keynote speaker,

Orion Jean

, 2021 Time Kid of the Year and Ambassador for Kindness, who spoke about his personal journey and gave helpful advice to any young person looking to make a change.

“Sometimes, I have to admit, it’s not easy seeing a problem so large and figuring out how to go out there and make a big impact on that problem,” shared Orion. “But I think that with a little determination, perseverance, courage and compassion, you can really do anything.”

He encouraged young people who see problems they want to fix to be proactive, reaching out to adults who can help them secure the resources they need to contribute their talents and energy to that issue. He also encouraged adults with resources to support kids with a vision, as the power to change the world lies in this type of collaboration.

Following Orion’s chat with Anita, four members of the Points of Light Youth Council—

Esha Venkat

Chase Hartman

Eleanor Ann Schoenbrun

and

Adom Appiah

—and Generation Amazing Youth Advocate Sayed Alam—joined a moderated panel discussion. Each spoke about their individual civic journeys and shared touching moments from their experiences.

From fostering hope in communities through uplifting words and gestures… to reinforcing the message that we are never alone, but supported… to releasing one’s ego in volunteering and learning to be a team player… these five leaders passed on a wealth of knowledge and encouragement for all the civically engaged youth in attendance. “Embrace the vulnerability of not knowing what you’re doing,” shared Adom Appiah.

One theme highlighted again and again was the importance of listening and learning before acting. Several Points of Light Youth Council members spoke about how their nonprofits or initiatives had changed as the leaders themselves continued to learn and grow.

Eleanor Ann Schoenbrun talked about “allowing the experience to evolve” with her – changing what she was doing as she continued to learn more and more, and honoring the people sitting across the table from her, even if she disagreed with them.

Hearing from community members about what would help them most, instead of assuming that they already knew what was most supportive, was illuminating for these leaders. Many times, they made strategic decisions for their volunteer projects or even revamped the structure of their nonprofits based on the feedback they heard from those they were directly working with.

While this year’s Youth Summit featured a powerful group of young leaders, Points of Light is committed to uplifting youth voices every single year at the

Points of Light Conference

. So don’t miss next year’s conference in Chicago June 14-16, 2023—save the date now so you can join us in person.

4 Themes from the 2022 Points of Light Conference That Shine a Light on CSR Trends for Business

Points of Light knows that when the world’s largest companies get it right, the world gets it right, which is a theme at the heart of the 2022 Points of Light Conference. As a part of this year’s conference experience, we welcomed leaders from the corporate citizenship community to our stages and workshop spaces to meet like-minded peers and share insights from the challenging work that faces the business community as leaders in social impact. Several themes were explored, shining a light on the direction where business needs to lead:

The “to do” list of the business community has become longer. For the business community, it can feel like we are being outpaced by the problems of the world that we seek to solve. In addition to economic and societal responsibilities, global communications firm Edelman shared with Points of Light’s Corporate Service Council that almost six out of 10 people in the U.S. believe it is a responsibility of business to take action on the world stage, engaging in geopolitical issues such as the war in Ukraine. Navigating how to respond to or engage in these issues has introduced new and unique challenges for corporate citizenship professionals.
Our brains are wired for stories. As companies seek to capture the measurable impact of their efforts, they should leverage the power of stories. Disney Institute shared with conference attendees that stories are one of the strongest forms of communication, evoking a sense of connectedness in those who hear them. At Points of Light, we say that “Data + Stories = Proof.” The relentless pursuit of data must be coupled with an equal desire to share more about the people and places at the heart of that data. Additionally, leaders within companies must be equipped to tell these stories, communicating the company’s and their own passions and values through the story.
Volunteer engagement must adapt to the hybrid world. As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to grapple with variant surges, return-to-office starts and stops and disruptions to in-person events. It has become clear that the current hybrid work environment will not be a temporary condition of the pandemic, but a lasting model of collaboration that must extend to deepen employee engagement. In one workshop, Common Impact shared how companies can look to skills-based volunteering as a partial or fully virtual strategy to deliver on employee engagement goals.
There is a CSR and ESG identity crisis. The corporate citizenship community is caught between two acronyms. Several workshops sought to answer the question: What is the difference between CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)? The role of business in society has been discussed and expanded upon over 50 years. The growing influence of ESG is rooted in CSR, which marked the starting point of businesses taking ownership of their impact on society. Without CSR, there would be no ESG, but the two are far from interchangeable. CSR helps companies give context to their corporate responsibility strategy and culture, while ESG is the action and measurable outcomes of that agenda.

Whether or not you joined us this year at the 2022 Points of Light Conference, we invite you to continue learning with us year-round by accessing our body of

civic engagement research

. These studies shed light on global trends that are central to maximizing the impact of corporate social responsibility. We look forward to the 2023 Points of Light Conference in Chicago on June 14-16.

to receive updates and be a part of global change.