Volunteering & Social Impact Live Learning Series
Gain Insights into Our Conference Topics
Volunteering & Social Impact Live Learning Series
Wondering what to expect if you attend the Points of Light Conference?
Join us for the Volunteering & Social Impact Live Learning Series—live virtual events that preview key topics and conversations from this year’s conference agenda. Join a session (or several) to get inspired, connect with the community, and head into conference ready to dive in.
Futurecasting: What It Is—and How to Plan for What’s Next
What might volunteering look like in the future, and how can we start preparing for it today?
This session introduces futurecasting, a practical approach to thinking ahead and making more informed decisions now. Drawing on how it is used at AARP, the conversation will explore tools such as headwinds and tailwinds, the two-curves framework and scenario planning to help participants consider how volunteer engagement could evolve under different future conditions.
Participants will leave with practical ways to bring more future-focused thinking into their organizations and communities.
April 30 | 1 p.m. ET
Future-focused thinking to help organizations prepare for change.
Centering Youth Voice in Adult-Centric Spaces
Young people have the insight, passion, and lived experience to lead meaningful change—yet too often their voices are excluded from decisions that directly affect their lives. In this dynamic session, we will explore what it truly means to center youth voice in traditionally adult-centric spaces such as nonprofit leadership, school boards, policymaking, and community planning.
Join us as we unpack the challenges and opportunities of shared leadership with youth. Through powerful examples and practical strategies, participants will learn how to authentically engage young people as equal partners in decision-making, shift adult mindsets and structures to make space for youth leadership, and create environments where intergenerational collaboration thrives.
Whether you are an educator, nonprofit professional, policy leader, or advocate, this session will offer fresh insights and actionable tools for transforming your space into one that uplifts and centers the voices of young people.
Held Jan. 29, 2026
Practical strategies for partnering with young people as equal decision-makers—and building strong intergenerational collaboration.
Building AI Confidence Across the Social Impact Sector
AI is everywhere, and many people still feel unsure where to begin or how to engage responsibly. In this session, we offered friendly, accessible AI literacy for a broad nonprofit and social impact audience. Participants learned what AI is (and is not), explored practical everyday nonprofit use cases, and left with simple, safe ways to start experimenting inside their existing tools. For those already experimenting with AI, the session also shared guidance on strengthening effectiveness, scaling responsible use, and integrating AI more intentionally into everyday workflows.
Held Feb. 25, 2026
Practical nonprofit use cases and safe, simple ways to start (or strengthen) using AI in everyday workflows.
WHO IS THIS REALLY FOR? CENTERING COMMUNITY IN VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT
This session introduced foundational principles of community-centered volunteering and offered practical guidance for shifting from transactional service models to relational, trust-based engagement rooted in dignity, equity and shared power. Participants explored how community-centered approaches can transcend geography, culture and sector—while requiring deep contextual awareness and humility. The session also invited reflection on how volunteer engagement can either reinforce harm or become a tool for connection, solidarity and sustainable impact when communities are positioned as co-creators rather than recipients. Attendees left with practical language, guiding principles and reflective tools to reimagine volunteering as a catalyst for trust, belonging and long-term community resilience.
Held MAR. 18
Community-centered volunteering principles and practical tools to build trust, shift beyond transactional service, and center dignity, equity, and shared power.