2025 Volunteer Engagement Leadership Conference Sessions - Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement

Home2025 Session Descriptions

Volunteer Engagement Leadership Conference : Road Trip
June 16-18, 2025

Breakout Session Descriptions
(subject to change)

Asking for Directions: Utilizing Volunteer Focus Groups to Enhance Your Volunteer Program
Ashley Tepe
Are you looking for fresh ways to obtain data for your volunteer program? Are you looking for ways to generate buy in with your volunteers or build stronger relationships? This session will cover the many benefits of utilizing volunteer focus groups and provide practical tips on how to integrate this into your volunteer program.

Building a Culture and Content of Annual Volunteer Training
Carrie Olson
For two decades, Minnesota 4-H has provided annual training to volunteers, youth, and community members, aiming to enhance program quality through timely and relevant youth worker training and developmental experiences. The training centers on specific topics to promote volunteer success and address statewide priorities. Utilizing a train-the-trainer model, staff facilitators are oriented to peer-reviewed resources, promotional packages, and curriculum materials. This model has evolved to incorporate diverse delivery strategies, catering to the varying capacities of staff and designed to meet local needs.
This workshop will showcase our development and dissemination model, its evolution over the years, and its value to staff and volunteers. Participants will explore a variety of resources and gain access to our guiding principles, material evaluation rubric, and annual topic packages. Twenty years of annual statewide volunteer training demonstrate our commitment to supporting volunteers, forming a crucial part of broader, yearly training and support plans for volunteers.

Double Your Mileage: Increasing Capacity Through Skilled Volunteers
Kelly Mortvedt and Bri Quarfoot
Feel like you’re constantly running out of gas? Join us for a conversation on doubling your mileage by using skilled volunteers. Skilled volunteers bring their time and expertise on short term projects from admin work to strategy.
Get ready to discuss 3 types of skilled volunteers:
- Administrative
- Advisor
- Pro Bono Consultants
We will brainstorm strategy for getting staff on board, receive skilled volunteer recruitment tips, and start scoping your first project. This workshop is best for those who already have a solid volunteer road map and are looking to increase their speed.

Is Everybody Welcome? An Introduction to the Equity in Action Toolkit
Teresa Oswald
When segments of the community don’t feel welcome in volunteer spaces, they may choose not to engage. Is Everyone Welcome is a toolkit, hosted on VolunteerMatch, that includes over 20 free tools for leaders of volunteers who want to apply an equity lens to their practice. The goal of these tools is for more people to feel welcome in the call to volunteer and feel like they belong when they do volunteer. Attend this session to learn about tools like A Guide for Creating Inclusive Volunteer Position Descriptions and the Inclusive Volunteer Recruitment Guide. Learn about relationship-building tools like Encouraging Reflection in Volunteer Opportunities, Getting to Know Volunteers through Values-Based Questions, and the Volunteer Motivation Questionnaire. Check out strategic tools like Guiding Questions for Equitable Community Collaboration and Ethical Data Collection. The toolkit is available at learn.volunteermatch.org/is-everyone-welcome

Keepers of the Flame: Why Steady Hands Still Matter Most
Elizer Darris
Stay tuned: details to come!

Leading Through Transitions
Jenn Hamrick Vander Woude
Transitions—whether personal, programmatic, organizational, or societal can bring uncertainty, stress, and even grief for individuals and the communities they serve. Leaders, staff, and volunteers often find themselves navigating these shifts while also supporting others through change.
This interactive workshop will explore the different dimensions of transition: personal, organizational, and global helping participants identify the emotional impacts of change and develop strategies to move forward with resilience. We’ll discuss how to recognize when it’s time for a transition, how to effectively supervise and support others through change, and how to help volunteers adjust to evolving programming. By embracing the challenges of transition, leaders can turn difficult moments into opportunities for growth and transformation both for themselves and their organizations. Join us to gain practical tools for leading through change with confidence and empathy.

Leveraging Volunteer Groups for Maximum Impact
Alisha Weis
Volunteer groups play a crucial role in the nonprofit sector, expanding organizational reach and driving meaningful impact. However, effectively integrating these groups in a way that benefits both the volunteers and the organization can be challenging, particularly when physical space is limited. This session explores innovative strategies to make group volunteering more effective and sustainable. Participants will learn how to design opportunities that align with their mission, maximize available resources, and create meaningful experiences that keep volunteers engaged beyond a single event. Additionally, we will discuss ways to foster long-term relationships with individual members of volunteer groups, turning one-time participants into ongoing supporters. Whether you’re looking to enhance existing volunteer programs or build new opportunities, this session will provide actionable strategies to strengthen community engagement and increase organizational impact, even when space and resources are constrained.

MAVA Connections - An Army of One: A Road Map for Your Solo Journey
It’s exciting to travel, but when you’re on the journey by yourself, it’s essential to bring along tools for a smooth ride. Leaders of volunteers who work alone face many obstacles along the way, but there strategies to help you maintain a quality volunteer program. During this session, you’ll make pit stops to talk with fellow travelers, sharing challenges and successes from your own journey. A few of our destinations: - The key to GPS (Getting Proper Support) within your organization - Road trip tips: maintaining personal and professional boundaries - Turn up the radio: communication is key - How to handle detours and roadblocks - Pausing to refuel: why it’s essential for your well-being - Sharing the road: advocating for help when you need it Grab your map, buckle up, and get ready to share the ride with your fellow travellers. You'll leave with practical, workable solutions to make your journey a smooth one.

Mentorship in Motion: Strengthening Leadership & Volunteer Engagement
Angel Even
As a volunteer leader, your ability to mentor, coach, and support others is key to building strong teams and fostering engagement. This interactive workshop provides practical strategies to enhance your mentorship, leadership, and supervision skills.
What to Expect:
*Strengthen leadership through mentorship and coaching.
*Develop strategies to uplift and support volunteers.
*Engage in structured networking to exchange insights.
*Explore diverse perspectives and inclusive mentorship.
*Reflect and create a personal action plan for growth.
Through guided discussions, mentorship rounds, and self-reflection, this session will equip you with tools to build connections, maximize mentorship impact, and lead with intention. Whether you're looking to enhance your mentorship approach, strengthen volunteer coaching, or refine your leadership style, this workshop provides actionable insights to help you succeed.

Navigating Team Conflict and What to Do When the Frustration Is Directed at You
Luiza Dreasher
Do you know how to respond when volunteers are upset—whether with you or someone else?
As a volunteer leader, you play a key role in creating a welcoming, respectful environment where everyone feels they belong. But in challenging moments, it’s common to feel unsure of what to say—or worry about making things worse. Handling difficult conversations is essential to building trust and fostering inclusion. Yet, responding to frustrated or hurt volunteers can feel uncomfortable, especially when emotions are high.
This interactive session will give you practical tools to navigate those situations with confidence and care. Together, we’ll explore how to turn tense moments into opportunities for meaningful dialogue, deeper understanding, and stronger connections. Whether you’re leading a team or working alongside fellow volunteers, you’ll leave with the skills to listen thoughtfully, respond effectively, and help create a space where everyone feels heard, respected, and valued.

Peer Power: How Volunteers Can Supercharge Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising
Rich Dietz
Unlock the fundraising potential of your volunteers with peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising—where supporters fundraise on your behalf by sharing their personal connections and stories. This interactive session will show you how to empower your volunteers to become fundraising champions, leveraging the 80/20 principle to focus on high-impact strategies that drive results. You’ll learn how to build a strong P2P foundation, engage your most influential volunteers, and create compelling campaigns that inspire action. Through brainstorming and action-planning activities, we will develop a tailored plan to integrate P2P into your overall fundraising strategy.
Key Takeaways:
- Empower Volunteers: Learn how to turn volunteers into effective peer fundraisers.
- Build a Strong Foundation: Understand the key components of a successful P2P program.
- Actionable Strategies: Leave with a clear plan to implement P2P fundraising at your nonprofit

Small Investments - Big Wins
Beth Steinhorn
Funding volunteer engagement has been a challenge for decades, and the need has only increased in recent months. But what can be achieved with even modest investments? Now that MAVA’s landmark program of state allocated volunteerism mini-grants wraps up, join the program administrator/coach along with a few grantees to explore how these small grants have made big impacts for organizations from across Greater Minnesota. Hear how these community-based organizations have re-imagined capacity-building to create the organization, community, and world they dream of. Leave with tools to guide your colleagues through this process and to design strategies to leverage small investments to yield big wins.

Tech Tune-Up: Optimizing Volunteer Onboarding Processes
Kaci Talbot
Join us for an engaging workshop where we explore practical steps to improve and automate volunteer onboarding processes using a variety of easily accessible digital tools. From simple improvements like email templates and calendar reminders to full-blown automation builds, we'll discuss how to taking small steps that can make a big difference. Learn easy ways to incorporate timesaving, accuracy-building, and personalized automated communication updates into your specific onboarding process for your organization. This session is designed to provide volunteer coordinators with actionable insights and tools to streamline and automate parts of their onboarding process for volunteers.

The Resilient Leader’s Roadmap: Strategies for Self-Care, Expectation Alignment, and Emotional Intelligence
Brittany Clausen
Effective leadership starts with self-leadership. Before guiding others, leaders must develop self-awareness, set healthy boundaries, and communicate effectively—especially in today’s high-stress, rapidly changing environment. In the nonprofit sector, where funding is often tied to grants, shifting priorities, and political changes, leaders must navigate uncertainty while maintaining stability for themselves and their teams.
This interactive session explores the complexities of balancing organizational demands with personal well-being in a sector where financial fluctuations and policy shifts can alter the course of work overnight. Participants will learn strategies to set clear boundaries, say “no” effectively, and ask clarifying questions to drive productive conversations without misinterpretation.
Through guided discussions and an emotional intelligence (EQ) improv scenario, attendees will practice direct yet strategic communication techniques to navigate workplace dynamics, reduce defensiveness, and foster open dialogue. The session will also address burnout’s impact on leadership and equip participants with self-regulation tools to lead with resilience.

Trends to Shape Our Future: World Cafe Style Discussion
Beth Steinhorn
Trends present us all with a choice: Leverage them or choose to work despite them. This session offers a series of facilitated conversations – World Café style – in which participants will explore questions, brainstorm strategies, and discover common themes while connecting with peers. Together, we will identify trends we want explore (including, for example, the changing volunteer motivations, the state of work, economy and philanthropy, volunteer modes, and more), move through two rounds of table discussions, and then review our key takeaways together for common themes. We can’t guarantee you’ll leave with answers – but you will surely leave with ideas, connections, and a few more questions to pursue in your own communities.

Turning One-Time Volunteers into Lifelong Organizational Champions
Mary Uran
Volunteers can be a crucial part of a nonprofit’s impact infrastructure—but, by definition, their commitment to your mission is limited in both time and scope. As a nonprofit leader, what does it take to build a consistent, reliable volunteer base? And what untapped opportunities for further engagement might allow your volunteers to contribute more deeply, meaningfully, and sustainably to your work?
In this session, Mary Uran will share lessons from Compass Pro Bono’s 20+ years of strategic engagement with more than 5,000 skilled volunteers across the country, including many who have stepped up to train and support other volunteers. Marywill reveal how to leverage the power of cross-generational volunteer teams and cultivate “super-volunteers” who stay involved for years or even decades at a time. Participants will walk away with specific frameworks for tapping into the full potential of volunteers—and getting them to come back over and over again.

Twin Ports College Connect: Paths to Connecting Campuses and Communities
Zoey Leege and Cheryl Skafte
Community Impact staff from Head of the Lakes United Way and staff from University of Minnesota Duluth and the College of St Scholastica have joined forces to boost community engagement among students, faculty and staff. We've hit a few bumps in the road and run into some dead ends. Learn from our mistakes, successes and overall journey.