In addition to all the amazing professional development workshops offered at the summit, we planned 5 special national strategy sessions, and a Funder's Affinity Group, to provide a platform for dialogue and innovative thinking. Participants focused on how to address a specific issue in our profession of volunteer leadership, consider next steps, and generate a suggested plan of action that can be implemented individually, organizationally, and sector wide, with the goal to develop creative solutions to address some of our well-known challenges in new ways. Unlike typical conference workshops, these strategy sessions were structured conversations involving everyone in the room to tap into the group’s collectiveexperience and wisdom.  The goal was to develop a few high-quality strategies and solutions. 

During the Summit's closing plenary sessions, attendees using a polling app to indicate which ideas within each strategy should be the priority focus. The results of this polling are below (with most voted for items in red) and will help inform the planning underway to build a new national presence, tackle the challenges that affect our work, and ultimately improve our community impact.

OPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGY  

1. Create accredited degree programs  19%   
2. Advocate equity with other non-profit professionals  15%  
3. Create online open open-giving engagement platform  13%  
4. Identify a national convener  38%  
5. Develop technology based funding sources  5%  
6. Shift org. change towards best practices   20%  

BUILDING AND SUSTAINING LOCAL NETWORKS 

1. Develop a national communication hub  46%  
2. Create peer learning network  20% 
3. Provide a unified professional vision and voice   18%  
4. Foster cross sector collaborations and partnerships  17%  

ADVOCATING FOR STRATEGIC VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT 

1. Develop a robust staff education strategy   32%   
2. Develop a shared vision for engagement  15%  
3. Develop a network/hub dedicated to promulgating research  54%  
   

CULTIVATING EMERGING LEADERS 

1. Create a national support organization/hub  72%   
2. Invite and advocate for emerging leaders  28%    
   

EXPANDING THE HIGHER EDUCATION CONNECTION  

1. Disseminate a list of research priorities  14%  
2. Create research to practice list serve  14%    
3. Work to institutionalize course work  25%  
4. Identify standards to influence  21%   
5. Bridge local action with academic work 14%  
6. Create list of where education is happening 12%  
   

MAXIMIZING COLLABORATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL 

1. Create and utilize consistent messaging  31%  
2. Integrate with influential stakeholders 19%  
3. Learn how other professions have transformed  19%  
4. Continue the national conversation  31%  
   

INCLUDING FUNDERS IN THE CONVERSATION

1. Expand the table  11%  
2. Build common language  35%   
3. Explode the paradigm  29%   
4. Find out who cares  15%     
5. Plan what’s next  10%