Keynotes
Wednesday Keynote
Future Readiness: leading volunteers tomorrow by John Mark Williams, CEO of The Institute of Leadership
In this ever-changing world, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. Join us for a lively discussion on “Future Readiness”, tailored specifically for leaders of volunteer-driven organisations.
John Williams will share strategies to anticipate and adapt to emerging trends, ensuring your leadership remains resilient and purposeful. Bring your curiosity with you, to discover the tools and insights to help you lead with confidence into the future, and learn how to harness the unique strengths of your volunteer team in a forward-thinking culture.
The opportunity is here, now, to future-proof your leadership and your organisation’s success. Come along, listen, learn, and equip yourself with the right questions – and some of the right answers – to help your leadership style to become ‘Future Ready’.
Thursday Keynote
My Senior Leader and I with Rebecca Hand and Samela Macon from Buckner International
Rebecca Hand, MPA, is the Senior Director of Volunteer Engagement at Buckner International, based in Texas, USA. She will be in conversation with her senior leader, Samela Macon, who is the Vice President of Buckner International. They will discuss how volunteering has developed at Buckner under Rebecca’s leadership, how Rebecca engaged the senior leadership team and share tips and guidance on how to engage senior leaders.
Workshops
You will need to select which workshops you wish to attend when purchasing your conference tickets.
Video recordings of all workshop sessions will also be made available to delegates after the conference so that you can watch the other workshops at a later date.
Workshop 1 – Making Change Less Painful
This workshop will look at a specific cultural change within one branch of Samaritans, considering why the change was necessary, how it was communicated and the processes the leadership team took to effect the change.
It will look at what makes change effective both in terms of practice and theory, and consider the challenges related to motivation and good leadership when implementing changes with volunteers rather than paid staff.
There will be opportunities for you to reflect on changes that you have implemented with volunteers and consider what helped/hindered the effectiveness of these changes. There will also be time for you to discuss the approaches outlined in the workshop and identify how you could use these in making more effective change in the future.
In this workshop you will:
- Develop your understanding of how to lead people we don’t pay through change
- Consider different approaches to effectively motivate your volunteers through change
- Identify skills and learning to take away and apply to your own change processes
Workshop leader
Nicky Adams – Consultant, Cornerstone Skills
Workshop 2 – Disagree Well, An Introduction
Welcome to We are BRAVE, a globally recognised Rebel Collective inspiring BRAVE voices to impact the world.
We are on a mission to take the fear out of disagreement and critical debate, empowering you to speak up and be truly heard. We show you and your team that disagreement can be productive and joyful (yes, really).
Disagreement is not always about changing minds or opinions; it can often be about having hard conversations on tough topics to release the conversational tension. It’s where you can release true growth and innovation.
Think of all the time you waste avoiding topics and circling decisions. We can change that.
Disagreeing well is at the heart of what we do at We Are BRAVE. In this session we will do some myth busting about disagreement. Learn why we regularly say ‘it is possible but it’s not comfortable’.
Let us introduce you to the practical tools you need to have BRAVE conversations.
- Learn how you set up and start the conversation (yes, it starts here)
- Identify how to take time to think first, think better (this helps, alot)
- Know when you are ready to speak up & how to be clear (even when it’s uncomfortable)
- Keep the conversation moving towards a decision or outcome (don’t get stuck)
Our aim is to ensure you leave feeling confident that you can do this and feeling BRAVE enough to start to disagree well.
Workshop leaders
Sarah Hickman – Founder, We Are Brave Ltd
Rhiannon Baxter – Founder, We Are Brave Ltd
Workshop 3 – Vision for Volunteering: Learning and Insights
Vision for Volunteering is a ten-year collaborative project designed to create a better future for volunteering. Get involved to explore how we can work together to improve volunteering for the benefit of volunteers, organisations and communities.
Vision for Volunteering has spent the last year speaking to people all across the country about how they can make positive changes for volunteering over the next decade, and the challenges and the opportunities that present themselves when we try to enact change. Come discuss some of the common themes that volunteers and those that work with them are exploring, the key questions you should ask yourself when taking action, and some practical examples of what others have done to bring the Vision for Volunteering to life within their own organisations, groups or communities.
In this workshop you will:
- Consolidate your knowledge of the Vision for Volunteering
- Learn about the key calls to action under the Vision themes of Awareness and Appreciation, Power, Equity and Inclusion, Collaboration and Experimentation
- Get inspired to take action yourself through real-life examples of the Vision in action
- Speak to other volunteer managers about the challenges the volunteering sector is facing over the next few years and beyond
Workshop leaders
Laura Lowther (she/her) – Vision for Volunteering Lead, Vision for Volunteering
Sarah Tranter (she/they) – Learning and Storytelling Officer, Vision for Volunteering
Workshop 4 – Corporate Volunteering: Strategies for Success
Join us for an interactive workshop that will explore the key tools and components needed to build a successful corporate volunteering programme.
You’ll learn from both the success stories (and challenges encountered) of two organisations (Macmillan Cancer Support and Shelter) with established corporate volunteering programmes.
Whether you’re looking to create a corporate volunteering programme from scratch or enhance an existing one, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to develop tailored and meaningful employee volunteering initiatives.
Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas and challenges with peers across the sector.
By the end of the session, you’ll leave with practical tools and new perspectives to build or advance your corporate volunteering offer and make a real difference.
- Learn what makes a great corporate volunteering offer and hear some practical examples and success stories from both Macmillan and Shelter
- Gain knowledge and skills on how best to approach developing a corporate volunteering programme (either building a brand new offer or improving an existing one) at your organisation
- Take away key tools and learning on different ways to effectively measure and communicate the impact of volunteering on businesses, employees and charities themselves
- Hear more about which types of volunteering opportunities work well for different types of businesses and employees e.g. retail site vs. office based
Workshop leaders
Isabelle Lush – Senior Corporate Volunteering Manager, Macmillan Cancer Support
Ellie Marcus – Senior Corporate Volunteering Manager, Shelter
Workshop 5 – On creating Family Volunteering Club and removing barriers to community participation
I will be talking about the journey to create Family Volunteering Club. How the idea came about, what problems we are trying to tackle, the hurdles we’ve faced along the way, the unexpected outcomes and how we continue to grow in line with our original mission.
In this workshop you will hear about how Family Volunteering Club came about, and relate it to your own practice where you will think about:
- Identifying barriers to volunteering
- Getting creative about removing those barriers
- Imagining the impact
- Getting practical about how to implement change
Workshop leader
Maddy Mills (she/her) – CEO, Family Volunteering Club
Workshop 6 – Co-producing and involving volunteers with lived experience of the housing emergency
One of Shelter’s strategic goals is to shift the power, so that we put the views, experiences and needs of people living through the housing emergency at the centre of everything we do. Our volunteers are essential to achieving Shelter’s goals, so we’ve been working to include this approach in our volunteering offer too.
To achieve this, the Volunteering Team at Shelter undertook a project to identify barriers people with lived experience face when applying to volunteer, and whilst volunteering. Since then, we have been identifying solutions to these barriers and putting them into practise to make Shelter a more inclusive organisation to volunteer.
This session will begin to explore some of the barriers for volunteers with lived experience and how to overcome them. Attendees will have the opportunity to share with and learn from others about what barriers exist in your organisation and leave with some practical ideas to overcome them.
This workshop will cover:
- An introduction to including volunteers with lived experience – what this means and why it’s so important
- An overview of volunteering policies and processes at Shelter to make it more inclusive
- Co-production in practise – an opportunity to meet the My Health Matters Project and hear about their peer-led Homeless Health Peer Advocacy service.
- Time for reflection on the barriers that exist in your own organisation and discuss how to overcome them
Workshop leaders
Abbie Piazza – Volunteering Lead for Communities, Shelter
Ruth Hearn (she/her) – Volunteering Development Manager, Shelter
Ped Durling (he/him) – Project Coordinator, My Health Matters
Workshop 7 – Making the Case for Investing in Volunteering
This workshop will set out how Helpforce has worked with health and care organisations to quantify the impact of their volunteering activity and then to incorporate it into a business case to help secure future funding.
This workshop will help you to:
- Understand the approach to aligning volunteering outcomes to challenges faced by health and care systems
- Consider the elements of a persuasive case for funding
- Review case study examples of how volunteering impact has led to successful bids for funding
Workshop leader
Mark Lever – CEO, Helpforce
Workshop 8 – Less Bagpuss, More Puss in Boots: adventures in striving for inclusive volunteer involvement in strategy development
In this workshop Helen and Julie will share their experiences of developing inclusive and impactful ways to involve volunteers in strategy development. The highs, lows, the laughs along the way and inspiration gained from engaging with volunteers, volunteer managers, Trustees and senior leaders in the development of the organisations new volunteering strategy. Truly listening and co-creating a strategy which will make a big difference to people, cats and communities.
During this workshop you will:
- Hear from Julie and Helen about the varied techniques they have used for involving volunteers and their voice in strategy development
- Gain a real life perspective on what went well and what could have gone better when involving volunteers in strategy development
- Consider how you may use different techniques to make your strategy and work to become less Bagpuss and more Puss in Boots!
Workshop leaders
Julie Meredith (she/her) – Head of Volunteering, Organisational Engagement and Inclusion, Cats Protection
Dr Helen Timbrell (she/her) – People and Organisational Development Consultant & Coach
Workshop 9 – Impactful measures: demonstrating the value of volunteering
Whether it’s the annual report or a funding application, there’s an ever-growing need to measure volunteering. But how can we do this in a meaningful way that truly reflects the difference that volunteering makes?
In this session we’ll explore some approaches, the challenges in getting buy-in from different stakeholders and how to define different measures that will be relevant in your organisation.
By the end of this session you will:
- Understand different ways of measuring volunteering
- Know how to identify relevant metrics
- Learn about effectively communicating volunteering impact
Workshop leaders
Wendy Halley – Access Assemble (product manager)
Kathryn Hughes PhD – Services Manager, Epilepsy Action
Rosie Stockill – Volunteer Programme Officer, Epilepsy Action
Workshop 10 – How to create a Volunteer Journey that works!
In this webinar Rosterfy will show you what a modern day volunteer program looks, sounds and performs like.
With a unique spin on the subject, Sam Bennett will not only outline the expectations from volunteers in 2024 but also explain what successful programs are measuring to get more out of every volunteer.
More engagement.
Increased fundraising potential.
Higher applicant conversion rates.
With UEFA, FIFA, British Heart Foundation, Crisis, St John’s Ambulance and many more, world class charities and events organisations using Rosterfy – they are the leaders in the field and eager to share what they’ve learned.
In this workshop you will:
- Learn a step-by-step process on how to set up an effective application journey
- Understand the ripple effective an engaged volunteer has on your whole program
- Discover what metrics you need to be measuring in 2024
- Be shown practical tips and strategies you can start using today to improve your program
- How to create an interactive volunteer experience without developing your own app!
Workshop leader
Sam Bennett – Sales Lead, Rosterfy
Workshop 11 – Developing a Digital Growth Mindset
In a very challenging climate for volunteer engagement, how can we use digital to drive growth?
This workshop will feature an exclusive look at TeamKinetic’s new Digital in Volunteering Toolkit, which encourages volunteer managers and their organisations to develop a growth mindset when it comes to volunteering. This can support a range of objectives, whether you’re focusing on strategy and planning, delivering a major systems change or looking to maximise return on investment for your digital spend.
This workshop will help you to:
Assess: Evaluate your current digital landscape.
Strategise: Craft a targeted plan for your digital presence.
Understand: Grasp the fundamentals of a ‘growth’ mindset.
Act: Create a practical plan to expand your volunteer offer.
Workshop leaders
Chris Martin – Founder, TeamKinetic
Gethyn Williams – Consultant
Workshop 12 – Working with Emotions as a Key Volunteer Management Skill: A Toolkit
In October 2021, a free online toolkit ‘Working with Emotions in Volunteering’ was launched with AVM which aims to help volunteer managers develop and practice skills around working with emotions effectively.
The toolkit has been developed by Profs Anne-marie Greene and Jenna Ward following a decade of research with voluntary sector partners into working with emotions as a key management skill. One such partner is England Netball, and Imogen Greatbatch will share her experiences of using the toolkit.
For those new to the toolkit, this workshop is an opportunity to find out about it, what it is for and how it can be used to help improve volunteer manager wellbeing and relationships within volunteer/staff teams. For those who already know about it and who even may have downloaded it, it is a chance to reconnect with the ideas behind, and the activities within, the toolkit.
In this workshop you will:
- Be provided with evidence that managing volunteers can sometimes be emotionally challenging
- Gain an increased understanding of the importance of managing your own emotions and those of others for effective volunteer management
- Benefit from a reflective space to talk through the emotional aspects of your job’s challenges, joys, frustrations, pleasures and how thinking about these things can help you in your daily working life
- Gain knowledge of a useful resource for volunteer managers and their teams around working with emotions in volunteering
Workshop leaders
Anne-marie Greene – Professor of Work and Diversity, University of York
Imogen Greatbatch – Deputy Director of Development – People & Head of Volunteering, England Netball
Panels
Wednesday
Behind the Scenes: Candid Conversations with Dedicated Volunteers
Behind the Scenes: Candid Conversations with Dedicated Volunteers will showcase the authentic voices of volunteers from across the United Kingdom, shedding light on their diverse range of experiences and exploring lesser-discussed facets of volunteerism.
Whether serving as a source of inspiration and encouragement, a valuable reminder, or a gentle prompt to reflect on one’s own practices, these volunteers’ insightful perspectives, emotive testimonies, and candid reflections are set to provoke thought and evoke emotion.
Speakers from: British Red Cross, Crisis, Dogs Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support and RNIB
Facilitated by: Ruth Leonard
Thursday
Stepping Stones: Career Progression in Volunteer Management
When looking for the next step in our careers as volunteering management professionals, it can sometimes feel like there’s no clear path or route to progression, leaving us confused about how to move forward.
Our panel of guests will discuss how they started their careers, the skills and experience they sought to gain and how they navigated changes to progress and develop in their roles. This discussion will give you insight into the experiences of other volunteer managers and you will come away with ideas as to what might help you progress in your career.
Speakers from: Sustrans, British Heart Foundation, Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea, Harmony House Dagenham and The Scouts
Facilitated by: Rachael Bayley
Networking sessions
The networking sessions will enable you to chat with other leaders of volunteering from across a variety of sectors and organisations.
Meet the Sponsor sessions
An opportunity to speak to the conference sponsors about the products and services that they offer.