AVM’s annual conference for volunteer managers is back and online on Zoom Wed 20 & Thu 21 October 2021.

The AVM conference is always a highlight in our year. Even though we say so ourselves we believe it is the premier event in the UK for volunteer managers, leaders and heads of volunteering. 

We aim to bring together some of the best speakers from our sector. People who are at the forefront of volunteer management and thought-leadership, and those from outside of volunteer management, who will challenge and provoke us to think differently.

The 2021 conference will be held across two days – Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 October, 10 am to 1pm. Each day will feature a keynote speaker with Q&A, along with workshops to choose from on a variety of themes (seven on Wednesday 20th and six on Thursday 21st), plus Working with Emotions in Volunteering Toolkit (Day 1) and a Live Panel Session (Day 2).

For 2021 we are again holding a virtual conference on Zoom. Find out how to make the most of AVM events on Zoom.

Agenda

Day 1: Wednesday 20 October

• 09:30 Our virtual doors open for registration and (optional) pre-conference networking
  Join AVM and other delegates for informal networking in Zoom, ahead of our Conference.
• 10:00 Conference opens with a welcome from Ruth Leonard, Chair of AVM
• 10:10 Keynote: ‘Shaping the Future of Volunteering post Covid19: How we can embed volunteering in our communities’, Matt Hyde OBE – Chief Executive, The Scout Association
  Matt will give a 20 minute keynote speech, followed by a 20 Q&A, with questions facilitated by Ruth Leonard.
• 11:00 Break and move to your workshops
  An opportunity for a cuppa and a comfort break, before you move to your chosen workshop for the day.
  All workshops will be running in different Zooms and you will need to leave the main Zoom and join your workshop’s Zoom link.
• 11:20 Workshops start (details below)
  Each workshop will be in a separate Zoom meeting, hosted by a member of the AVM Board and an AVM conference volunteer.
  Please book one workshop choice per day.
• 12:05 Break and come back to main Zoom for 12:25pm
  An opportunity for a cuppa and a comfort break after your workshop, before you re-join the main Zoom.
• 12:25 Plenary session: Launch of the ‘Working with Emotions in Volunteering Toolkit’
  This live session will include time for questions.
• 12:55 Closing remarks
• 13:00 Conference closes
• 14:30 – 15:30: Networking
  Join us on Zoom to network and share with your peers. The Wednesday session has been moved from earlier advertised.

Day 2: Thursday 21 October

• 09:30 Our virtual doors open for registration and (optional) pre-conference networking
• Join AVM and other delegates for informal networking in Zoom, ahead of the event.
• 10:00 Conference opens with a welcome from Ruth Leonard, Chair of AVM
• 10:10 Keynote: ‘Renaissance or regression? The five themes that are going to dominate volunteering management after the pandemic’, Joe Saxton – Driver of Ideas at nfpSynergy and its founder
  Joe will give a 20 minute keynote speech, followed by a 20 Q&A, with questions facilitated by Ruth Leonard.
• 11:00 Break and move to your workshops
  An opportunity for a cuppa and a comfort break, before you move to your chosen workshop.
  All workshops will be running in different Zooms and you will need to leave the main Zoom and join your workshop’s Zoom link.
• 11:20 Workshops start (details below)
  Each workshop will be in a separate Zoom meeting, hosted by a member of the AVM Board and an AVM conference volunteer.
  Please book one workshop choice per day.
• 12:05 Break and come back to main Zoom for 12:25pm
  An opportunity for a cuppa and a comfort break after your workshop, before you re-join the main Zoom.
• 12:25 Live panel session
  The live panel session will be your opportunity to ask your questions of our expert panel members (tbc).
• 12:55 Closing remarks
• 13:00 Conference closes
• 14:30 – 15:30: Networking
  Join us on Zoom to network and share with your peers.

Workshops

• Workshop A: Volunteering Management in the Digital Space, Carly Bell, Volunteering Manager, Media Trust & Rob Janke, Marketing & CRM Manager, Media Trust
• Wednesday 20th only. Workshop B: Making the Volunteer Experience Inclusive, Jarina Choudhury (She/They), Strategic Volunteering Lead, NCVO & Amy McGarvey (She/They), Research Manager, NCVO
• Workshop C: How to genuinely engage your audiences: an introduction to co-production, Jo Keller, Head of Volunteering, RNIB
• Workshop D: Assessing impact in challenging times, Shehnaaz Latif, Associate, NCVO
• Workshop E: Investing in Volunteers – UK standards for volunteer involving organisations, Korina Tsioni (She/Her), Volunteering Quality and Resources Officer, WCVA – on behalf of the UK IiV Operations group
• Workshop F: “What have student volunteers ever done for us?!” – bursting myths and stereotypes, Mariana Vieira da Rocha, National Chair, UK Student Volunteering Network and Volunteering and Civic Engagement Manager, University of West London, and David Coles, Volunteer Centre Manager, London School of Economics
• Workshop G: Befriending: maintaining quality and impact when you move online, Anne-Marie Zaritsky, Head of Volunteering, Mencap

You can find full details of our programme and speakers on our conference page

Networking

When it comes to networking, we know that nothing quite beats being face to face in person. However, as many of us have become accustomed to, online face to face isn’t a bad second choice. We will be using a Zoom meeting to enable you to chat with other leaders of volunteering from across a variety of sectors and organisations during this conference.

This year we will be offering networking a variety of networking opportunities:

• Join us and other delegates for a Zoom networking call each afternoon, to discuss what you’ve learnt from the conference with your peers. We’ll be running these sessions at 4pm on Wednesday 20th October, and 2:30pm on Thursday 21st October.
• Join us in a private group on Voluntary Voice for all conference attendees to join. The group will open the week before the conference, and will give you the opportunity to network with other delegates ahead of time.
• Sign up to AVM Conference Connect when you register, and grow your professional network. If you sign up we will randomly match you with another delegate, and connect you over email once the conference is over, so you can connect over a virtual (or real life, if you’re near enough) cuppa. 

Pricing

AVM members are eligible for a member discount on our Conference. Please select this at the checkout.

Pricing	Standard price	AVM members’ price
Both days (early bird)	£130	£70
One day (early bird)	£70	£40
Both days	£160	£80
One day	£90	£50

We are ticketing through TicketTailor as our website is in the process of being upgraded.

Terms and conditions of ticket sales

Payment and cancellation terms

Payment must be made by the date of the event.

If you require an invoice, please ensure you book your place a minimum of two weeks before the start date of the event. After that we will only accept payment by credit card or PayPal.

Want to pay by credit card but can’t pay now? No problem! You can pay against an invoice by credit card (or PayPal): we will send you a link to do so.

As you follow the online booking process – select the payment option at checkout “Request invoice”. If you need us to add a payment reference or purchase order number to the invoice – just add it in the “Additional information” section when confirming your billing details at checkout.

You’ll receive your invoice by email once we have accepted your booking. You can pay for your ticket by BACS or online with a credit or debit card. Please note we no longer accept payment by cheque.

We will check your membership status at time of booking. If you are not a current member – or have not applied for membership – you will be re-invoiced at the non-member rate.

We know things happen and that sometimes you can’t come to an event. If you are unable to come, you can pass your ticket on to a colleague, but if they are not an AVM member they will need to join AVM. If they don’t, they will be charged at the non-member rate.

If you have to cancel, please let us know by email.

• Cancellations received more than 20 days before the start of the event – before or on 30th September – regardless of date booked, will incur a 25% cancellation charge, whether the place has been paid for or not,
• Cancellations received 19–0 days before the start of the event – on or after 1st October – regardless of date booked, will incur a 100% cancellation charge, whether the place has been paid for or not.

AVM will not accept liability for people unable to attend due to circumstances outside our control, such as travel disruption, work commitments, illness, or other personal commitments.

Where circumstances force AVM to cancel an event, the liability of AVM shall be limited to a refund of any fees paid for tickets to that particular event. AVM is not liable for any consequential loss, such as travel costs you may incur.

L&D organisational package holders are limited to 10 tickets per organisation for AVM’s annual conference. If you would like to make a bulk order, please get in touch.

Buying for colleagues?

If you are buying tickets for colleagues you can only buy tickets at the member rate for them if they are currently members. We reserve the right to re-issue an invoice at the non-member rate if they are not a member at the time of booking.

Join AVM now

You can join AVM online now to qualify for your event discount. As long as your application is submitted, you can purchase tickets for our events at the member rate. You will need to complete your membership payment, otherwise you will be liable for the non-member price for the event.

Disclaimers

Whilst the programme is correct at time of going to press, AVM reserves the right to change details of an event without notice. Alterations may occasionally be necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.

Views expressed by speakers are their own. AVM disclaims any liability for advice given, or views expressed, by any speaker at the event or in any documentation provided to delegates.

By attending AVM’s conference on Zoom, your profile information, including your name and profile picture, may be visible to other attendees. Your name and email address will also be visible to AVM, the account owner and host when you buy your ticket and register on Zoom.

Your name, job title and organisation will be shared as a delegate list on a conference private web page, to facilitate networking. This will only be made available to those who have access to the event page: AVM staff and volunteers, event delegates, speakers and conference sponsors.

If you do not want your details in the list, please let us know at least three weeks in advance of the event. This delegate list should not be used for sales to our delegates, either during or after the event.