The Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Services is excited to be in the early planning stage for the 2019 Virginia Volunteerism and Service Conference to be held May 7-8, 2019, in Richmond.  This conference attracts more than 400 human service professionals from across the Commonwealth including volunteer coordinators, program managers and directors from nonprofit and government agencies, and national service members. All come to develop their personal and professional skills, learn new ideas, and build the capacity of their organizations.   We are seeking a cadre of workshop presenters who can share their expertise with our conference guests and engage them in active learning.  We encourage you to submit your workshop proposal(s) and to share this call for proposals with other strong presenters.  We are particularly interested in offering several advanced-level workshops this year. It’s going to be another great conference. We hope you will be a part of it! 

Submit a Proposal!

Deadline for receipt of proposals: December 14, 2018

Target Audience:  Participants who will attend our training events will most likely represent the following stakeholder groups: 

• Volunteer coordinators from nonprofit and government agencies: both early career and seasoned professionals.  
• Managers and executive leaders from nonprofit, faith based, government agencies and National Service Programs. 

As you prepare your proposals, please keep in mind that our conference attendees have varied levels of experience and range from early career professionals to those with considerable experience. We are especially in need of advanced level workshops.  Workshop Best Practices:

1. Presentations that are designed to support growth with clear learning outcomes that inspire learners to take action are encouraged.  This can be demonstrated through small or large group discussions, table exercises, assessment tools, etc. 
2. Workshops are scheduled in sessions of 90 minutes, therefore, it is often helpful to leave the last 10 minutes for Q&A and completion of the survey.   All speakers are asked to adhere to these timings out of courtesy to other speakers and to allow for smooth transition between sessions.  
3. Previous attendees have been particularly positive about workshops that provided them with practical tools, checklists, and examples they can take back to their sites and apply. 
4. Presentations should represent diverse cultures, backgrounds, viewpoints, institutions, and regions. There should be a wide array of subject matter knowledge and experience in facilitating and/or speaking to groups that are multi-leveled (introductory, intermediate, and advanced).
5. For both handouts and any additional visual aids (projections or videos),remember that the rooms are large and it can be hard to see slides from the back, so a font size of at least 20 is recommended. In addition, allow ample time when referring to a visual aid or when pointing out the location of materials. For ideas and guidance on developing presentations click on this link  https://www.eval.org/ page/p2i-tools.

Session Format: All of the workshops will be 90 minutes in length. Breakout rooms typically hold 50-60 people. Presenters should understand that the participants who attend this conference have varied levels of experience. As such, your proposals should identify the targeted level of instruction. Each workshop room will provide the option of using overhead slides, though we encourage presenters to include opportunities for group interaction.  Suggested Workshop Topics: Fund Development: developing a fundraising plan, grant writing, special event planning, corporate engagement, marketing Volunteer Management: recruiting and retaining volunteers, corporate volunteer engagement, data management systems, Service Enterprise Initiative, project planning, current trends in volunteerism and civic engagement  Organizational Capacity Building: board development, diversity and cultural awareness, employee engagement, succession planning, risk management, engagement of community groups, outcomes and data management, effective social media  Personal and Professional Development: facilitation techniques, leadership skills, self-defense and personal awareness, mindfulness, networking and communication tips Be Creative!