AJFCA Volunteer Professional Summit in Denver:
"The Art and Science of Volunteer Engagement"

Join us for the inaugural AJFCA Volunteer Professional Summit, in partnership with JFS Colorado.
Building on the success of other gatherings for professionals in our network, JFS Colorado's Director of Volunteer Services, Nancy Benyamin, and a dedicated team of network Volunteer Professionals have designed this Summit to educate, inspire, and enhance your success.
Registration cost for Summit (through AJFCA) is $100, which includes:
  • All programming Sunday evening - Monday
  • Heavy appetizers (including Kosher) at networking gathering Sunday night
  • Kosher lunch Monday
August 7-8, 2016
REGISTER HERE by Monday, July 18th
Details on hotel & travel below
  • The Summit will be a one-day professional development and networking opportunity exclusively for Volunteer Professionals at AJFCA member agencies.
  • Join your fellow VPs at JFS Colorado to learn & share on topics which address both the "science" and the "art" of volunteer management.
Great Lineup of Speakers for Summit
 
Beth Steinhorn 
President, JFFixler Group
Beth is a nationally recognized leader, writer, and innovator in volunteer engagement and nonprofit management.  
Throughout her 25+ year career with nonprofit organizations, Beth has helped organizations and their leadership achieve their missions through  strategic and innovative engagement. In addition to presenting at local and national conferences including the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, Beth is a certified Service Enterprise trainer. Beth co-authored the book Boomer Volunteer Engagement: Facilitator's Tool Kit and served as editor for the book Boomer Volunteer Engagement: Collaborate Today, Thrive Tomorrow. She is also a contributing author to VolunteerMatch's recently published Volunteer Engagement 2.0 and Charity Channel's You and Your Nonprofit: Practical Advice and Tips from the CharityChannel Professional Community. As President of JFFixler Group, Beth leads consultations, facilitates workshops, coaches executives, presents keynote addresses, and publishes blogs and articles.

Melinda Wilkes
Director of Volunteer Engagement
Melinda Wilkes has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 13 years and has been in the field of volunteer engagement for over 10. She is dedicated to the sector and takes pride in helping individuals and agencies strengthen their volunteer capacity. She has taught volunteer management for several years on a local and national level, and sits on the board of HandsOn San Diego, the local HandsOn Affiliate for the region. She supervises the AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) for San Diego County. She holds her Masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego and is a certified volunteer administrator through Council for Certificate in Volunteer Administration.
Sponsor Highlight from Verified Volunteers 
Verified Volunteers is the only background check platform tailored to the specific needs of the service sector and the first online community to mobilize repeat, vetted volunteers. We believe this platform has the potential to dramatically transform volunteer screening for the better for AJFCA member agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Verified Volunteers is proud to sponsor the 2016 AJFCA Volunteer Professional Summit.
Schedule Outline

Sunday, August 7th - Networking Event (7-9pm)
Citron Bistro, 3535 South Yosemite Street, Denver, CO 80237
303-771-5800
Participants will gather for a casual evening of networking over heavy appetizers (don't eat dinner!) & drinks with colleagues. Kosher food will be provided. 
Monday, August 8th - Programming (approx 8:30 am - 4:30 pm) 
JFS Colorado, 3201 South Tamarac Drive, Denver, CO 80231
303-597-5000

The full day will include:
  • a session on The Volunteer Engagement Professional as Internal Consultant and Change Agent - how to position yourself as an organizational leader and promote volunteerism across your organization
    •
  • Professionally facilitated discussions around the following topics:
    • Engaging Agency Staff with Volunteers
    • Volunteer Trends
    • Using Technology to Improve the Field
    • Turning Volunteer into Donors (and Donors into Volunteers!)
  • a tour and interactive experience in the JFS Colorado Food Pantry
    • Don't Forget to Join AJFCA's Volunteer Professional Facebook Group! 

    Join your AJFCA member agency colleagues for vibrant discussion and the exchange of information on Facebook! As a closed group, only members will be able to view the contents of participant posts. The group also features a section for photos and files, to which anyone can upload resources to share.  There is a search function which allows easy access to all information accumulated. To join the Volunteer Professionals group, use this link. More groups have been launched for other areas of focus; please reach out to Jennie if there is a specific group you'd like to see created.
    Hotel & Travel Details
     
    Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver Southeast (click here to book a room)

    Hotel stay per night group rate is $149:

    • Rate is for 1 king/2 queens - so you can double up with a fellow Summit participant if you are open to having a roommate
    • All suites include a pull out sofa, wet bar, mini fridge, microwave (pretend you're back in college and have a third professional crash in your suite!)
    • Complimentary Wi-Fi in guest rooms
    • Pool & Fitness Center
    • Complimentary full breakfast starting at 6:30am (week days) 7am (weekends)
    • shuttle service between hotel & networking event
    • shuttle service between hotel & JFS Colorado
    • in order to get the group rate you must reserve your room by July 16th
    Additional costs you and/or your agency are responsible for: 
    • Flights (please be sure you try Southwest + all other carriers for best rates)
    • Any additional travel costs including getting to & from the airport in Denver 
    The hotel does not have a complimentary shuttle to the airport, but they have shared the following recommendations:
    • ABC Shuttle ($17 per person, each way - 303-696-9559)
    • Super Shuttle ($23 per person, each way - 303-370-1300) 
    • Uber and Lyft also service the airport
    newsletter archive


    If you have never received the AJFCA Volunteer Initiative newsletter - check out our     Volunteer Engagement homepage for an archive of past Volunteer E-Newsletters. 

    Please reach out to AJFCA's Director of Volunteer Strategy, Jennie Gates Beckman at 410-843-7449 or jbeckman@ajfca.org for additional support.