ProInspire at The National Conference on Volunteering and Service

By Hadeel Al-Tashi

On June 19-22, 2013, ProInspire joined thousands of nonprofits in the Points of Light's National Conference on Volunteering and Service held at the Convention Center in Washington D.C. The theme of the conference was to focus on the power of service in bridging differences and bringing people together – across race, income, politics, religion, age and geography- to help one another. This Conference is truly the place to be for individuals and organizations who care about volunteering and supporting nonprofits. 

Three members of the ProInspire team attended the conference.  The Convention Center became a hub for intimate, thought-provoking conversations about national service, social entrepreneurship and hands-on action. Political, religious, entertainment, and sport rivals came together to unite a divided nation. A few highlights for us included:

• During the opening ceremony, JPMorgan Chase announced their launch of The One America campaign designed to inspire millions to help strengthen communities through service. Bill O’Reilly and Donna Brazile are among the “rivals” who have put their differences aside and joined forces in the name of service.  You can suggest which unlikely allies you want to see united in service on their website: http://www.one-america.org/.

• We were honored to be one of 16 nonprofits that were invited to participate in the Chase Community Giving contest during the Conference.  A number of attendees spoke with us about our work and voted for ProInspire.  While we didn't take first place, we were happy to see great organizations like Builders Beyond Borders, Career Village, Girls Who Code, Mobilize.org, Project Humanity, and the 6th Branch receive grants.

• A session by A Billion + Change, illustrated the progress that has been made over the past five years in corporations committing to pro-bono service.  This session showcased these companies as they discussed how effective models help companies and nonprofits.  Back then, only a handful of companies came to talk about pro-bono service, and now representatives from companies like Capital One, Deloitte, Fidelity, Target, and others had innovative programs to share.

• During the closing ceremony, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie spoke about Hurricane Sandy and the important role that AmeriCorps volunteers played in bringing home to devastated areas.  He also talked about bi-partisanship and the need to step beyond politics during a time of need.

The conference provided a wide variety of sessions ranging from mentoring, service enterprise, volunteer management, nonprofit capacity building, and service innovation to corporate and philanthropic leadership exchange. Organizations shared resources to strengthen their organizational infrastructure and leadership development strategy – all for the purpose of making greater social impact.  It was a great place to learn, connect, and discuss the future.  We look forward to seeing everyone in Atlanta next year!