The Latest from my Blog

I met Faiza Venzant over a decade ago. She is a longtime thought leader in ethics and equity who had invited me to learn about these topics through different means, including a poverty simulation. We connected recently to discuss the Equity in Action Toolkit, the context around it, and some things that make me cringe.

​I asked Faiza a number of questions, including, "Why should leaders of volunteers prioritize equity over diversity and inclusion?"

Her response: "To me, equity in volunteerism is a belief that every person has a right to participate towards positive outcomes for their community in a way that feels safe and welcoming and inclusive of all of their identities. If you can lead with and imbed equity into everything you design for and with volunteers and community, diversity and inclusion will be outcomes of that."

Check out: From Strong to Abundant

​This free resource from Vantage Point is an excellent advocacy tool for volunteerism and volunteer engagement. I encourage you to share it leaders in your organization and colleagues in other departments!

It could help you explain why volunteer engagement strategy must be integrated cross-functionally and across all levels of the organization. It could also support conversations around investment in volunteer engagement.

Check out: EasyBoard (and get a discount through me!)

Using SharePoint or Google Drive for Board materials? Have members lost their passwords again? Trying to schedule meetings with Doodle? And no one fills out the polls (except maybe the Board Chair, after you call and text them)?

I only share things I believe in- and EasyBoard is a game changer. If you said "yes" to the questions above, here’s why you should check them out (besides their $79 base price):

1. Say goodbye to password resets and tech support calls with "Magic links" that let Board members skip the login hassle.
2. Easily create and archive member profiles. No more messy Excel sheets or asking IT to remove access after someone leaves.
3. You can quickly find discussions from months ago. No more guessing which file to open and Ctrl+F. Just type a term like "gala" into the search bar and immediately see all references to it.
4. No more guessing which file to open when referring back to a discussion. Find all mentions of a term like "gala" in seconds by typing into the search bar.
5. Everything's in one organized spot. No need to share Doodle polls, RSVP requests, documents, and announcements through multiple links. No need to chase down people who missed a link.
6. As one of EasyBoard’s newest referral partners, I’m excited to offer you 10% off your first-year subscription with code JPP10! (And yes, I get a referral fee.)

Where You'll Find Me

Nov. 6: Attending a webinar on How to use Ontario Nonprofit Network's new sector data to advocate for change.

Nov. 20: Presenting a webinar on Survey Design: Making REAL Differences with Data for Volunteer Fairfax. Registration is free!

Dec. 5-6: Presenting on Storytelling without Exploitation at Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement's Virtual Dismantling Inequities Conference. Register with the code DEISpeakers2024 for a 10% discount.

On the Women's Nonprofit Network Resource Page: With my advice on How to Design a Strategic and Modern Volunteer Recruitment Campaign.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica