5 Reasons Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Skip the Points of Light Conference
Brian Dean, left, with Jersey Cares staff at the 2018 Points of Light Conference in Atlanta.
I don’t have time to go to St. Paul in June. That’s a busy time of year inside and outside of the office, and as the head of a nonprofit, I can find a lot of other things to do with the money I would spend on that trip. Our budget is definitely more tiny house than McMansion.
But I am going to go to St. Paul, and I’m going to make the investment to send other members of our team as well. The choice was easy, in spite of all of the reasons we have not to go. The 2019 Points of Light Conference in St. Paul will be filled with remarkable people making a difference, and the chance to join with them to build a better world is a once-a-year, not-to-be-missed opportunity.
If you’re wondering how you would find the time or why you should find the money to attend the Points of Light Conference, I can offer you five reasons why you’ll want to do both and enjoy St. Paul in June:
Discover new ideas to transform old paradigms.
Challenge your existing mechanisms and spark new thought by spending a few days immersed in the company of smart people who ponder the same issues that you do. The 2018 conference sent me home with pages of ideas that have inspired new ways of thinking, elevated my organization’s work and brought people together in new ways.
Get inspired by new friends who are passionate about the same work that gets you out of bed in the morning.
The Points of Light Conference grants you the opportunity to share in the enthusiasm of inspired and inspiring people who remind you why you began this journey. You’ll return home ready to leap out of bed with the energy you’ve found among your new worldwide network.
Know the name and face to call when your local partner wants to work globally.
Meeting the great people who love making the world a better place is only part of the benefit. Expanding your local partnerships by assisting the people, organizations and companies critical to your work with their national and international efforts helps you improve your place in your corporate partners’ CSR portfolios and elevate your voice in local changemaking.
Break out of your personnel and financial audits mindset to spend quality time with your big picture.
The Points of Light Conference brightens and broadens your vision while redirecting your focus when the daily details are all you can see. Set your sights on the bigger and better, and be the bigger, better leader your community needs.
Share in the excitement of Points of Light’s new energy under the leadership of Natalye Paquin.
Points of Light’s re-commitment to local organizations and volunteers as central to our collective work in changing the world is your opportunity to reach beyond your service area and grow a global movement. This moment is your invaluable chance to imprint your passion, purpose and plans onto a global effort and accelerate your local work into a cultural transformation.
If you’ve never attended a Points of Light Conference, take a chance and see for yourself how a few days can propel your personal mission. If you haven’t attended for a while, come and see how a new direction and a new commitment to you can advance your work. And if you came last year, you probably already have your ticket. Whatever your history, hopefully your future includes joining new friends to share your story and shape the way you, and we collectively, are changing the world.
Brian Dean is the president and CEO of Jersey Cares, a Points of Light Global Network affiliate located in Livingston, New Jersey. This will be his 16th year attending a conference with Points of Light.
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