Many organizations struggle to engage volunteers who reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the communities they serve. In response to this issue, the Minnesota Alliance for Volunteer Advancement (MAVA) embarked on a research study which resulted in a set of eight strategies for creating a more inclusive volunteer program within nonprofit and government organizations. These strategies serve as a starting point for leaders who are seeking concrete next steps for better engaging volunteers from Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and immigrant communities. In this interactive session, you will learn about the eight strategies, share your own experiences and create an action plan for launching a more inclusive volunteer program within your own organization. A significant portion of time will be spent on learning how you can change your volunteer recruitment message to be more inclusive. Participants are encouraged to bring their volunteer recruitment messages to share and edit in small groups during the session.

Wendy Vang-Roberts (she/her) is MAVA's Training Manager. Prior to joining the MAVA staff, Wendy served on MAVA's Inclusive Volunteerism Task Force and provided training on inclusive volunteer recruitment. She previously worked at Literacy Minnesota in a variety of adult student, volunteer and national service (AmeriCorps VISTA) outreach and recruitment roles. She most recently managed volunteer and adult learner outreach, coordinated support and professional development for volunteer coordinators and facilitated racial justice trainings for staff and volunteers at Adult Basic Education programs statewide. She serves on the boards of the Antiracism Study Dialogue Circles (ASDIC) Metamorphosis and Asian American Organization Project (AAOP).  Wendy holds a Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration from Metropolitan State University