Join us for " Strategic Volunteerism: Building Leadership Support for Your Program!"

Volunteers are a vital asset to nonprofit organizations, yet securing strong leadership buy-in for volunteer programs can remain a challenge. How can we demonstrate that volunteer engagement is essential to our nonprofit’s success?

In this interactive workshop, volunteer and community engagement professionals will gain practical strategies to foster leadership support and integrate volunteerism into organizational success. Participants will learn how to:

• Communicate the strategic value of volunteer engagement in ways that resonate with boards and executive leaders.
• Align volunteer initiatives with organizational goals to secure leadership investment and resources.
• Use data and storytelling to demonstrate the impact and return on investment of volunteer service.
• Cultivate internal champions among board members and executives to advocate for the volunteer program.

By the end of this session, attendees will leave with actionable tools to elevate the role of volunteerism within their organizations and transform leadership perspectives on its impact.

Sarah Mackey has over 20 years’ experience leading in the nonprofit sector

and is the Executive Director of Women in Security and Privacy, a nonprofit

advancing women and underrepresented communities to lead the future of

privacy and security. Sarah oversees the global organization’s strategic

planning, operations, volunteer engagement, fundraising, community building

and programs. She is also a university instructor for nonprofit and social

justice courses, and is passionate about putting research and theory into

practice in nonprofit organizations.

Sarah previously served as the Chief Network Development Officer at

National Court Appointed Special Advocates/Guardians ad Litem

(CASA/GAL) Association for Children where she led the national training,

communications, and technical assistance across the U.S. network. And as

Vice President, US Transformation & Volunteer Programs with Habitat for

Humanity International, Sarah led the strategy development, change

management and implementation for initiatives and services supporting the

success of 1,200 Habitat for Humanity organizations across the United States.

Sarah earned a doctorate in public administration, master of public administration, and graduate certificate in nonprofit management from University of Illinois Springfield, and earned a B.A. in economics from Hanover College. Sarah holds professional credentials including Certification in Volunteer Administration (CVA) and Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).  

Sarah has been honored with the Affiliate Impact Habitat Hero Award from Habitat Illinois, Nonprofit Director of the Year Award and ATHENA Leadership Award from the Springfield (IL) Chamber of Commerce, Woman of the Year Diamond Award from Illinois Women in Leadership, President’s Volunteer Service Award, and multiple Clarion Awards from the Association for Women in Communications. Sarah lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is a volunteer with the National Center for Civil & Human Rights, a board member of Georgia Association for Volunteer Administration, and has volunteered to build homes with Habitat for Humanity in 10 countries around the world.

We look forward to seeing you at this NOVAA event, however, if you need to cancel, please refer to our Cancellation Policy and contact admin@novaa.org with any questions.