Collaboration, conversation, and enough sugar to feed an army.
Tuesday’s R2L Community Meeting was full of learning moments, laughter, and fun as we tested drawing skills on white board walls, and carried on long after the meeting was over.
Thank you again to the Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains for hosting us, providing donuts, coffee, free Girl Scout cookies, and for opening your space to allow us to dig deep into understanding volunteers from various perspectives as it relates to coordination.
In case you missed the meeting, you can catch up below with short recaps, presentation, and reviewing our time together.
At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.
— Denzel Washington
The Real Work of Volunteer Coordination, R2L's framing for the morning
The morning ran on one thread with three questions. What motivates volunteers, how do we build structures that keep programming running, and how do we set expectations on both sides. Underneath all of it sat a sharper framing. We are good at the what (the organization, the task, the logistics) but far less consistent on the who, the real person on the other end. The who is what brings someone back. Where is the moment a volunteer gets close enough to the mission that the work stops being a task and becomes something more?
Our activity involved white board walls and testing drawing skills. Each group was asked to bring one specific volunteer to life (name, face, life, world, what they were really there for) and then map their journey: Notice, First Yes, First Experience, Return, Deepen. Like a donor persona, but built for a volunteer.
The Takeaway Packet
The packet opens with four honest questions to bring back to your team (whether volunteers know your organizational goals, whether they are treated as stakeholders or helpers, whether they can articulate your impact in their own words, and the advocates-or-ambassadors question). It moves into a two-sided expectations table that names what your organization commits to the volunteer and what you ask the volunteer to commit in return, across purpose, time, communication, growth, recognition, and exit. The third section gathers higher-level workflow practices that move a program from running to compounding. The fourth section is a curated list of volunteer management and sourcing tools, organized by what they actually solve rather than feature lists. Match the tool to your bottleneck, and confirm pricing directly before committing.
Download the slides and the packet below to share with your team.
Point of Intersection, with House of Shine
Stephanie McAlpine and Allison Renfro opened the morning with House of Shine's Point of Intersection™ framework, which maps where talent (who you are), interest (what you know), and need (what you care about) overlap. That overlap is your contribution, and it grows with you over time.
For volunteer coordination, the framework shifts the starting question. Most systems begin with the task. Point of Intersection begins with the person, asking what they already bring and where their natural contribution lives. When the role meets who someone already is, engagement and retention follow.
Stephanie and Allison brought both depth and energy into the room. They did not just teach a tool. They made everyone in it want to use it on themselves.
CRA and the Corporate Volunteer Lens, with SouthState
Larshá Thomas and Fernando Gomez grounded the conversation in the Community Reinvestment Act and then drew a clear line between volunteerism that qualifies for CRA credit, like financial education and board service, and Corporate Social Responsibility activities, like food pantry shifts and neighborhood cleanups. Both matter. Knowing which side a partnership lives on helps nonprofits position their asks correctly.
Where the conversation opened up was on the people side. Bank employees stay engaged when a nonprofit's mission aligns with their personal values, when the work feels intrinsically motivated rather than mandated, and when it gives them a sense of greater purpose. The partnership strengthens further when the nonprofit side runs on solid structure, clearly defined roles, and reliable expectations. That kind of organization signals professionalism, builds trust, and earns return engagement.
Larshá and Fernando brought clarity, generosity, and a real belief that strong partnerships between banks and nonprofits build stronger communities.
Download their presentation and review with your team.
Avery Montez is the founder of APMdigital, a creative business specializing in social media, advertising, and digital marketing. With experience in content creation and campaign strategy, Avery brings a creative, collaborative, and audience-focused approach to every project.
Download photos and the video from Tuesday’s Meeting.
If you are interested in learning more about Avery’s work, contact her today!
What’s Next….
🌱 Connection Circle
🗓️ May 28th
📍TAFB
⏰ 12 pm - 1 pm
This session is built around what's happening in your volunteer programs right now. Bring a situation you're navigating, a question you haven't been able to answer, or just an open mind. We'll work through it together.
🌱 Community Meeting
🗓️ June 11th
📍Lena Pope
⏰ 8 am - 9:30 am
We'll talk about what healthy team dynamics look like in practice, how to recognize when energy is shifting on your team, and how to set boundaries that protect both the people and the mission.
🌱 Connection Circle
🗓️ June 16th
📍TAFB
⏰ 12 pm - 1 pm
This session is a grounded conversation about how to recognize when a team, or a workplace culture, is starting to crack and what realistic options look like when you're not the one in charge.
Until next time,
Founder & Executive Director
Empowering nonprofit leaders to grow and lead with purpose.
