Heritage Summit

2023 Oregon Heritage VIRTUAL Summit

Investing in Your Volunteers: Engage, Sustain, Value

April 27-28, 2023

A report released by the Oregon Heritage Commission in 2020 demonstrates that the work volunteers do within heritage organizations is indispensable to the preservation of Oregon’s heritage. In fact, most heritage organizations are operated primarily by volunteers. The world clearly saw the impact the pandemic had on volunteer programs across the nonprofit field and building back these critical stakeholder groups is key to continuing to carry out the mission of heritage organizations across the state. Join us April 27-28 as have facilitated conversation around community engagement and how that impacts volunteer strategies, panel discussions hearing from fellow volunteer managers and volunteers, and a practical workshop to help you engage, retain, and value volunteers in a way that impacts both the volunteer and the organization in meaningful ways.

The entire Summit is virtual and will occur online via Zoom. Since the pandemic, Oregon Heritage has committed to keeping the Summit in the odd year virtual whereas our Oregon Heritage Conference in the even years will be in person at various places across the state.

The Preliminary Schedule below is subject to change.

April 27: Pre-Summit Events

10am: SHPOlooza

This particular event is tied to our Conference & Summit each year and is geared towards those doing Cultural Resource and/or review and compliance work. This is a separate registration. Register here for the free virtual event.

12pm: Lunch Networking open to all Summit attendees

Thursday, April 27

12:30pm: Welcome and Groundbreaker Speakers

Groundbreaker Speakers: Emily Dobish & María Islas-López.
Emily Dobish is the Director of Volunteer Engagement for History Colorado where she provides leadership and oversight of the volunteer engagement strategy. Prior to moving to Colorado, she worked as a Faculty Assistant at the Harvard Business School.

María Islas-López, Ph.D, is a cultural sociologist specializing in qualitative analysis and community-engaged research and evaluation in ethnically diverse and low-income communities. As History Colorado’s Museum of Memory Manager, she oversees a portfolio of community-based collective memory projects for communities historically impacted by systems of oppression and inequality.

1:45pm: Break
2pm: Volunteer Impact on Organization panel discussion

Volunteer managers from organizations across the state will address how volunteers have impacted their ability to carry out their mission in meaningful ways. They will also address challenges and opportunities they have faced over the past few years.

3:05pm: Break
3:15pm: Organization Impact on Volunteers panel discussion

Let’s switch perspectives and ask some volunteers why they give their time, energy, and in some cases donations to heritage organizations.

4:20: Break
4:35: Value of Heritage through Volunteers Report Summary, an Oregon Heritage Commission report released in 2020 as a part of the Sharing the Value of Heritage Toolkit
5:30: Virtual happy hour fun!

Friday, April 28

8am: Morning Networking
8:30am: Developing Volunteerism Workshop, Jerry Schultz, Ph.D., University of Kansas, Community Tool Box

The time, energy and resources that volunteers offer are critical to the success of most organizations, and the jobs done by volunteers are as varied as the people who do them. This workshop will train participants to enhance volunteerism in their organization by learning to: 1) develop a plan for involving volunteers that will bring needed skills, save money, increase community ownership and bring new energy to their efforts; 2) grow their organization, reduce burden on other staff, and diversify their organization by recruiting volunteers; 3) develop an effective volunteer orientation to help new volunteers understand and adjust to the organization and their roles; and 4) teach new volunteers the skills they need to function effectively as part of the organization by creating a training plan. Though presentations, practice activities and a training resource module, participants will learn that volunteering can be a tremendously rewarding experience, both for the individual who offers their time and for the organization to which it is given if the volunteer feels that their contribution is well used and useful.

Registration Open!

$5.00 only for 2023 only! We want to support you in reinvigorating your volunteer program and show you the value of the virtual summit. Register here. Registeration covers all programs.

Registration Survey: After registering, please follow this link to provide additional information.

•   Individual contact information.
•   Conference packet mailing address.
•   Sign up for the Volunteer Appreciation Grant (must attend (virtually) to qualify).

Online access information: You will receive an email with the links to access all of the summit programming about one week prior to the summit, or the day before if you register close to the time of the summit.

Summit packet: The first 250 people who register by noon on April 9 will receive a fun conference packet with snacks, recipes, and more.

Registration tips: If you are registering for someone else or for multiple people, please be sure to complete the registration survey at this link. Registration will close April 26 at noon.

SHPOLOOZA 2023 Registration
This is a pre-summit session offered by SHPO for training for people working in the cultural resources management field. Register here for the free virtual event.

If needed, please request translation services at least 72 hours prior to the event start time by calling 503-986-0690.