Give Yourself a Gift!
As the holiday season rapidly approaches, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by the gift-giving process – thinking of gift ideas, shopping for gifts, ordering gifts, wrapping gifts, sending gifts. And while it is wonderful to be generous gift-givers, we rarely take the time and get ourselves a gift.
The perfect gift for United Way professionals is attending one or more of the phenomenal educational conferences held for United Ways. There are two conferences coming up in early 2025 that would be a great gift for you!
2025 Community School Conference
The inaugural Community Schools Conference is an in-person learning and networking opportunity designed specifically for local United Way friends, colleagues, school districts and other partner organizations working to address the complex social issue of generational poverty in their communities.
This conference will provide you with the foundation and the “nuts and bolts” of the community school strategy as implemented by United Way of Erie County, a nationally recognized best-practice backbone organization who launched the model in Erie, Pennsylvania in 2017.
We are honored to have been asked to co-present a session at the conference called “Moving from Transaction to Impact: Becoming an Issue-Focused United Way” along with Laurie Root and Mike Jaruszewicz of United Way of Erie County. We have worked with United Way of Erie County since 2008 as they have become progressive leaders in adopting an issue focus as well as implementing Community Schools to address their issue of poverty.
The two-day event will be held on July 23-24, 2025, in Erie, Pennsylvania and registration is now open – sign up here.
Great Rivers Conference 2025
The Great Rivers Conference 2025 is the place to join United Way leaders from across the country to explore strategies, insights, and tools to make meaningful impact in your communities. The conference includes sessions where you can learn about conceptual ideas, the “nuts & bolts” of being a United Way, and how to grow & scale your impact.
We have had the privilege of attending and presenting at Great Rivers Conferences since 1998 and are excited to once again be presenting in 2025. Our session “Share the Messages Your Donors Need to Hear” will address one of the biggest challenges facing United Ways. When United Ways try to communicate too many messages, it is a lot of work for staff and overwhelming for donors. Based on our donor research with local United Way donors, we will share what your donors need to know, and what they don't need or want to hear. You will learn a simple formula for developing calls-to-action for your donors. We will share inspirational examples of messaging from United Ways of all sizes that are effectively communicating with fewer, more powerful messages.
This year’s conference will be held on March 11-13, 2025, in Madison, Wisconsin and registration is now open – sign up here.
A Gift that Gives Twice!
Attending these conferences is a gift that gives twice. First, these conferences will enrich your personal knowledge, experience, friendships, and networks. Second, you will be able to use what you learned from these conferences to make your United Way and community better.
Don’t hesitate to give yourself a gift this holiday season! From all of us at Perspectives, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and best wishes for an incredible 2025!