Every year the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), hosts the Organizational Development Institute, or “ODI”. These incredible trainings provide an opportunity for incoming Junior League leaders to meet fellow League members from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England, while sharing ideas about how to build on the existing success of each of our Leagues. Sarah F, Jordana K-V, Amy L and Jill S traveled to Tampa in mid-March to grow their expertise and bring new ideas back to the League. Each attended a different training track, and are excited to share what they learned. What follows are their favorite takeaways from the conference.Sarah F., Membership Track
My track was facilitated by Naomi Chavez Peters, Past President of the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula. The focus of her presentation was on membership engagement and retention. It was enlightening to discuss the various types of League members and the different ways to energize and engage members at various points in their League careers. Engagement can come in many forms and will mean something very different for every member. The great news is that engagement is the responsibility of all members. Through every placement we have the opportunity to make sure our fellow members are engaged and in turn continue to be committed to JLSP for a lifetime!
ODI was an amazing experience. It was invaluable to network with hundreds of League members from around the world, and to also get to know my fellow JLSP members better. I truly appreciated the opportunity to attend and would encourage other members to take the opportunity in the future. It was a great way to get re-energized to start a new League year.
Jordana K-V, Fundraising Track
ODI was for me a great learning experience in many aspects. I learned a great deal about the women with whom I will share my board experience next year. I discovered how bright,independent and wonderful these women are, which made me even more excited to share my next placement with them. In addition, I met Junior League members from all over the U.S., and discovered that no matter the state, we all share an amazing dedication to Junior League, the mission, and the many community projects. I also discovered that no matter the size and location of the League, we are all experiencing similar challenges in the realm of fundraising and resource development. Even though such news was unsettling, I was not discouraged,but rather comforted because I was in a room full of resourceful women who never give up on a challenge, but rise to it and find a way to succeed. I could not get enough of the experiences that my speaker shared with us on fundraising, resource development and all their elements. Her experiences were like little pearls of wisdom that I tried to collect in my notebook, and hope to use them in my term as the Director of Development next year. I am very grateful to this year’s board for giving me the opportunity to be part of this year’s ODI, and I am looking forward to sharing all of my learning experiences with the amazing women on next year’s board.
Amy L., Nominating Track
My track was facilitated by Anne Dalton, AJLI’s Chief Offi cer for Strategic Initiatives. Anne provided some great ideas for nominating and placing members, but another primary focus of the track this year was to encourage participants to think about and discuss how their League is governed and managed. It was fascinating to listen to the experiences of other Leagues from around the country, and their experiences with designing their leadership structures.
These conversations allowed for further reflection on how Leagues are structured from a leadership perspective, and how to be most efficient and useful of members’ talents while also considering how best to provide leadership opportunities to members. Attending this track really reinforced how much work JLSP has put into strategic planning and the encouragement we give our members to seek leadership roles within the League. Additionally, I left these sessions feeling energized and excited about the fact that JLSP has been selected by AJLI to participate in the Action Learning Team (ALT) program, which will allow our League to review and learn more about our structure, governance and leadership development in the coming years!
On the second morning of ODI, Vicki Clark from AJLI facilitated a session on promoting diversity and inclusiveness in our individual Leagues. While it was evident that there is much work to be done, I was incredibly thankful to participate in the session, and also very proud of the League for making diversifying Leagues a key priority. Vicki provided some helpful takeaways and tools for implementing some of the ideas she shared, which I look forward to discussing with next year’s board. Saint Paul is a richly diverse community, and it is my hope that we as a League will continue to develop plans which will assist in enriching and diversifying our membership, making it an even stronger reflection of the community in which we live and serve.
Jill S., Community Track
My experience at ODI confirmed that the research we have been doing through the Project Research Committee is in line with where AJLI is currently. It was very interesting to talk with other Leagues to learn about their projects. It was also interesting to hear firsthand how best to provide a diversity of projects or tactics that engage members and grow membership. Additionally, my track helped remind me of the importance of collaboration. For so many non-profit organizations, it seems there are so many big issues to tackle and JLSP cannot do it all alone. However, if we partner with another community organization, hopefully we can pair our expertise with theirs, and together make a profound impact in the community. I’m really excited for having gone to ODI, and for this being a new issue year for us at JLSP. I’m hopeful that the incoming leadership team can put together new tactics which result in a successful year!
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