— The Blueprint Model — The Blueprint Services —
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS
Monthly space to create open, curious, and encouraging conversations around equity in community engagement and to be in community with other like-minded people.
Curious Conversations take place the first Wednesday of each month and are casual one-hour learning sessions where VACV reflects on common questions we receive about community engagement. By offering this space for continual learning, we hope to build a network of like-minded individuals who want to practice equitable engagement with communities. Multiple VACV staff members provide their experiences, ensuring participants will hear diverse perspectives and solutions to common engagement challenges. We also appreciate when participants share their experiences and expertise. This space is truly for sharing and building community.
TIME COMMITMENT - 1 hour (12pm-1pm)
COST - Free. Registration is encouraged but not required. If you register you’ll get the reminder emails!
Invite Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83248523287 | Meeting ID: 832 4852 3287
2026 dATES + TOPICS
2.4.26 | What Happens When We Put People First?
A people-first workplace is both a philosophy and a practice, and we’re constantly checking ourselves to ensure we’re bringing alignment and care into our work. In this session, Rupa Singh, our Communications Coordinator, will share what it means to work in a culture that sees your humanity as fully part of your contribution. This transformative, justice-centered work happens when we intentionally build power through trust, connection, co-creation, and reflection. Both inside our organization, because the way we treat each other is already justice work, and outside of it, because communities deserve institutions that practice the world they are trying to build. The best part? You can do it too! Our model is replicable and scalable. Register for the February session here.
3.4.26 | From an Active Participant to an Empowered Leader
Join us to leaern how VACV has had our youth transition from a participant in our Working Groups / Youth Programs to becoming an active leader on our Steering Committee. You’ll hear from Shakirah Jones, our Youth Coordinator about what it takes to engage our youth and prepare them to be decision-makers for their futures. Register for the March session here.
4.8.26 | Budgets are a Moral Docment - Putting Money into the Community’s Vision
At VACV we like to say, “Budgets and calendars are moral documents.” In other words, where we dedicate our resources is an easy indicator of our values. This past year, we’ve been working with the Southside community on a participatory budget process. In this session, you’ll learn from Josh Scott, our Director of Policy and Organizing, what a particiaptory budget process is, why and how we’re doing it, what it means for our future fundraising, and how it ties into the city’s participatory budgeting efforts. Register for the April session here.
5.6.26 | Three tips for Making Your Workplace Environment Better - From the Ground Up
Do you want to foster a better workplace environment for ALL of your employees? We often find that company culture and policies work for some of employees, but not for all. In this session, you’ll hear from Florencia Fuensalida, our Director of Equity Improvement, on the top three tips to build a better workplace by including the voices of all employees, from frontline to “c-suite.” Register for the May session here.
6.3.26 | GET HEARD — Three Tips for Successful Dialogue with Decision-Makers
So you’ve heard from and organized your community members, and now your next step is meeting with local government decision-makers to move policies and actions forward. In this session you’ll hear from Justin Sykes, our Healing Justice Coordinator, and learn his top three tips for creating a successful communiy-led dialogue with folks from the local government. Register for the June session here.
7.8.26 | Who Sets the Rules? Analyzing the Power Imbalance in Cultural Integration
There is a clear power imbalance in our society, especially for immigrant communities. In this session, we’ll hear from Rupa Singh and Ramiel Martinez, our Leadership Academy Coordinator, about learning the rules for cultural integration, what it’s like to fight to keep your culture, and what is often lost when we integrate into American society. Not all is lost, however, and we’ll also share how we uplift, celebrate, and hold multiple identities within this power imbalance. Register for the July session here.
8.5.26 | My Before & After: Tracking Southside’s Decades of Change
In 2017, VACV entered the Southside community with the hope of engaging the communities along the Richmond Highway Corridor around what they wanted and needed to thrive. In this session, we’ll hear from Rodney Gaines and Dana Kiernan about our before and after, the indicators we use, and how we use both qualitative and quantative data to gauge our impact. But, most importantly, Rodney will share his experiences with his own community and help us determine whether we’re on the way to thriving. Register for the August session here.
9.2.26 | The Art of Entry Part 1: A Guide to Earning Trust & Partnership with Community
Have you ever wanted (or tried) to engage with a community that you’ve never interacted with before? You’re not alone! But also, you’re probably not doing it right. In this session, you’ll hear from our own Executive Director, Lea Whitehurst-Gibson and our long time Community Advocate Maria Hernandez, about what it takes to enter into a genuine relationship with communities. Register for September’s session here.
10.7.26 | The Art of Entry Part 2: A Guide to Earning Trust and Partnership With Staff
Organization leaders - do you feel like you have a good relationship with your staff and that they trust you to bring up concerns or life challenges?
Org staff - do you feel like you can trust your organizational leadership if you go to them with questions, concerns, and life in general?
In this session, we’ll share how we’ve built and fostered a culture of trust between VACV’s leadership and staff members, and how we continue to maintain and operationalize it with our organizational policies and team norms. Register for the October session here.
11.4.26 | Setting the Standard: The Organizational Justice Policies that Define Our Workplace
Between pulled funding, banned words, and actual fear for safety, the past few years have taken a toll a lot of our work and our employees. Have you felt like you can trust your workplace to continue to live its values in the face of (imagine us gesturing) all of this? In this session, we’ll hear from Lea Whitehurst-Gibson about what policies we have (had) in place, and that we have recently created, to uphold our dedication to justice in the workplace. Register for the November session here.
12.2.26 | Three Essential Signs your Nonprofit is Living its Values — Inside & Out!
In this session, you’ll hear from Josh & Flo about spotting if your organization is living out its values, both internally and externally. By working with many organizations over the years, we’ve found that institutions that want to create external equity (e.g. within communities) cannot do so without first addressing internal equity amongst employees. In other words, the intent is there, but the impact isn’t impacting. We’ll also provide some tips on how to troubleshoot and move forward! Register fot he December session here.