Back to Visionary Organizing Lab

Book Visionary Organizing Lab

jump to booking form

Offerings

VOLs programming for groups and organizations anchors groups and organizations in a shared understanding of why their work is important, a shared vision for the future of their work, and a values based framework to make the work of their group/organization align with that vision. VOL delivers this value through a series of workshop-training hybrids we call Sustainable Systems Journeys. If you want your organization, staff, or group to enter the lab, VOL will customize a sustainable systems journey to meet your needs. 

  • We offer Sustainable systems journeys to three kinds of groups: 
    • Workplaces & Nonprofits
    • Philanthropic organizations
    • Grassroots organizations and groups 

VOLs programming for students combines elements of workshops and trainings and is ideally suited for a generation of students who have often experienced more social crises than they have serious relationships. 

Our work with students is broken down into three areas:

  • Understanding the Past, where we put student’s experiences in conversation with a global history of oppression and resistance
  • Imagining the Future, where we put students’ experiences in conversation with activists who are creating new systems and support students to develop visions for new systems
  • Re-imagining Ourselves, where we support students to explore how they need to transform themselves to bring these visions to reality.

Each of these areas can be offered in two and four hour sessions, day-long, and multiple day blocks. 

Testimonials

“In the nonprofit world, because it is so mission driven, it’s kind of ingrained in you that the mission is the only thing that’s important. That get’s work done and moves the needle. Sometimes it comes at the expense of the way we get there and sometimes it’s not the best or the healthiest. Visionary Organizing Lab’s way of honing in on values brought our group together on something deeper than a mission or agreed upon work.”

Kim Faraci, Kingston, NY O+ & Future of Care

“Working with Visionary Organizing Lab has helped us not just rethink how we engage with community at the grassroots level, but it’s also taught us to think differently about how we engage the community around grantmaking processes. Our former structure was so top down and working with VOL has started us thinking differently about how we co-create funding opportunities and opportunities to build systems that involve a bigger voice. We’re now going to the community to co-create new processes around grantmaking.”

Rodney Prunty, United Way of central New Mexico

“After the workshops with Matt & Ebony I’m able to feel like a new world is possible and believe that we can build each other up, and provide for each other’s basic needs. We were able to envision new worlds and new systems that can work for all of us and I learned so much from being able to do that. It reinvigorated a passion for me.”

Areyana Proctor, Student, University of Colorado

This Work is led by

Matt Birkhold

Shawn Whitehorn

Ebony WIlliams

Booking Request Form