QVS staff and board recently led a Supporters’ Briefing, which offered Friends an inside look into QVS’s recent programmatic and financial shifts due to COVID-19. The event included special updates from an incredibly successful fundraising campaign, affirmations of support from major Quaker institutions, and the recent health, economic, and racism crises.
Hilary Burgin, QVS’s Executive Director, and Damon Motz-Storey, Assistant Board Clerk and 2016-17 QVS Alum, facilitated the session. Click the video below to watch the main portion of the recording. Additionally, we’ve included a few special highlights from the video and sentiments shared by Friends during the event’s worship sharing portion (not recorded).
Video Timestamps
00:00 Opening
01:13 Centering Moment
01:59 Welcome & Overview from Damon Motz-Storey (Assistant Clerk of QVS Board)
05:53 Briefing Objectives from Hilary Burgin (QVS Executive Director)
07:59 The QVS Model
10:05 QVS Finances: Growth in QVS Revenue & Fellowship Positions (FY13 – FY19)
12:13 Campaign for Quaker Voluntary Service (Goals & Updates)
15:04 QVS Priorities and Shifts during COVID-19
18:13 Particular Impacts of COVID-19 on QVS Financials
20:00 Strategies for Weathering the Crisis
25:00 Good News to Share!
29:15 Brief Clarifying Q&A Before Small Group Time
31:30 Rationale for Buying Boston House
37:02 Context of QVS’s New Endowment
40:15 Questions to Consider in Small Groups (or, if you’re watching this recording, please share your thoughts in the comments below!)
42:11 Friends gather in Breakout Rooms
42:27 Closing Reflections
Special Highlights
“Quaker Service is most needed when the world is in a time of crisis. So I believe very deeply that this is going to be a moment that really defines us as an organization — how we respond in this moment in time will make an enormous impact on the world. And the program that we offer to both Fellows and the communities they serve in is needed now more than ever.”
“I feel like it’s so important that we understand that QVS is now established as one of the main organizations that is solely dedicated to supporting young adult Friends, and to carrying forward this legacy of Quaker service.”
“When we founded Quaker Voluntary Service, we were very clear that this was not just simply to provide one more option for young adults looking to serve, [but] that this was important to do for our Religious Society of Friends. As I’ve followed Quaker Voluntary Service and from everything I’ve heard [today], I understand that that is still a top goal.”
“I just look around and see all the folks on this call and see what a community [QVS has] built — of Alumni, board members, past board members, and support. And I think that’s a really strong indicator of strength going into the future… And we’ve been reminded these last few weeks of how important racial justice is and what a challenge that has been in a largely white Quaker world. I think that’s something that needs to be a consideration going forward — how [can we] be more of an anti-racist organization?”
“What is clear to me is thinking about the [Local Support Committee (LSC)] and how we’re recruiting members onto the LSC. I’m wondering, do we keep that within the Quakers? That’s easy. We ask our Friends. Or do we consider reaching farther out into the community and bringing other voices to the table? I don’t know how that works — to reach beyond ourselves… and yet stay true to our spiritual foundation.”
“I am new to QVS and this was a great introduction!”
“I really see giving to QVS as a form of tithing. I see it as a very essential accompaniment to the direct mutual aid support that I’m giving to people protesting and to Black-led organizations. I see [these gifts] as not mutually exclusive, but in good accompaniment. I hope you will consider continuing your financial support or beginning your financial support, and also talking to fellow members of your Quaker spiritual community.”
Additional Resources
To learn more about the legacy of Clarence and Lilly Pickett, check out this video that features QVS’s Founding Director, Christina Repoley. To hear from three Friends and QVS Alumni about why they feel led to support the transformative work of QVS, check out this video.
When you give to QVS you are: empowering young adults to explore their spirituality and vocation; increasing capacity of social change and service organizations; fostering intergenerational connections in Friends meetings and churches; and building new leadership for the Religious Society of Friends and the world.
Consider giving a one-time or recurring gift online today to help sustain our program, or be in touch with us about non-financial or deferred giving options.
Claire Hannapel
For more information about giving or to get connected to one of our program cities, contact Claire, our Development Coordinator.
[email protected].