July 21-24, 2011
Richmond, VA.
About the National Pagan Skills Leadership Conference
For the past six years, the National Pagan Leadership Skills Conference has been a collaborative effort by five Pagan Community Organizations. Beginning in 2004, the groups worked together to produce a conference designed to address the growing need for practical skills in the Pagan Community. Hosted in Richmond, Virginia, the PLSC has provided intensive instruction on such subjects as Event Planning, Non-Profit Accounting, Publicity and Public Relations, Conflict Resolution, Group Facilitation, Legal Issues, Campus Organization, Pastoral Care, and more. The conference has always been open to all who are interested in shaping the future of the Pagan Community, regardless of their individual or organizational tradition, path, or affiliation.
Since 2000, Pagan Community Organizations across the Mid-Atlantic have been hosting annual interfaith leadership conferences to collaborate on defining and meeting identified needs. What we learned was that there was no shortage of passionate people in the Pagan Community who are willing to do what it takes to help our community grow even farther, and that, despite what many Pagans believe, we can work together towards common goals while still respecting our various differences. We also discovered that there was a great need for the practical leadership skills involved with building and running a Pagan Community Organization.
In 2004 and 2005, four organizations -- Carolina Spirit Quest, The DC Radical Faeries, The Open Hearth Foundation, Inc, and PagaNet, Inc. -- came together to design and host a training conference to teach classes specifically tailored to meet the specialized needs of covens, churches, groves, circles, land sanctuaries, community centers, and social organizations. Many present and future leaders joined us for intensive, "nuts and bolts" training in the skills needed to create, maintain, and strengthen local Pagan Community Organizations.
The project was an overwhelming success. We don't really remember any decision involved in continuing; we just didn't stop. The work involved in putting on a four-day conference is considerable, but each year we leave excited about the next. We now are planning as far as three years ahead, and rotating classes so that returning attendees always have new material to learn.
We like to think that our continued existence is proof that with the proper skills and planning, the Pagan community can accomplish amazing things. We have successfully negotiated hotel contracts because we understand event planning and legal skills. We attract new attendees each year with Publicity and Public relations. We are able to budget carefully thanks to non-profit accounting. Our organizational structure is such that we are not dependent on any single individual or group for success. When PagaNet, Inc. began changing its focus, they withdrew from the planning committee, and we were able to adjust to the change without complication or drama. Our relationship with PagaNet (now LISTEN Media, Inc.) remains strong, and they continue to sponsor the conference. Beginning with the 2007 conference, we invited SpiralGround, whose founders had been underwriters and volunteers since the beginning, to join the planning committee.
Partly because of the training that the planning groups and their governing Boards have received over the years, these organizations have become busy, productive, and focused on meeting the needs of their own members, and in 2009, the decision was made to disband the intergroup agreement and have the conference produced by a private company owned and operated by people who have been intimately involved with PLSC and its planning since the beginning. With the full support and interaction of the original planning groups, Eldritch Ventures is responsible for the 2010 National Pagan Leadership Skills Conference, with a continuing commitment to the original mission & vision, but with more freedom to invest the time, attention and resources required to make attendance at PLSC a worthwhile investment that is relevant, significant, and valuable to each registrant.
Come share the excitement, expand your horizons, enrich your vision, and develop your leadership skills with us at the 2010 NPLSC... Help us Build a Leadership Bridge to the Future!
Are you interested in forming a Pagan Community Organization?
Are you part of one of the many Pagan Community Organizations that are making a difference?
Let us help you help the Pagan Community!
Register now!
Scholarships
are available!
Richmond, VA.
About the National Pagan Skills Leadership Conference
For the past six years, the National Pagan Leadership Skills Conference has been a collaborative effort by five Pagan Community Organizations. Beginning in 2004, the groups worked together to produce a conference designed to address the growing need for practical skills in the Pagan Community. Hosted in Richmond, Virginia, the PLSC has provided intensive instruction on such subjects as Event Planning, Non-Profit Accounting, Publicity and Public Relations, Conflict Resolution, Group Facilitation, Legal Issues, Campus Organization, Pastoral Care, and more. The conference has always been open to all who are interested in shaping the future of the Pagan Community, regardless of their individual or organizational tradition, path, or affiliation.
Since 2000, Pagan Community Organizations across the Mid-Atlantic have been hosting annual interfaith leadership conferences to collaborate on defining and meeting identified needs. What we learned was that there was no shortage of passionate people in the Pagan Community who are willing to do what it takes to help our community grow even farther, and that, despite what many Pagans believe, we can work together towards common goals while still respecting our various differences. We also discovered that there was a great need for the practical leadership skills involved with building and running a Pagan Community Organization.
In 2004 and 2005, four organizations -- Carolina Spirit Quest, The DC Radical Faeries, The Open Hearth Foundation, Inc, and PagaNet, Inc. -- came together to design and host a training conference to teach classes specifically tailored to meet the specialized needs of covens, churches, groves, circles, land sanctuaries, community centers, and social organizations. Many present and future leaders joined us for intensive, "nuts and bolts" training in the skills needed to create, maintain, and strengthen local Pagan Community Organizations.
The project was an overwhelming success. We don't really remember any decision involved in continuing; we just didn't stop. The work involved in putting on a four-day conference is considerable, but each year we leave excited about the next. We now are planning as far as three years ahead, and rotating classes so that returning attendees always have new material to learn.
We like to think that our continued existence is proof that with the proper skills and planning, the Pagan community can accomplish amazing things. We have successfully negotiated hotel contracts because we understand event planning and legal skills. We attract new attendees each year with Publicity and Public relations. We are able to budget carefully thanks to non-profit accounting. Our organizational structure is such that we are not dependent on any single individual or group for success. When PagaNet, Inc. began changing its focus, they withdrew from the planning committee, and we were able to adjust to the change without complication or drama. Our relationship with PagaNet (now LISTEN Media, Inc.) remains strong, and they continue to sponsor the conference. Beginning with the 2007 conference, we invited SpiralGround, whose founders had been underwriters and volunteers since the beginning, to join the planning committee.
Partly because of the training that the planning groups and their governing Boards have received over the years, these organizations have become busy, productive, and focused on meeting the needs of their own members, and in 2009, the decision was made to disband the intergroup agreement and have the conference produced by a private company owned and operated by people who have been intimately involved with PLSC and its planning since the beginning. With the full support and interaction of the original planning groups, Eldritch Ventures is responsible for the 2010 National Pagan Leadership Skills Conference, with a continuing commitment to the original mission & vision, but with more freedom to invest the time, attention and resources required to make attendance at PLSC a worthwhile investment that is relevant, significant, and valuable to each registrant.
Come share the excitement, expand your horizons, enrich your vision, and develop your leadership skills with us at the 2010 NPLSC... Help us Build a Leadership Bridge to the Future!
Are you interested in forming a Pagan Community Organization?
Are you part of one of the many Pagan Community Organizations that are making a difference?
Let us help you help the Pagan Community!
Register now!
Scholarships
are available!