2009 Conference Workshops
The workshops are subject to change.
Breakout
1: 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Breakout 2: 1 - 2:15 p.m.
Breakout 3: 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.
Breakout Session I 9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Using Earn While You Learn Summer Youth Employment Activities as a
Youth Development Opportunity
Presenters: Randy Walden, Business Service Specialist, Deb Nedeau,
Youth Project Manager, Michigan Works! The Job Force Board
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit staff and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Topic Area: Youth Development
Room: Superior
Attend this workshop to gain an understanding of the connection between
youth asset building, employment and developing leadership skills. Find
out what it takes to develop meaningful youth work experiences using
academics and community service opportunities. Michigan Works! The Job
Force Board worked in the six central counties of the U.P. in its 2009
Earn While You Learn summer youth program under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act to build positive skill sets in area youth. This
workshop will review project outcomes, share ideas emphasizing empowerment,
leadership, service, work and academic skills, and address community
recognition of youth efforts.
Crisis Communications and the Nonprofit: Be PR-Prepared
Presenter: Patti Samar, Owner, The Write Company
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice-Intermediate
Topic Areas: Marketing/Communications
Room: Charcoal
You are responsible for an organization – a good organization. Bad
things don’t happen to good organizations, right? Wrong. A crisis can
arise within an organization at any time. Though you can’t plan for
when a crisis will occur, when it does you can be prepared to deliver
key messages to a variety of audiences, including the media, through
the development of a crisis communications plan. Attendees will learn
what should be included in a crisis communications plan, who should
be on a crisis communications team, and how to write and distribute
key messages for the general public, affected family members, employees,
board members, volunteers and the media in times of crisis.
Harnessing the Energy of Youth
Panel Discussion: Facilitated by Linda Remsburg, Youth Development
Associate, Great Lakes Center for Youth Development, with panelists
to be announced
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Topic Areas: Youth Development/Volunteerism
Room: Marquette
Would you like to tap into the energy, enthusiasm and unique gifts
young volunteers (pre-teen to teen) can bring to your organization but
aren’t sure you’re prepared? Or maybe your organization already has
young people volunteering but you want to strengthen their experience
while boosting productivity. In this panel discussion, professionals
who work closely with youth volunteers will share what works and what
doesn’t when it comes to engaging young people in volunteer efforts.
Attend this workshop to learn how to better recruit and retain youth
volunteers, determine your organization’s readiness for working with
youth volunteers, and explore what tasks are appropriate for youth volunteers
to handle.
Fundraising and Research in Challenging Economic Times – Five Recipes
for Success
Presenter: Jan Hillman, Vice President Government Relations, Grant
Development and Planning, Marquette General Health System
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Area: Fund Development
Room: Nicolet
Participants will learn what international philanthropic thought leaders
think are the most important research, cultivation, art-of-the-ask and
stewardship techniques in these unique and challenging times. Group
discussion is likely to be lively and productive. Attendees of this
workshop will be able to identify successful strategies for fundraising
in tough economic times, understand the importance of being donor-centered,
and increase awareness of successful fundraising practices and techniques.
Understanding Nonprofit Financial Statements
Presenter: Ronald Miaso, Vice President, Delta Business Solutions
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topic Areas: Nonprofit Finances/Board Development
Room: Cadillac
This workshop will instruct attendees in the basics of financial statements
and, specifically, the differences between for-profit and nonprofit
financial statements. Join this opportunity to discuss and deepen your
understanding of both the statement of financial position and statement
of activities. Participate in a review of commonly used financial terms.
Attendees can expect to leave this workshop with better understanding
nonprofit and improved ability to use financial statements to guide
future actions.
The “New” Role of the Nonprofit Board Member
Presenter: Dan Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Michigan Nonprofit
Association
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topic Area: Board Development
Room: Brule
Deepen your understanding of the duties and responsibilities of nonprofit
board members. Learn about ways to strengthen the relationship between
and organization’s board members and executives. Identify areas where
board structure is deficient. Participants will take part in a discussion
of the duties and responsibilities of nonprofit board members with the
goal of increasing everyone’s understanding of the significance of board
membership. Strategies to maximize board member participation will also
be discussed.
TOP
Breakout Session II 1
– 2:15 p.m.
Big Picture Fundraising
Presenter: Carole Pence, President, Pence Consulting
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Area: Fund Development
Room: Charcoal
There are a variety of sources people should consider when trying to
create a fiscally-sound organization. This workshop will address the
big picture of what a healthy fund development program looks like for
organizations that are fiscally sound and healthy when times get tough.
The workshop will provide a self-evaluation tool for people to evaluate
their fund development efforts and make some strategic adjustments in
areas that need to be strengthened. Attend this workshop to gain a full
understanding of the dangers of relying on one source for funding, use
a provided evaluation tool to identify areas of concern in present fund
development efforts, and identify different sources and approaches that
improve overall fund development results.
State of the Arts, Cultural and Library Organizations in Michigan
Panel Discussion: Facilitated by John Bracey, Executive Director,
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, with panelists Nheena
Weyer-Ittner, U.P. Children’s Museum; Maggie Morgan, Hiawatha Music
Co-op; and others to be announced
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Area: Nonprofit Community
Room: Marquette
The more-than-challenging economic situation in Michigan has forced
the need to focus on services and programs that meet basic human needs,
a focus that has resulted in drastic cuts in state funding to our community
arts, culture and library organizations. Join this panel discussion
to learn about how these cuts are affecting our communities, what our
communities can do to help preserve these important organizations through
the recession and how to make them more secure in the future.
Graphic Design for the Non-Designer
Presenter: Karen Widmar, President & CEO, Boomerang Marketing
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Topic Areas: Marketing/Communications
Room: Nicolet
Modern technology has opened the world of desktop publishing to everyone,
but have you ever wondered why some ads, brochures, newsletters and
Websites look better than others? This session will explain fundamentals
of graphic design and desktop publishing you can put to use immediately,
regardless of the software you may use. Attendees of this workshop will
develop an understanding of the elements that create good overall design,
learn about resources for professional templates, graphics and photographs,
and be able to create professional looking print and electronic collateral
without expensive software.
The Logic Model: A tool to strengthen your program planning, implementation
and evaluation
Presenter: Brian Wibby, Youth Development Extension Educator, Marquette
County MSU Extension
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Area: Evaluation
Room: Cadillac
Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind
up somewhere else,” The same holds true for your organization. A logic
model is a framework for describing the relationship between investments,
activities and expected changes. Developing and using logic models allows
your organization to know (and show others!) that it is on the path
to success. This practical tool will bring greater clarity to your program
planning, implementation and evaluation. Attendees of this workshop
will develop a better understanding of logic models, when and how they
should be applied, and begin to develop a logic model for a new or existing
program.
Young Adults at Work
Presenters: Dr. Phil Gardner, Director, Collegiate Employment Research
Institute, Michigan State University
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders and staff
Skill Level: Intermediate
Topic Areas: Youth Development/Nonprofit Management
Room: Brule
Young adults of today are different. More than previous generations,
they are looking for more than a steady job and good career. They value
a high quality of life that views work as just one role in a variety
of roles they contribute to this life. However, this characteristic
of young adults poses challenges for organizations that need to attract
and retain new talent. Participants in this session will learn how to
identify different types of young adults “moving through” colleges and
university, general trends in the “college” labor market, and more about
the high stakes of internships as gaps in necessary workplace skills
increases.
TOP
Breakout Session III
2:30 – 3:45 p.m.
Reaping a Bountiful Harvest during an Economic Drought
Presenter: Ginna Rupp, Vice President Human Resources, Infinisource,
Inc.
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Area: Nonprofit Human Resources
Room: Superior
Today’s economic climate challenges leaders in sustaining and growing
their people and organizations. This workshop will explore leadership
lessons from nature. Learn how to survive and thrive during tough times.
Attendees of this workshop will develop growth strategies for their
organizations, adopt a “feast” instead of a “famine” perspective, and
identify the most fruitful components of their organization.
Get Your Facebook Out of MySpace
Presenter: Dana Cadman, President, Cadman Communications Corp.
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff and board members
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Topic Areas: Marketing/Communications
Room: Charcoal
Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Everyone is talking about them and inviting
you to join them, but what are they? And why do you need to join them?
Join Cadman, author of “Web 2.0 for Non-Profit Organizations,” to hear
explanations (in non-technical terms) of what social networking is and
how it is similar to and different from in-person networking. The workshop
will also provide overviews of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Participants
will leave with the ability to define the difference between social
marketing and social networking, an understanding of the differences
and similarities between networking in-person and online, and a better
understanding of how to use some of the social media tools available
today.
What Nonprofits Need to Know about the Millennial Generation
Presenters: Paul Olson, Youth Development Associate, Great Lakes
Center for Youth Development
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders and staff
Skill Level: Novice
Topic Areas: Youth Development/Nonprofit Management
Room: Marquette
Today’s generation of youth and young adults is commonly called “the
Millennial Generation.” They are young people between the ages of 10
and 29. They are most noted for their high level of dependence on technology,
but what else defines this generation? They have fought wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq and are now facing coming-of-age amidst the hardest economic
outlook since the Great Depression. They are your customers, you employees
and, if their level of adaptations and speed of advancement continues
– a Millennial may well be your next boss. Join this presentation for
an introduction into how Millennials use technology to build and sustain
friendships and keep track of and process information. Improve your
understanding about how Millennials consult technology to inform every
decision they make.
The ABC’s of Volunteer Recruitment: Creating a Strategy and Thinking
Ahead
Presenter: Ryan Fewins-Bliss
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders and staff
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Topic Area: Volunteerism
Room: Nicolet
Do you find yourself struggling to recruit volunteers or are you a
new volunteer management professional? Attend this session for a simple,
outlined method of recruiting volunteers from A to Z, plus some do’s
and don’ts. You’ll take home a list of ideas for recruiting and the
beginnings to a full volunteer recruitment strategy. Participants in
this workshop will be able to recognize new opportunities to recruit
volunteers, design a full recruitment strategy, and connect with colleagues
who recruit volunteers.
The Secret to Employee and Volunteer Motivation
Presenter: Rob Lion, Assistant Dean, College of Business, Northern
Michigan University
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Areas: Nonprofit Human Resources/Volunteerism
Room: Cadillac
Actually, there is no secret. Motivation is such a personal and dynamic
issue that no one thing can change or “fix” people’s level of motivation.
There are, however, things that can be done to help employees and volunteers
be more productive and satisfied in the work environment. This session
will look at five specific questions every manager must ask themselves
when it comes to motivation. This session is intended for people who
are in supervisory or managerial roles. Attendees will develop a deeper
appreciation for the complexities of personal, what key questions must
be asked when an employee or volunteer is not performing, and examples
of interventions designed to address motivation-related delinquencies.
Nonprofits and the Economy: Managing Through a Downturn
Presenter: Shilpi Shah, Associate Director, Nonprofit Finance Fund
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders and board members
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Topic Areas: Nonprofit Finances/Board Development
Room: Brule
Nonprofit leaders and board members attending this workshop will explore
how to assess financial risks during the recession and address these
issues with tools and strategies for nonprofit planning and management
in tough times. Attendees will be able to define core financial issues
and quantify financial options for their organizations, develop a response
to their financial situations, and learn to work with tools that help
illustrate financial issues and communicate them to stakeholders.
TOP
The workshops are subject to change.
PROGRAMS 