2011 Conference Workshops

The workshops are subject to change.

Breakout 1:    9:15 - 10:30 a.m.
Breakout 2:    1:15 - 2:30 p.m.
Breakout 3:    2:45 - 4:00 p.m.  

Breakout Session I    9:15 - 10:30 a.m.

Case Studies of High Performing Boards

Presenters: Judy Watson Olson, President, Great Lakes Center for Youth Development and Jan Hillman, Vice President, Chief Integration Officer, Marquette General Health Systems and Superior Health Partners
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, Board members
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Room: Nicolet
Often the first step in delivering your mission more effectively and powerfully is making sure your board is up to the task. A case study approach will be used to provide examples of real life high performing boards and how they got there. Join this workshop to learn more about identifying characteristics of high performing boards, strategies to enhance board performance and how to increase the opportunity for your board to be generative and future focused.

Ignite the Spark: Getting Males Fired Up to Volunteer

Presenters: Hannah, Kretz, Nik Krawczyk and Lydia Stuef, NMU Volunteer Center
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Intermediate
Room: Charcoal
Recruiting male volunteers is something that colleges, nonprofits and many other organizations have found to be a challenge.  In this session, we will identify barriers, discuss project development and identify specific strategies for recruiting and retaining male volunteers.  To accomplish this, the session will use research materials and a panel of male volunteers.

Sharing Your Mission with Power and Purpose

Presenter: Sandi Muller, Retired Executive Director, Marquette, MI
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: All
Room: Marquette
Join Sandi, a retired nonprofit leader, to learn about briefly and powerfully articulating your organization’s mission. Participants will develop and gain a better understanding of the importance behind taking time to develop their own personally-centered “elevator talk.”  Learning the “elevator talk” framework will help participants clearly describe the mission of the organization, how it is accomplished, and most importantly, how to connect with the person they are talking with on how he or she can specifically support their nonprofit organization.

Spark the Interest of Sponsors, Even in a Lean Economy (Back by popular demand)

Presenter: Randall Murray, The Sponsorship Network
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, Staff
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Room: Cadillac
Back by popular demand, learn fresh tips for packaging the key sponsorship benefits sponsors are most interested in and learn how to reach the correct decision maker. This informative workshop will give attendees cutting edge tools to spark corporate decision markers and increase revenue.

Using New Technologies by Engaging Youth

Presenter: Nheena Weyer Ittner, Director Upper Peninsula Children's Museum and youth volunteers
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: All
Room: Brule
Ever feel like you are stuck in the typewriter age of technology? Wish you knew about new technologies and how to use them? The Children’s Museum has been engaging young staff and volunteers to establish the Quick Reference (QR) Code technology within the museum. These codes help to enhance the exhibits and market the organization. Session participants will learn how to look to youth as partners in establishing new technologies.  The Quick Reference Code technology will also be explained.

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Breakout Session II     1:15 - 2:30 p.m.

Developmental Assets and Sparks: Building Relationships with Young People

Presenter: Paul Olson, Youth Associate, Great Lakes Center for Youth Developmentnt
Who Should Attend? Anyone
Skill Level: Novice
Room: Cadillac
Sparks are the passions, interests and talents that everyone possesses. They give our lives meaning and direction. New research out of the Search Institute provides powerful insight into how adults can build connections with young people by helping them identify and nurture their Sparks. Participants will learn how to connect with young people in a meaningful way by becoming part of a young person’s “Spark Team.”

Embezzlement: Don’t Learn the Hard Way

Presenter: Cheryl Ohman, Executive Director, Lakestate Industries
Who Should Attend? Nonprofit leaders, Board members
Skill Level: All
Room: Charcoal
There are practical steps organizations can take to prevent hard lessons when it comes to embezzlement. Ms. Ohman has been involved in embezzlement cases as a board member and executive staff.  Her experiences and insight will provide opportunities to learn how to improve internal controls, what signs to look for, how to safeguard your organization and what first steps to take if embezzlement is discovered. Participants will also discuss the consequences of embezzlement.

Managing Volunteers Using HandsOn Connect

Presenter: Victoria Leonhardt, Consultant, Great Lakes Center for Youth Development
Who Should Attend? Anyone
Skill Level: All
Room: Nicolet
Finding and managing volunteers can be overwhelming.  This session will explain the new, free, internet-based HandsOn Connect system to help you recruit volunteers and manage volunteer data for efficient communications, tracking and reporting.  Current users of the 1-800-Volunteer system used by the U.P. Volunteer Network will want to attend since HandsOn Connect will be replacing the current site. There will be a short tutorial and handouts on how to register an organization, post volunteer.

Planned Giving: The Time is Now

Presenter: Jim LaJoie, Planned Giving-Major Gifts Manager, Marquette General Foundation
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Intermediate
Room: Marquette
Join Jim as he provides an overview of planned giving for nonprofits and discover why now is the time to market this type of charitable giving to donors. This presentation will explore the most common planned giving vehicles and provide real examples of how they can complement annual and major gift programs. At the end of the workshop, participants should feel confident in launching a successful planned giving program, have the tools necessary to educate donors and be able to provide donor prospects with key reasons for making a planned gift.

Social Media: Staying in Contact Doesn’t Have to Eat Your Life

Presenter: Anne Stark, Marketing Director, Northern Michigan University
Who Should Attend? Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Intermediate - Advanced
Room: Brule
Discover how to manage social media presence with constituents without it running your whole day.  Measure your efforts against real-world goals so your board will know you’re creating value (Return On Investment) on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, or Quora and not just wasting time “cruising the ‘book.”  Engage clients, donors and stakeholders on your terms using tools, techniques, and timing that fit your organization.

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Breakout Session III     2:45 - 4:00 p.m.

Building Capacity in Individuals, Communities and Organizations

Presenter: Rodney H.Clarken, Ph.D. , Associate Dean of Teacher Education and Director of School of Education
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Novice
Room: Marquette
This workshop identifies the mind, heart and will, which represent our intellectual, emotional and moral capabilities, as the keys to building and sustaining our individual, community and organizational capacity, development, health and well-being. A description of these capacities will be given, their importance explained and ways to engender them described. Truth, love and justice are proposed as the guiding principles in actualizing these three potentialities and in transforming communities and organizations.  

Building Voices for Advocacy:
Making the Most of Your Commitment to Children and Families in Your Community

Presenter: Jack Kresnak, President-CEO, Michigan's Children
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: All
Room: Brule
Would you like to see better things happening for children and families?  Are you interested in being a part of the change?  We all use our influence to change things every day – with our children, parents, neighbors, teachers, spouses, and many others.  This is advocacy.  We just need to use those same skills to influence the policy makers who can make the big changes that we want.  That is policy advocacy.  In this workshop, Michigan’s Children will help connect participants to state and federal advocacy opportunities and provide tools to become more efficient and effective advocates for children and families.

DIY Websites: Options for Creating a Presence on the Web

Presenter: Daniel Rutz, Owner, Everyday Wines and President, UP With Local
Who Should Attend? Board members, Nonprofit leaders, Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Novice
Room: Nicolet
If you can manage a word document or e-mail, you can manage a website. This presentation for novice techies will explore do-it-yourself options for creating a presence on the web. Learn the basics of how websites work as well as the pros and cons of many tools available for creating your own website, using social media and shopping cart systems.  Expect to come away with enough information to make decisions about creating your own website or hiring someone, whether social media by itself is enough and selling online.

Navigating the Treasure Map of Foundations: Processes to Develop a Successful Grant Writing Program

Presenter: Kori Tossava, Assistant Director, Bell Foundation
Who Should Attend? Staff, Volunteers
Skill Level: Novice - Intermediate
Room: Cadillac
Applying a systems-thinking approach to grant writing will be the focus of this workshop.  Attendees will learn to develop a rolling calendar of grant opportunities for continual funding.  The workshop will follow the project idea through completed proposal, which includes using information obtained from the Foundation Center Database and Internet to prioritize potential grant funders, follow-up reporting and continued cultivation of private foundation to increase the likelihood of continued success.opportunities, generate reports and sign up volunteers for the opportunity. 

The Healing Effects of Humor

Presenter: Bill Waters, MS, MSW, The Court Jester, Ink. and Wanda Joseph, MA, Conflict Resolution Trainer
Who Should Attend? Anyone
Skill Level: All
Room: Charcoal
We need to be responsible in managing our organizations, but do we necessarily need to be serious? This workshop addresses issues revolving around humor and its realistic application to training, policy, behavior and professional philosophy in the nonprofit workplace. The importance of humor in the midst of conflict in our stressful and complex society has become the focus of research and discussion in recent years. Industry and business are acknowledging the positive effect of humor in the workplace in terms of management and relationship issues. In this workshop, participants will have the chance to explore and practice specific techniques to bring the healing effects of humor and laughter to the responsible work of the nonprofit organization.

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The workshops are subject to change.