Nonprofit Works

Nonprofit Works: Inspire

Nonprofit Works is the signature annual conference of the Nonprofit Center. Each year we strive to push the boundaries of learning and practice within the Northeast Florida nonprofit sector through innovative and affordable programming. By bringing nationally renowned experts to the Nonprofit Works stage, we empower our local nonprofits to explore new ideas in nonprofit strategy, leadership, operationalizing racial equity, and more. This full-day event provides nonprofits with the tools and connections they need to strengthen their impact in the community for the coming year.

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NEW Conference Opportunity!

The Nonprofit Center is partnering with photographer Amanda Rosenblatt of Sideways Photography to offer professional headshots to conference attendees! On the day of the conference, the first 20 folks to sign-up for their slot during check-in will receive a FREE headshot.

Additional registrants for this opportunity have the ability to purchase their headshot for a special one-time rate using a sliding fee scale, with the lowest rate being $15 per person. Venmo, Cashapp, and Zelle accepted.

Want to see Amanda's work? Check out our staff page to see our recently updated headshots!

NONPROFIT WORKS: INSPIRE

The Nonprofit Center invites you to join us at our 6th Annual Nonprofit Works Conference at the Florida Blue Conference Center in Jacksonville, Florida on September 14, 2023. Our theme is INSPIRE. Join us as we inspire the nonprofit sector, our partners, and supporters to invest in the people that drive missions forward.

September 14, 2023
8:30 AM to 4:45 PM
4800 Deerwood Campus Pkwy
Jacksonville, FL 32246

Conference Center map

Nonprofit Center Member Dues $150 and below - $125.00 (Members that have an annual operating budget of $199,999 and below.)

Nonprofit Center Members Dues $300+ - $169.00 (Members that have an annual operating budget of $200k and above.)

Non-Member Rate - $269.00

Nonprofit Center Members *Dues $300+, register a team of 3 or more and save 20% with coupon code: NPW23

*Please note that members that have dues $150 and below already have a discounted rate and are not eligible for the 20% promotion.

Keynote Speaker: Rusty Stahl

Our keynote speaker is Rusty Stahl, Founder, President, and CEO of Fund the People. Their mission is clear, to maximize investment in America’s nonprofit workforce. Rusty believes that when nonprofit leaders have the support to not just survive, but to thrive, our entire ecosystem benefits. Rusty’s keynote will address the key pillars of Fund the People’s Funding that Works framework and help us to shift the narrative away from a longstanding sector myth that there is a deficit of talent. Investment in the nonprofit workforce increases performance and creates impact that ripples across sector boundaries.

Prior to founding Fund the People in 2014, Rusty was a Fellow in Residence at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, receiving support from the Tides Foundation during his tenure. In addition, Rusty spent 10-years as the founding Executive Director for the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), where he built a diverse membership base among the next generation of philanthropic leaders, cultivating chapters around the country. Rusty began his career in the sector as a Program Associate at the Ford Foundation. He holds an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University. Rusty has served on numerous nonprofit boards including Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and Idealist.org. Rusty resides in Beacon, NY with his wife and two daughters.

 

Keynote Address: Funding that Works for the Future of Nonprofit Work

From summer interns to seasoned executives, staffing is the number one challenge in today’s nonprofit sector. Amidst exhaustion from multiple crises, how do we recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and productive workforce to move our missions? And how do we create healthy working conditions to support our teams? To help tackle these questions, Rusty will share the transformative (yet practical) Funding that Works Framework that is being developed at Fund the People, the national initiative to maximize investment in an equitable, effective, and enduring nonprofit workforce.

 

Following his keynote, Rusty will be leading a breakout session on:

 

Adopting Talent-Focused Fundraising in Your Organization

Geared primarily toward nonprofit founders, executive leaders, and board members – but open to all conference participants – this session will help you consider practical ways you can use talent-focused fundraising to increase investment in your nonprofit’s staff and to build the systems you need to support your people. This interactive, action-oriented session will help you apply talent-investing to the specific context of yourself, your organization, and your team.

Special Guests & Conference Opportunities

Spoken Word Performance

Suni Storm, Hope at Hand

Open Remarks

Missy Peters, Executive Director, Community First Credit Union Cares Foundation

Opening Remarks

Isaiah M. Oliver, President, The Community Foundation For Northeast Florida

Professional Headshots

Amanda Rosenblatt, Sideways Photography

Afternoon Energizer

Leslie Oxford, Rakad Dance Camp

Conference Breakout Sessions

Equity in Action: Research-Based Practical Strategies for Organizational Change 

Presented by Dr. Audrieanna Burgin, WGU Labs

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are essential to every organization's culture because they foster creativity, innovation, collaboration, and understanding. Each DEI component is necessary to drive authentic change at an individual and organizational level. This session provides an overview of research-based strategies proven to infuse equitable practices into your organization. Attendees will leave with a foundation for improving and assessing their organization's culture, sharpening its DEI strategies, and creating an implementation team.

How to Integrate the Rethreaded Process into our Organizations: Turning Threads of Harm into Threads of Potential

Presented by Kristin Keen, Rethreaded 

We all have threads of hurt in our lives. We have all had hard things happen to us. What do we do with these threads? How do we heal? How do we help our clients heal? How do we help our staff walk through hard things? How do we create an organization with the right framework that allows ALL people in the organization to heal and reach their fullest potential. In this workshop we will look at the Rethreaded process that has been developed from over 20 years in working with women and organizations to help people reclaim their lives from trauma.

Participants will learn what elements of the Rethreaded process are: Time, Community, Openness, Purpose, and Vision. We will look at how to apply these principals in the individuals life, the client's life, and in the organization overall. Participants will leave with practical ways to help themselves and the people around them heal and become who they are created to be.

Learning for Impact: Crafting Data-Driven Learning Journeys for Nonprofit Excellence

Presented by Cordes Lindow, Lindow Learning

Participants should come with a problem they want to solve with learning. Together, we will walk through the process to identify: who in the organization would benefit from learning; what specific skills they need to learn; what changes we would expect to see in the organization as a result. 

Participants will be provided with a template and examples and will walk through applying this method to their own problem so that they can develop a learning solution with a measurable result. Cordes will also provide examples of different types of measurements from Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation to show how to identify learning that impacts the organization and how to design measurable learning goals.

We've Got Something to Say! How Podcasting Aligns with Your Marketing Goals

Presented by Jerail Fennell, 904WARD

Over 82 million people listened to podcasts in 2022, and that number continues to grow. Podcasting is a tool many non-profit professionals are not utilizing to grow and sustain their audience. In my session, I will delve into the benefits of podcasting from a digital marketing viewpoint and the different ways nonprofits can use podcasts to generate ad revenue for their organizations.

From Drab to Fab: Successful Donor Relations & Stewardship Practices 

Presented by Courtney Weatherby-Hunter, Jacksonville Public Education Fund, Maggie Hightower, Nemours Children's Health, and Anthony Sutton, Pine Castle

This session will address the difference between donor relations and stewardship, highlight best practices in both, and explore putting these activities into practice in your organizations. The content and examples will help guide you through creating a donor stewardship plan, discuss who to involve and help you make this happen, no matter your budget.

From "I Can't" to "AI Got This": Inspired Ways ChatGPT Can Support Your Team's Work

Presented by Tina Wirth, Wirth Works LLC

Too much to do and not enough people-power to get it done? Learn how to leverage the power of ChatGPT in your organization’s operations, fundraising and reporting functions.

This hands-on, live action workshop will give participants the basics in how to build AI prompts that can help with everything from fundraising appeals and donor research to board policies and client agreements. Plus, get a rundown on some of the best no-and-low-cost AI tools exploding with this revolutionary technology that you can use to enhance your operations.

 

Engaging with Higher Education: How to Get Young, Motivated Talent EXCITED About Your Nonprofits Mission

Presented by Joshua Nemery & Leila Ouhri, Florida Community Innovation Foundation

Florida Community Innovation explores how using research can boost your nonprofit: Building research partnerships with students and rising talent lets you measure impact and identify problem areas. Crucially, it also empowers a new generation to champion your nonprofit's mission.

Florida Community Innovation Foundation (FCI) conducts groundbreaking work connecting Florida’s citizens with trusted information and resources to navigate challenging times. We do this by building innovative, human-centered technology, and conducting persuasive public education campaigns that move the needle on access to services and compliance with public health guidance.

FCI exists to empower young innovators to build scalable social services technology for their communities. We are a network of young professional volunteers and envision a Florida where everyone has equal access to trusted information, critical services, and rewarding careers.

Catalyzing Nonprofit Sustainability: Creating a "Fee for Service" Model

Presented by Stella Johnson and Kim Jufer, Hope Haven

Join as Stella and Kim share their extensive experience in creating and implementing “fee for service” models that create a level playing field with external competition and allows your organization to sustain, grow, and thrive.

This dynamic session goes beyond theory, offering hands-on experience with custom made spreadsheets and real-world scenarios to vividly illustrate the impacts of pricing, scaling, and growth on your financial model.  Learn how different decisions can influence revenue growth and financial sustainability and develop an actionable understanding of financial planning in a nonprofit context.

We’ll address the perils of the cost reimbursement starvation cycle and discuss the alternative strategies and problem-solving approaches to free your organization from this cycle and maintain consistent, reliable income.

Learn about capital generation strategies to build a robust financial foundation that not only supports current operations but also fuels future growth.  Gain insights to budgeting strategies and financial tools that can boost your capacity to manage capital effectively.

This workshop is designed to be as practical as it is informative, providing attendees with tangible skills and strategies that can immediately be implemented in their organizations. Come prepared to learn, question, discuss, and leave with a game plan that will empower you to navigate the financial process with confidence and proficiency.

Where They Want to Be: Creating & Maintaining a Productive, Motivated, and Engaged Workplace

Presented by Denise Deisler & Lawrence Nicolas, Jacksonville Humane Society

Like all professional sectors, the Jacksonville Humane Society has been challenged by the changing workforce in a post-COVID world. Rather than accepting as fact the narrative that it’s harder than ever to recruit and retain qualified staff, leadership embraced the challenge as an opportunity.

In this session, Denise Deisler and Lawrence Nicolas discuss how they addressed the challenges around staffing, productivity, and morale among their team and acknowledge how employers play a large role in fostering a productive work environment.

They will share their multifaceted approach to creating a workplace people want to come to every day with a strong emphasis on onboarding, orientation, and training. A key takeaway includes how creating career paths for people, giving opportunity for staff to see themselves in the organization in their own personal and professional future helps to retain staff and keep them engaged with the organization's mission. 

Developing Your Leadership Pipeline

Presented by Anthony A. Dicks Jr., 180 Management Group

Building a leadership pipeline is key to building and sustaining a strong nonprofit organization. Unfortunately, many nonprofit organizations are not intentional about developing the staff leadership pipeline. However, the military, universities, fraternities, and professional athletic teams are extremely intentional about building pipelines for new talent. These entities all utilize six core components to ensure that their organizations never run out of talent.

This workshop will disclose these six components and how to leverage them to build a leadership development pipeline. We will also cover a hiring framework that undergirds the six components to provide a robust systematic approach to building the leadership team of an organization's dreams. At the end of this session, executive leadership will understand the principles on how to develop leadership talent and be equipped to start building a leadership pipeline.

Leveraging Behavioral Economics to Enhance Fundraising

Presented by Dr. Svetlana Bender, Guidewell

In 2021, donations made to U.S. charities by individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations valued a total of $484.85 billion. Behavioral Science/Economics study how humans make decisions and why we do what we do. Here we present eight behavioral principles and how they can be leveraged to improve your fundraising strategies. By the end of this presentation, you will be able to apply these techniques to attract and retain supporters and donors of your organization.

To view each session click on the dots above. 

Closing Panel - Inspire: Tomorrow's Leaders & the Future of Our Sector

As the dust settles from the pandemic years, we are witnessing more and more leadership transitions in the nonprofit sector. During this critical period of organizational change, we must rely on the strength of our board, the staff, and our relationships with major stakeholders.

Join Nonprofit Center CEO Rena Coughlin as she moderates a discussion around executive transitions with a group of expert panelists representing our local sector. The panel will share their firsthand experiences, common challenges, and their vision for continued organizational success. As we  emphasize the key role that leadership teams play at sustaining mission efforts, we will also discuss the essential skill sets and characteristics leaders of tomorrow will need to move their missions forward. The more we reflect on and celebrate these transition examples, we work to ensure the vitality of our sector overall and further advocate for the necessary resources and supports to our partners and supporters.

Issis Alvarez, Vice Chair, JASMYN

Rena Coughlin, President & CEO, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida

Reggie Fullwood, President & CEO, Operation New Hope

Lisa V. Johnson, Board Chair, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida

Lori Richards, Executive Director, Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM)

Billy Wagner, Board Chair, Mission House

Featured Vendor Fair Participants

LivinUp
JMI-3line (New FSU Colors, Regular Text)
Sight and Sound
Southstate
Alive Credit Union
Regions
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Next Up Logo
Point Taken Logo
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Thank You to Our Presenting Sponsors!

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