Our annual Nonprofit Day Conference is scheduled for March 20, 2020, this year, and we are excited! This is one of our favorite days of the year!
It started out as a simple celebratory luncheon with nonprofit professionals and local leaders, and over the years has grown to boast a morning plenary, over 25 breakout sessions, national keynote speakers, and more than 500 people in attendance!
The heart of this event remains the same – connect and energize! People come from Colorado Springs, Woodland Park, Pueblo, and Denver. Yet, it still feels like a small, tight-knit family gathering. Our team provides extra time between every activity for you to high five, take selfies, exchange business cards, embrace, and make introductions to new friends.
We create an environment of “brave space” throughout the day for you to challenge your assumptions, ask questions, and dialog. We come together to harness the inspiration of our peers, often finding new ways to frame creative initiatives and collaborate on meaningful projects. Connecting through shared experience at NPDC is a powerful reminder of why we do this work. It is reinvigorating. The possibilities that arise are boundless!
As many of you know, not long ago, we were the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. We merged with Colorado Nonprofit Association in July 2018 and have been in a whirlwind of growth and expansion since! We’re offering more in-person training sessions, roundtables, networking opportunities, and access to new technologies that cross geographic bounds. We also gained local representation in statewide public policy efforts, and so much more.
That said, after the awards lunch last year, we want to revisit our roots and make this conference feel like year’s past. This, combined with a big year ahead, motivated our team to ensure NPDC feels true to our community while acknowledging the discourse happening around us. We made a decision to focus on “civility.”
We’re not talking about civility in the passive definition of politeness. Politeness may be a necessary place to begin, but we intend to take it further. Exploring conversations about disagreeing with respect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same.
Civility is the hard work of staying present, even with those with whom we may fiercely disagree with. It is about negotiating differences in a way that everyone’s voice is heard, and no voices are ignored.
It is our aim to set a precedent. We are fostering civility in our own thoughts and actions by the way we:
Chanda Smith Baker is the Senior Vice President of Impact at the Minneapolis Foundation. Ms. Smith Baker oversees the Foundation’s grantmaking programs, provides strategic direction to community initiatives and partnerships, and is the event and podcast host of Conversations with Chanda. She hopes to more inclusively define philanthropy and who gets to participate in it.
We have asked Ms. Smith Baker to share her wisdom and insight from her years of bringing Minneapolis residents together to discuss the city’s toughest issues. And to do that, she has battled “Minnesota nice” — the tendency for people to steer clear of unpleasant topics and avoid making others feel uncomfortable.
Join us on March 20 at the Antlers Hotel to connect and re-connect with long-time friends, to forge new friendships, and nourish your nonprofit soul. Let’s get comfortable with discomfort as we explore civility together.
Sincerely,
Amber Coté, Director of Education and Service Enterprise
Nonprofit Day Conference is the largest nonprofit gathering in the Pikes Peak Region, bringing together more than 500 community members for a day of learning and idea-sharing. Nonprofit Day Conference is an opportunity for local thought-leaders to connect, enhance best practices and challenge the status quo. With over 20 breakout sessions, networking activities, and a keynote by Chanda Smith Baker, Nonprofit Day Conference is a one-of-a-kind event.
Friday, March 20 @ 8 am – 5:30 pm
The Antlers Hotel | 4 S. Cascade Ave. | Colorado Springs
Exhibitor and Sponsor opportunities are available.
To Exhibit, please contact Gerry Rasel at grasel@ColoradoNonprofits.org.
To Sponsor, please contact Lindsay Newman at lnewman@ColoradoNonprofits.org