2020 ACTCON

3, 2, 1, Launch: How to Start a Successful Online Community for Your Nonprofit

In 2018 the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities created a space for community, networking and resource-sharing via a members-only Facebook group. Just like "IRL" (in-real-life) communities, online networks require research, planning and investment. Since launching our group we have used the template to plan two other digital community launches -- we know our model works! Join us to go behind the scenes, learn how we did it, and apply the process to your own work.
Ruth Hamberg, Founder & Principal, Squaretree LLC
 

BEHAVE Live! D.E.I. meets Marketing & Communications

Our session opens with a 20-minute live recording of the Team Dynamics podcast BEHAVE. Expert trainers Trina Olson and Alfonso Wenker welcome special guest Rocky Jones, Communications Manager at MN Opera, to talk about the work his organization has been doing with Team Dynamics to effectively meet MN Opera’s D.E.I. goals.     Trina, Alfonso, and Rocky will offer up new approaches for attendees that they can begin incorporating in their work immediately. We’ll feature a live Q & A where attendees can get specific tools to address their pressing needs around diversity, equity, and inclusion in their marketing and communications work. We’ll also provide opportunities during the session when attendees can interact with one another in small groups. They’ll have the chance to get clarity for themselves using our Role, Goal, Soul framework, and we’ll share some equity frameworks to better understand how to make strategic decisions around marketing, communications, and fundraising while leveraging differences.
Alfonso Wenker President & Co-Founder Team Dynamics LLC

Content Marketing Strategy and Production for Scrappy Nonprofits

Getting started with content marketing or advancing your current efforts can be confusing. This session covers content marketing essentials, gives you the tools and framework to begin or advance your own content marketing efforts, and provides a deep dive into examples with real world results. Specifically you’ll learn why content marketing works, how to develop a strategy and plan, and how to measure your results. You’ll walk away with a solid understanding of how content marketing can impact your organization and a proven framework for getting started.
Sydney Franklin, Director of Marketing Partnerships, ArcStone

Get Your Digital Ducks in a Row: Preparing your Nonprofit for a Successful Website Redesign

Outdated design. Poor search engine rankings. Slow-loading pages. Confusing navigation. These are just some of the reasons your nonprofit may be thinking it’s time for a website overhaul. Before you start salivating over the latest and greatest designs, though, there is work to be done to up your odds of a successful redesign. Join this session to learn more about steps every nonprofit should consider taking BEFORE migrating a single word, image, or video to a new digital home, including auditing your current website, surveying your users, thoroughly researching potential platforms and vendors, crafting a realistic budget and timeline, and getting buy-in from your leadership and board.
John Wurm, membership & communications director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

The Life-Changing Magic of Google Analytics Campaigns

Learn how to use the powerful but elusive Campaigns feature to measure your organization’s outreach efforts and determine which methods drive the most traffic to your site. In this interactive training, you’ll learn how to configure the three fields (campaign, source, medium) to best assess your nonprofit’s online outreach. Get expert tips about where you can get creative with your custom configuration, and where you have to follow the rules! Understand how to get Campaigns to work for your specific nonprofit, no matter which email and social media tools you use. Bring your laptop and your questions to this skill-building workshop.
Yesenia Sotelo, digital skills trainer and web developer, SmartCause Digital

More Than a Logo

An organization’s brand must fit harmoniously with its mission, programs, services, and the communities served. Good branding considers the full picture of how the organization behaves (Brand Personality) and looks (Brand Identity). An organization must have a clear picture of who they are targeting, what their place in the nonprofit landscape is, what promise they make to their audiences, and how they can support their claims. Together we will explore why a brand is more than a logo and how to begin the branding process within your organization before working with a design partner. Attendees will be guided through the process of creating a brand persona and be given the opportunity to begin creating one for their organization. A downloadable “workbook” will be provided for participants to finish creating this persona with the rest of their team. Options for funding a branding project, what to expect from the process, and the steps following the completion of a branding project will also be discussed.
Tasha Klettenberg, Creative Director, Saint Paul Media

Personal Stories: Tapping and Evaluating Their Persuasive Power

Most nonprofits depend on individuals to share their personal stories in support of the organization’s mission and goals, and to help drive change. But how do we know those stories truly have an impact? And how do we demonstrate to others the value of using personal stories to raise awareness, educate, motivate or advocate? These are the questions Wilder Research and Living Proof Advocacy set out to answer in a year-long study. In this interactive session, the two organizations will share study findings and recommendations culled from research and interviews with nonprofits that use spoken personal stories for advocacy. (Spoiler alert: Emotional content is key to engaging audiences, but it may not lead to action.) Then, session leaders will present models for evaluating the effectiveness of personal storytelling for advocacy. Participants will brainstorm how to apply study insights and will receive access to the full report, including an evaluation toolkit.
Emma Connell, Wilder Research

Pivot to the Positive: Asset-Based Communications & Fundraising

From addressing systemic inequity to interpersonal violence, communications and development staff at mission-driven nonprofits have a challenging task: telling authentic stories that center justice and position the systems as what needs to be changed instead of the people they impact. By pivoting away from out dated - or simply tired - communications tropes towards positive, asset-based messaging, organizations have the opportunity to offer transformative messages about their communities and invite in new ways of partnership with those who fund their work.
Becky Smith, Communications Director, Violence Free Minnesota

The Power of Media Relations

In this panel on the power of media relations, nonprofit leaders will discuss how their organizations have benefitted from strong media coverage and share the important lessons that they have learned along the way. Moderated by local PR expert and former TV reporter Chris Duffy, you’ll learn how media relations remains one of the most impactful ways to tell your story. Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis will discuss how its organization became a thought leader around the issue of homelessness. The Innocence Project of Minnesota will share its experience using media relations to help influence legislation to provide compensation for exonerees.
Chris Duffy, Vice President of Public Relations, Goff Public

Building a Planned Giving Program from Scratch

Charitable bequests and other planned gifts have historically played a significant role in the funding of larger nonprofits, yet one or two person shops can add a massive source of revenue to their mix with minimal enhancements to their fundraising plans. Through slow drip campaigns piloted at the University of Minnesota, building a full bevy of marketing marketing materials at Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Mike Linnemann will offer the building blocks to start attracting and receiving planned gifts. Dave Hogen will explain from the wealth advisory perspective how he approaches planned giving conversations, how to gain a partnership with a financial planning firm, and how they can do a sizable amount of work for a nonprofit.
Mike Linnemann, Development Director, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wildernes

 
Donor Advised Funds 101

Given the rise in popularity of donor advised funds, you will learn what are they, how do I work with my local community foundation with them, how to identify in your pool of donors who has a donor advised fund and how to cultivate and steward them.
Mala Thao, Philanthropic Advisor, Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundations

 
Fundraising First: Aligning Plans for Growth

For many organizations, growth is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, expanding means that your programs are a success, and impacting more members of your community! On the other hand, expanding means increasing expenses, bigger budgets, and higher overhead, which all-too-often means scrambling to find additional donors. This session will talk about how to approach growth from a fundraising first perspective, ensuring that you have the financial foundation to expand your programming strategically. In this session you will hear real life examples from ANEW BAM, a Twin Cities nonprofit dedicated to the academic success of youth and families an that has successfully doubled its impact and its budget in less than five years by proactively fundraising for growth. In addition, we will discuss specific strategies for creating a growth-oriented fundraising plan through thoughtful donor cultivation, community engagement, and a focus on capacity building and general operating support.
Ellen Davis, Founder, Future Funding 

How Public Policy Influences Nonprofits: A Panel Discussion

Join Jeremy Wells as he explores how organizations can be involved in advocacy/public policy, looks closely at recent public policy/tax law changes, and dissects how they impact philanthropy. A panel discussion with three nonprofit advocacy leaders will follow, as they discuss how their programs were established, how they use volunteers, how to use technology and communications to build support for their advocacy issues, how their organizations collaborate with other groups to affect systemic change, and how to talk about public policy priorities with donors or in fundraising messaging.
Jeremy Wells, Vice President of Philanthropic Services, The Saint Paul & Minnesota Community Foundations; panelists TBD

 
Matchmaking: The Art and Science of Institutional Giving

Before putting pen to paper, it is crucial that organizations complete the necessary prework of match determination and cultivation to successfully secure grants. Writing a grant is the last step in the process to secure institutional donations and is highly unlikely to bring in revenue if intentional groundwork is not laid first. This session discusses the intersection of communications, prospect research, and cultivation for institutional donors. We will discuss the importance of marketing to capture the attention of funders, how to identify funding that aligns with strategic goals and maximizes return on investment, how to connect research to the cultivation process, and how to create a plan for action. If you find it difficult to say “no” to a prospect or RFP or are unsure of how to open a conversation with a foundation, this session is for you.
Michelle Edgerton, Founder and Principal, The Edgerton Group LLC

 
Myth vs. Reality: The Data on What Motivates Your Donors

How do you communicate with your donors in a way that motivates them to act? This fun and interactive session will build on the 2019 Myth vs. Research session to continue to examine some of the persistent myths around what communications methods most engage donors in your work. We will examine the latest research around what donors want to learn about your organization, and learn some of the proven ways to engage donors (and a few surprising ways you might turn them away).  We’ll talk about some of the new and innovative ways nonprofits are engaging and educating donors about their work online and offline. You’ll leave with new, proven tools to evaluate and enhance your existing donor communications, and data to back up your decisions back at the office.
Jules Wilkins, Chief Advancement Officer, Montessori Center of Minnesota / JulesWrites.com

 
Reimagining Fundraising as a Restorative Practice

Starting from the desire for the board to raise more money, SEJE Consulting and The Student Advocacy Center (SAC) partnered to explore how SAC could better integrate its fundraising practices and organizational values. We stopped to ask: what would fundraising as a restorative practice look like? To answer this question, we convened a talking circle. By using this restorative practice, we created space for reflection, deep listening, compassion, and accountability. As a result, the board began an ongoing dialogue about embracing community-centric fundraising principles.     We will share our story highlighting what we’re learning as SAC continues to recalibrate its fundraising practices. During the session, we will facilitate a talking circle to allow each participant to experience its transformative power while exploring personal narratives about money and fundraising. Each participant will leave with a primer on how to facilitate talking circles and an introduction to principles of Community-Centric Fundraising (Le, 2017).
Jillian Gross Fortgang, Partner, SEJE Consulting 

 
Revolutionary Fundraising: Lessons from the Headwaters' Giving Project

In this workshop, you’ll hear from past participants of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice Giving Project about their experience of raising money through relational, one-to-one fundraising. You’ll learn about the participatory grantmaking process that places racial justice, democratic decision-making, and community voice at the center of the work. You’ll leave with new ideas and inspiration to build community across difference and move resources in ways that reflect the world we want to see. Learn how cohort participants have translated the skills of the Giving Project into everyday work.    The Giving Project is an innovative national model that funds social change, builds community, and develops leaders. Over the last five years, nearly 100 participants in Headwaters Foundation for Justice’s Giving Project have collectively given and raised over $650,000 to support community organizing led by and for people of color in Minnesota.
AsaleSol Young, Marketing and Development Director, Urban Homeworks

 
Self-Care for Fundraisers

Fundraising as a career is tough on people. You’re not given much support, and often asked to raise unreasonable amounts of money unreasonably fast. It’s isolating work, while being an incredibly public role. Most of your job is unseen emotional labor: managing the feelings of your donors.     While acknowledging that structural changes must be made to fundraising as a field, we know fundraisers are adaptive, resilient folks who’ve figured out how to take care of themselves in the midst of these challenges. This session will be centered on whichever fundraisers are in the room, since y’all are the experts on your experiences and tools. Presenters will offer topic areas for discussion, but we’ll spend most of our time in small groups and large interactive conversations building a fundraisers’ self-care toolkit together.
Leah Olm, Director of Coaching and Curriculum, GiveMN

 
$how me the Money? $how me the Relation$hip!

Authentic relationships with donors and prospects is essential to launching, growing, and sustaining your fundraising program.  But with fewer dollars and fewer staff and metrics and dashboards guiding our work, how can one create that authenticity?  When the ‘today’ overpowers the ‘tomorrow’, how can we reduce donor attrition and recapture lapsed donors? This session will focus on how to build a portfolio of investors that want to engage with your organization and with you. It will provide real tools to find out how to listen to your donors and learn about how they want to engage with your organization. Session attendees will develop the skills to engage donors while maintaining accountability organizational leadership. This session is perfect for professional working at small or larger nonprofits and those looking to create a donor portfolio from the ground up.
Lisa Stein, Director of Philanthropy, American Cancer Society