Blackbaud's 2008 Conference for Nonprofits (Montréal) - Day 1
Things are off and running in Montréal at Blackbaud's 2008 Conference for Nonprofits. I'm presenting first thing this morning in a session called "You've Got Email! Now What?" I think that I was able to put over two hours worth of material into just over an hour.
That means I have the chance to spend the rest of the day listening to some of the other presenters. So I'll be jumping from room to room today blogging as long as my battery lasts.
The first session that I sat in on was "Building an Online Village" which was presented by Ann Edmonds (VP of Information Technology - YMCA of Greater Toronto) and Sandra Luther (Manager of Internet Solutions - Blackbaud Canada). The big focus of the session was around the basics, benefits, and possibilities with online communities. A lot of questions, answers, discussions, and stories. Some really interesting exchanges about privacy, getting people to engage online, and managing the data end of it all. The session ended with explaining how to get your house in order, crawl, walk, and run with your online initiatives.
Blackbaud's president and CEO Marc Chardon gave the opening remarks over lunch. I think the audience really keyed in on his message about how the world and the nonprofit industry is changing. It takes time to hone a message and make it your own. The last step is to get the people listening to really engage in that message and get something valuable from it. I've seen Marc speak at conferences and events over the past three years, and this was his best speech to-date because he's gotten to the last step. (This might sound like being a cheerleader, but anyone who knows me would probably never use that adjective to describe me.)
After the lunch break I’m going to attend the "Web 2.0 — A Buzzword Demystified" session by Andrew Mosawi from Blackbaud. (Andrew will also be appearing at the Blackbaud Interactive Internet Symposium in New York City on Thursday, May 22nd.) A pretty jam packed room listened to Andrew explain the basics and get into the complex bits of Web 2.0. "It's about relationships...it's not about the technology." Andrew showed a lot of examples and how nonprofits are leveraging different forms of Web 2.0. "People are linking to people and organizations...and (nonprofits) need to be part of it." The blogosphere thrives because of authenticity. You either have it or you don't...and you can't fake it. (Feel free to call me out.) People to people fundraising blurs the line between friends, their social networks, and nonprofits. Then throw in a remix of YouTube, Flickr, widgets, mashups, and other interactive media. And then add in a big giant slice of social networks. Disintermediation in the nonprofit world is a reality. These are things you can't ignore and they aren't going away.
(Updating Regularly)