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This session is part of the 2017 Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Annual Conference. Attendees must be registered for the conference. 

The nonprofit sector has never been under more pressure to innovate and adapt to a shifting environment. Yet current funding for innovation rarely reflects the type of capital seen in traditional VC, tech startups, or even challenges like Y-Combinator and our local MN Cup.   Join Damon Runnals, former Executive Director for the Southern Theater, as he discusses learning points from the creation of ARTshare – the Twin Cities first all access performing arts membership program. This session will look at if what it might look like if foundational support took more chances and was similar to what the  tech sector has come to expect in their innovative endeavors. This workshop will examine strategies for going without funding and explore the risks involved when launching major initiatives while still running your nonprofit. Lastly, this session will discuss what other / newer sources of revenue can be generated to support new programs.
Track: Innovation
Damon Runnals, Constructive Consultant, Next In Nonprofits, Minneapolis, MN; Jamie Schumacher, Executive Director, West Bank Business Association

This session is part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Participants must be registered for the conference to attend.

Small is mighty. The Smallest Museum in St Paul is a micro-gallery community arts project that demonstrates the principle that scaling a project to be easily do-able may likely be part of it success. Small takes less resources. It doesn’t demand (much) time or money in a very demanding world. Small is a strategy that works, and still gets a big return on social good. Whether you’re thinking of a pocket gallery, a micro-museum, a hyper-local youth program, a pocket park or a micro-community garden – small can be beautiful. Come reflect on how scaling your project to be small(er), may actually open access for more people to participate.
Track: Innovation
Shannon Forney, Next in Nonprofits

This event is a break-out session at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Communications and Technology Conference. Conference registration is required.

Different supporters have different needs, and using the same megaphone for all of them is too much for some and not enough for others. Join us for a case study of a growing nonprofit, from 0 Facebook and newsletter subscribers to over 2600 of each, in three years. Starting with the basics, we’ll cover how the East Side Freedom Library introduced segmented email newsletters, and show how those SuperFans metrics are more engaged, while the general supporter isn’t overwhelmed. The session will use real-world measurements from tools such as Mailchimp to show how customized engagement – with little extra effort – returns real results.
Steve Boland, managing partner, Next in Nonprofits and Alessandra Williams, assistant to the director, East Side Freedom Library

(This presentation is part of the Nonprofit Innovation Conference. Full conference registration is required to attend).
Steve Boland, Managing Partner – Next in Nonprofits

Different supporters have different needs, and using the same megaphone for all of them is too much for some and not enough for others. Join us for a case study of a growing nonprofit, from zero Facebook followers and newsletter subscribers to gaining over 3,000 of each in three years.

You’ll cover:

• how the East Side Freedom Library introduced segmented email newsletters.
• how Superfan metrics are more engaged while not overwhelming general supporters.
• real-world measurements from tools such as MailChimp to show how customized engagement returns real results.

(This breakout session is part of the full-day MCN Fundraising conference. Participants must be registered for the full conference in order to attend).

The mythical unicorn of getting ongoing contributions from donors is becoming less about cajoling the one-time supporter and more about offering a range of options that fit individual needs. Small-scale donors can use aggregation tools like Patreon.com to add up to a lot of money (say, $150,000,000 from 1,000,000 supporters this year), Drip is getting into the subscription support game, and existing donor database tools have the support options we need if more nonprofits used them better for the needs of supporters. This session will review case studies of recurring donation tools and platforms (from basic Stripe processing, to GiveMN, to more gimmicky options like GivingLoop), the donor communication that helps transition one-time or annual supporters to recurring donors, and a return on investment analysis of those platform fees.

Track: Fundraising Trends/Strategy Style: Formal Presentation
Presenter(s): Steve Boland, Managing Partner, Next in Nonprofits, Saint Paul MN

(This session is part of a day-long conference, and full conference registration is required to attend.)

Social media is a great tool to get the word out about your programs, but that’s only the beginning. Build strong communities through social media by creating meaningful conversations online and providing relevant, consistent information. This session will give you the tools to create your own social media plan, including tools for measuring success and templates for managing it all.

Steve Boland, managing partner, Next in Nonprofits

This session is part of the MCN Communications and Technology Conference. Participants must register for the conference in order to attend.

No, really, print is not dead. But print doesn’t have the same role it used to have, either. Digital outreach and print communication can leverage each other. And while there are still some must do items in print (the year-end solicitation should go out in paper to some of your donors), there are other times when past practices in print can take a back seat. We’ll review return on investment metrics for print, on-demand printing for select market impact, utilization of case statement language across print and digital to maximize impressions, and strategic use of print to augment services that shine in the digital realm (apps, progressive web apps, audio/video, and more).