CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp

The First Ever Nonprofit InnovationCamp

caseyleung — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:51:23 +0000

Entrance to the main room (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Annastasia Palubiski, Coro Strandberg, and Scott Hughes (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Jim Diers speaking on Day 2 (Photo: Casey Leung)

Day 1 Sessions Board (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Sessions Room C & D (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Sessions Room A & B (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Closing Remarks (Photo: Julia Kozlov)

Thank you to everyone who came and participated in the first ever Nonprofit InnovationCamp!

For full notes and resources of the keynotes and sessions, please visit our event wiki – updated live throughout the two days. Many attendees also live-tweeted using the hashtag #npicamp.

Keep in touch with attendees and goings-on in the Canadian nonprofit sector on our network, The *Spark.

Three Days to Go: What to Expect, What to Bring

caseyleung — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:47:08 +0000

The CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp is in three days (March 4 & 5, SFU Segal Graduate School of Business, 500 Granville Street) and we couldn’t be more excited. Registration begins at 8:00am (coat check, coffee and tea, and breakfast is provided) and activities begin promptly at 9:00am. Make sure to check out the event agenda here.

Breakfast, lunch, and evening refreshments are included in your ticket, and we will have evening activities for you to take part in. Day 1 will close out with a Marketplace for you to talk to experts in the field and get some traction for Day 2. Day 2 will wrap with an unofficial afterparty that we hope will rage on into the night – and you’re all invited.

You are encouraged to come prepared to pitch a session (though this is not mandatory), and all attendees are expected to be participants.

We’ll be using the Twitter hashtag #npicamp, and for those of you taking photos, please tag them with “npicamp” as well. You can tweet at us at @npinnovators.

Some things you might want to bring:

Water bottle – water will be provided but we want to keep the waste down.
Coffee mug – coffee and tea will be provided as well.
Laptop, iPad, or any device you want. Free wifi will be provided, and the network name and password will be found on the back of your nametag.
Pen and paper, if that’s your preference.

For those of you who have never attended an “unconference” before, get ready for a fully open space in which to express your opinion and learn from others. Think of this as a freestyle forum where all topics and talks are generated by you and your fellow attendees. If you’re from out of town, unconferences and the West Coast go together like pancakes and honey; we hope you’ll have a fun, fulfilling, and productive experience here to take home and innovate your community.

See you all in a few days!

Unofficial Nonprofit InnovationCamp Afterparty Invitation

caseyleung — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:37:05 +0000

The Nonprofit InnovationCamp Planning Committee invites you to experience Vancouver nightlife in beautiful historic Gastown. Come to Steamworks Brewing Co. to roll up your sleeves and loosen your tie at our unofficial afterparty on March 5!

Admission is free, and we will be having a cash bar with complimentary appetizers.

Steamworks is located at 375 Water Street, mere blocks from the Nonprofit InnovationCamp venue. The afterparty starts at 5:00pm on March 5. Let’s celebrate the first ever CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp together!

Day 1 Marketplace

caseyleung — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:51:11 +0000

Do you have an event, service, or product that you’d like to showcase? Are you an expert in your field?

We’ve set time aside in our agenda for Day 1 (March 4) to close out the day with a casual Marketplace mingler. We want you to be able to showcase your services, events, and products to attendees who want to learn more or connect with experts. This is an opportunity for attendees to ask you questions and get your advice, or even just hear your opinion; and it’s an opportunity for you to connect with potential clients or partners.

We’re looking for experts in technology, finance, social enterprise, HR, and others. Let us know what your expertise is, and we will set you up at the Marketplace. Contact Justin Ho with the subject heading “Marketplace”. Space is limited.

Fourth and Final Keynote Speaker Announced

caseyleung — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:13:30 +0000

The competitive advantage of the Community Sector is that we have access to an unlimited pool of human resources – we do not require money to hire all the people who work with us. Many people enthusiastically GIVE us their time, talent and passion.

Across the world, the volunteer engagement paradigm is changing. The “next” volunteers want to be engaged differently, and use the significant knowledge in their heads to really move organizational missions forward. Increasingly, it is a frustrating experience for these volunteers to be involved with existing community organizations, as we often do not offer the kind of opportunities they seek. Organizations must begin to evolve by understanding volunteers are not completely altruistic. They do want to be paid – with an opportunity to really make a difference, to meet new people, to use the talent they have, to know the community values their time AND talent.

In this session, we will provide you with some strategies to engage these significant numbers of people – differently.

We are thrilled to announce our fourth and final keynote speaker of the CNPI Nonprofit
InnovationCamp.

Annastasia Palubiski

With over 10 years experience in the nonprofit sector, Annastasia Palubiski is passionate about seeing community organizations engage unlimited human resources to deliver their mission. As a Director of Advanced Learning at Vantage Point, she leads professional development programs for executives and board members with a focus on building capacity within nonprofit organizations to engage all the people – both those we pay with money and those we pay in other ways. She has delivered community-based programs on a local, regional and national level across diverse sectors including, social services, corporate-community investment, environment and education. Her areas of expertise include leadership development, governance, external talent engagement and evaluation and measurement. She also shares her expertise as a board member with the Kindness Foundation.

Annastasia will be speaking on her thoughts on this article regarding the future of volunteering.

To register for the CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp, click here.

Third Keynote Speaker Announced

caseyleung — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:58:23 +0000

The term “nonprofit” can be misleading for many. Though monetary profit may not be a primary goal, nonprofit organizations are not exempt from the world of business in many respects; not least of these is possessing an entrepreneurial spirit.

We understand the need for nonprofit organizations to be nimble, resourceful, and forward thinking. We also understand that a nonprofit organization’s first priority is to serve the community and live by its mandate. But theory and practice are two different beasts, which is why we sought out speakers who can provide you with insight into how to navigate those competing interests without compromising your organization’s integrity.

We are proud to announce our third keynote speaker of the CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp.

Scott Hughes

Scott Hughes is a leading social finance practitioner in the application of conventional tools of business and finance to charities, not-for-profits, social enterprises and cooperatives. He assists in navigating business challenges and the world of finance to improve management and increase financial resilience. His experience includes successfully leading teams and building collaborative internal and external partnerships to achieve strong results.

Scott will be speaking on the subject of social franchising, and the opportunities this business model can bring to the nonprofit sector.

Travel Subsidies to the CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp 2011

caseyleung — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:23:30 +0000

We’re pleased to announce that the Canadian Nonprofit Innovators Network is able to provide travel subsidies to help innovators from across Canada come to Vancouver for the first CNPI Nonprofit InnovationCamp on March 4 and 5. Subsidies are available on a first-come-first serve basis and range from $100 to $700, depending on how far you need to travel. Subsidies will be provided as a reimbursement of travel costs after the event.

If you are in need of a travel subsidy, please email info@ucscoop.com and provide the following information:

1. Your name

2. The organization you are affiliated with (if any)

3. Where you are traveling from

4. What workshop/idea/session you hope to pitch at the Nonprofit InnovationCamp

Subsidies will be awarded first-come-first serve until funds are no longer available, so send in your applications quickly and book your travel to Vancouver! Don’t forget to register for attendance with us too.

If you need a place to stay, please check out the details on our Group Rate Deal with the Empire Landmark.

Second Keynote Speaker Announced

caseyleung — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:09:54 +0000

The idea of “innovation” was one we struggled to define during our search for keynote presenters to feature at the Nonprofit InnovationCamp. It’s a term that can mean so much on many levels that we chose instead to focus almost exclusively on innovation as a theme around one thing we know you, as members of the nonprofit sector, care about most: community.

Community is an equally maddening idea to define as it has changed and continues to change over the years. However, one thing we know is that the way we engage with community and innovation today are very definitively influenced by the development of corporate social responsibility.

Once again, we are proud to announce the latest speaker to join our line-up.

Coro Strandberg

Coro Strandberg is the Principal of Strandberg Consulting, which provides strategic advisory and facilitation services to organizations seeking to integrate social and environmental values into the market economy and the business model. Recent clients have included City of Surrey, TransLink, WorkSafeBC and the 2010 Olympics. For the Olympics she helped develop VANOC’s ground-breaking effort to incorporate social inclusion into its procurement program, resulting in nearly $6 M in spending with inner-city businesses and social enterprises. She is a co-founder of the BuySmart Network, a program which supports buyers to integrate social and environmental considerations in purchasing. Coro has been on the vanguard of corporate social responsibility for over twenty years, initially in her 12 year term as director and then Chair of Vancity Credit Union, which she helped position as a national CSR leader fifteen years ago. Roles she has held prior to her consultancy include Executive Director of the Seniors’ Bureau, Social Planner for the City of Surrey, Social Policy Director and then Green Economy Advisor for the BC Government. She has a BSW and MSW from the University of BC.

Coro will be speaking on her reactions to this article, and the ideas that came to her and how it affected her work.

First Keynote Speaker Announced

caseyleung — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:05:13 +0000

The 2011 Nonprofit InnovationCamp is the very first official CNPI event that aims to bring all nonprofit innovators from around Canada together in one space. Our aim is to make the Nonprofit InnovationCamp a diverse, inclusive, and creative space for people to connect and create change.

We sought out presenters who could demonstrate these values and bring their stories to the Nonprofit InnovationCamp to challenge and, above all, inspire attendees to be innovative, forward-thinking, and compassionate about their community.

It is with much excitement that we announce our first keynote speaker.

Jim Diers

A teacher in community organizing and development at the University of Washington, as well as a faculty member at Asset-Based Community Involvement Institute, Jim Diers is best known for serving as the director of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods under three mayors and over fourteen years. His perspectives offer an illuminating and galvanizing approach to community engagement for the Cascadia (Pacific Northwest) region. He has a passion for getting people engaged with their communities and the decisions that affect their lives, and he was recognized for his work with an Innovations Award from the Kennedy School of Government and a Full Inclusion Award from the American Associate on Developmental Disabilities. His book, Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way, tells the story of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods and its enterprising experiments in bottom-up community planning and development.

Saturday (March 5) Afterparty – Do you want one?

caseyleung — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:03:14 +0000

We’re currently finishing up our agenda planning for our Nonprofit InnovationCamp and we need your help. Given that attendees will be working hard and thinking hard over the course of the two days, we want to provide you with some downtime in the beautiful, edgy, historic Gastown next door to the SFU Segal Graduate School of Business.

What we want to know from you is: how do you feel about an (unofficial) afterparty once the Nonprofit InnovationCamp closes out on Saturday evening? Would you come? Are you into the idea of keeping the energy going and channeling it into a fun, casual, ties-off-and-sleeves-rolled-up afterparty?

Let us know in the comments or reply to us on Twitter (@npinnovators).