4th Annual Nonprofit IT Conference "Sustainability through Technology"

Ben's note: This is a not to be missed conference for nonprofits. Please forward on to those who can benefit.

Click here for more info and to register - http://bit.ly/7C2Rs

When: Friday, October 2, 2009, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Where: Fawcett Center, The Ohio State University, 2400 Olentangy River Rd., Columbus, OH 43210

Who: Nonprofits, Volunteers, Information Technology and Business Professionals, Funders and Community Leaders

Cost: $65 for GroundWork group Full members; $80 for GroundWork group Associate Members; $100 for Non-members/Corporate

Increased demands for services coupled with continuously shrinking sources of funding have challenged nonprofits in ways that have not been seen for decades. "Sustainability through Technology" is designed to assist nonprofits in the search for unique solutions to address needs in the current business climate.

Nonprofits continue to struggle with reduced funding and budget cuts. GroundWork group has assembled a strong program focusing on "Sustainability through Technology" to help nonprofits stay in business to fulfill their missions of meeting the needs of Central Ohio's residents. Keynote Speakers Paul King, CEO, Process Experts, a nationally-based nonprofit organization, will discuss the relationship between technology and sustainability. Microsoft Director Mike Brevard will talk about how Microsoft can save you money. Our slate of workshops features service opportunities with the Governor's Office and Connect Ohio to funding opportunities to tips on increasing hits to your website and lowering costs

We have a tremendous day planned as we bring together all our constituents: nonprofits, volunteers, IT and Business Professionals, Funders and Community Leaders for a quality conference providing up-to-date topics from sharing technology resources to building partnerships to maximizing service delivery.

We kick off the day with keynote speaker Mike Brevard, Director of Microsoft Specialists Technical Unit for Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. He will be presenting "How Microsoft Can Save Customers Money in Tough Economic Times" which will include a report on the giving efforts and other community investments that Microsoft has made throughout the year. Paul King, CEO, Process Experts (and formerly Director of IT with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) will be our afternoon keynote speaker, presenting "How to be Sustainable through Technology." GroundWork group met with Paul in his previous position with the Gates Foundation, and we are extremely excited to have him speak to our constituents. We are certain that he will capture your attention as he shares his IT expertise and his ideas on how technology can help sustain your organization through the struggles within the economy.

This year's breakout sessions have an added twist -- evaluations from past conferences have consistently requested that we present the same sessions in the morning and afternoon. The quality of our breakout sessions has made it difficult for participants to decide which to attend, so this year we are featuring four breakout sessions that will be offered in each of the sessions.

• "How the Ohio Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives works with nonprofits and an introduction to GOFBCI's Ohio Social Entrepreneurship Initiative." Presenter: Greg Landsman, Director, the Ohio Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. This session will include how attendees can get involved in and descriptions of all of the GOFBCI's 2010 initiatives.

• "Broadband adoption and application State-wide." Presenter: Tom Fritz, Executive Director, Connect Ohio. Connect Ohio is a comprehensive initiative that will blanket Ohio with broadband Internet access and dramatically improve the use of related technology. The program is the result of a partnership between the State of Ohio and Connected Nation, a national nonprofit organization that specializes in increasing technology access and literacy.

• "Effective Ways to Direct Traffic to your Website." Presenter: Steve Clark, VP of Business Development, People to My Site.

• "Twitter, Blogs & Beyond: Social Media and other Next Wave Trends in Marketing and Development", Presenter: Ric Wanetik, President, Ricochet Group LLC.
  
  

We have an additional presentation that will include a panel discussion on the topic: "Doing More with Less: IT Planning & Prioritization." This presentation will immediately follow lunch in order for all who attend the conference to be able to participate.