Being as obsessed as we are with positively changing the world, my company has gone under an entire rebranding in which we intend to focus on projects that provide social good; our new tagline is literally “Technical Guides for Social Good.”
All set and ready to go, right?
No! Changing the world alone is hard! I wanted to find the other social-do-gooders so I could be inspired by their work and see what we can all do together. So I traveled to the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTEN) last month in Washington, D.C., where over 2,000 do-gooders gathered to talk and do great!
Top three likes
1) Non-Session Events: Start Some Good Launch Party
One would think that conferences are all about sessions; however, at the NTEN conference there were more non-session activities than actual official sessions! I went to the Start Some Good Launch Party, where social good entrepreneurs gathered to marvel at how this Web site plans on raising funds for social good ideas with the “tipping” model as its backbone. Check out their site here .
2) Reports: Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report
You can never go wrong in a session dedicated toward reviewing statistics. This report focused on the trends nonprofits of different sizes and fields are using in regards to social media. And guess what the biggest, non-surprising finding was? If you’re not on Facebook, you should be. If you want to know more, view the free report here.
3) Networking: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Yup, that’s right: we all need breakfast, lunch, and dinner, especially at the Nonprofit Technology Conference! Every meal at NTEN is an opportunity to meet with new people, and with a group of over 2,000 people hardly anybody knowing each other, instant ice-broken conversations are abound! I met nonprofits from all over the nation and the world and heard how they do good with and without using technology. Hearing the stories first hand of heroes in action not only inspired me but made me truly feel grateful for being part of this community.
James McBryan is a partner at Twomile and is the the Pro Bono Role Model of the Year for the Taproot Foundation.
