Annual Nonprofit Conference
The Annual Nonprofit Conference (ANC’24) is back and better than ever!
Join us on November 20, 2024, for a day filled with inspiration, networking, and practical sessions tailored to help your nonprofit team succeed. ANC’24 is the largest conference for nonprofits in Connecticut, bringing together a community dedicated to achieving extraordinary success.
Members, remember to register before October 7th and save 20% off early-bird pricing.
We can’t wait to see you there!
ANC'24 TICKET PRICING
Member Ticket
Price Per Ticket- Breakfast, Lunch
- 12 Sessions including Keynote!
- Author Book Signing
- Interactive Exhibitor Hall, featuring Free Headshots Sponsored by awecast.
- Free Tote to the first 500 at Registration!
3+ Member Bundle
Price Per Ticket- Breakfast, Lunch
- 12 Sessions including Keynote!
- Author Book Signing
- Interactive Exhibitor Hall, featuring Free Headshots Sponsored by awecast.
- Free Tote to the first 500 at Registration!
Non-Member
Price Per Ticket- Breakfast, Lunch
- 12 Sessions including Keynote!
- Author Book Signing
- Interactive Exhibitor Hall, featuring Free Headshots Sponsored by awecast.
- Free Tote to the first 500 at Registration!
2024 Keynote Presentation
Dan Pallotta
Best Selling Author, Philanthropist and Academy Award Nominee
Dan Pallotta
Best-Selling Author, Philanthropist and Academy Award Nominee
Join us for a unique conference experience – a fireside chat with our 2024 keynote, Dan Pallotta. The session will be moderated by media veteran Diane Smith.
Dan Pallotta is a pioneer in the global effort to transform the way our culture evaluates the character and impact of nonprofit organizations. His iconic TED Talk on philanthropy, “Uncharitable: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong,” has been viewed more than 5.5 million times. The TED community voted it the most persuasive TED talk of all time. The documentary film “Uncharitable,” based on Dan’s life work, was an Oscar nominee in 2024.
Dan shares desperately important ideas on reshaping charities, the nonprofit industry, and even the way we dream. He challenges nonprofit executives, students, philanthropists, institutional funders, donors, and anyone who cares about the great causes of our time, to change the way we think about charities and the strategies needed to truly create the change we want to see in the world.
Workshop Presenters
2024 Conference Line-up
Allison Csonka, MPA
Director of Fund Development and Communications, Bridges
Amanda Aronson
Founder and President of StoryB, LLC
James McKim
Founder and Managing Partner of Organizational Ignition & Author of “The Diversity Factor: Igniting Superior Organizational Performance”
Kara Preston
Vice President of Development, Klingberg Family Centers
Donna Swanson MSN, CS, APRN
Founder and Executive Director for FOCUS Center for Autism
Diane Smith
A New York Times bestselling author, Emmy award winning journalist
Dr. Gary Damon Jr.
President & CEO, Pressure Point Consulting
Want to present at next year's conference?
Eric Molho
Founder and Principal Consultant for Bon Partners
Jacqueline Ross
Author, "Manage UP!"
Stacie Watson
Partner, Transformative Leadership Strategies
Dr. Steve Sobel
Author, “The Good Times Handbook – Your Guide To Positive Living."
Johnny Diaz II
COO, Alpha Capital
Kimberly Dunn
Strategic Human Resources Consultant, EANE
Become a sponsor
Jessica Smith
Deputy Chief of Business Development, The Connection Institute for Innovative Practice
Frances Trelease
Founder and CEO, BoomerDen, LLC and Trelease Communications, LLC
Conference Workshops
Morning Plenary | Winning at the Game of Life
Nationally recognized motivational speaker, Dr. Steve Sobel, presents his uniquely designed lesson plan for living fully, resiliently, and enjoyably as life’s challenges test you every day. Join us for Dr. Sobel’s inspiring thoughts and strategies that encourage you to receive every day as a gift. Join us to experience Steve’s unique brand of compassion and humor. Dr. Sobel is the author of “The Good Times Handbook – Your Guide To Positive Living.”
Dr. Steve Sobel, Author of “The Good Times Handbook – Your Guide To Positive Living.”
Putting Passion in its Place: Leading a Nonprofit Team Through Challenging Times
Leading nonprofit teams in today’s culture is intense. In this trauma-informed workshop, we will talk about how to put passion in its place to work with a feeling of connection to the mission. This presentation will include time to talk with other leaders to share best practices, strategies for leadership health and wellness, and a special focus on how to manage staff who want to be strong voices for change online, while they simultaneously serve as representatives of their nonprofit organizations.
Amanda Aronson, Founder and President, StoryB, LLC
Addressing Compassion Fatigue & Burnout
Compassion Fatigue and Burnout are states of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. They occur when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands and can leave you feeling devoid of motivation and beyond caring. In this workshop, participants will identify specific signs of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout and explore the role that connection (to self, to others, and to something greater) can make in recharging their energy reserves.
Alicia Davis & Stacie Watson, Founding Partners, Transformative Leadership Strategies
Beyond The Buzz: Taking Your AI Skills to the Next Level
AI is quickly becoming a useful tool to help many aspects of our work. In this session we will look at a variety of practical applications for leveraging AI tools. Whether it is strengthening our fundraising strategy, improving our social media presence or preparing for a board meeting, this session will focus on ways you can use generative AI tools like ChatGPT to become even more effective. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user of AI, you’ll leave this session with new ideas and useful information!
Eric Molho, Founder and Principal Consultant, Bon Partners
Creating a Winning Fundraising Strategy Through Collaboration
In this workshop, we will discuss the importance of Development staff and Program & Service staff working together. The productive partnership between these two teams can lead to fruitful returns – both financially and organizationally.Participants will come away with an understanding of the importance of collaboration between Development and Program & Services teams. Fundraisers will come away with ideas on how to enhance their fundraising strategies and abilities by building relationships with programs & services teams.
Allison Csonka, Director of Fund Development and Communications, Bridges
Kara Preston, Vice President of Development, Klingberg Family Centers
Understanding and Supporting People with Autism in the Workplace and Community
Learn from the experts – professionals and people with autism in an interactive and lively forum on how to support, hire, and serve individuals with autism. Participants will gain insights into best practices, current language standards, and strategies for addressing challenges that may arise in the workplace and community. The program will also address common mistakes in interactions with individuals with autism and provide guidance on creating comfortable and inclusive environments for employees and clients.
Donna Swanson, Founder and Executive Director, FOCUS Center for Autism
Fixing CT's Fiscal Guardrails: How Nonprofit Advocates Can Make a Difference
Through The Alliance, nonprofits have been advocating for increased funding from the state budget for years. But recently, the state’s restrictive budgetary controls, often referred to as “fiscal guardrails,” have made progress slower than nonprofits need, often blocking the way for bigger increases. Now, the guardrails have to change if nonprofits want their funding to continue to increase.
The Alliance is fighting for this change. What can you do to help? Join a panel of experts, advocates and nonprofit legislative champions to learn more about the guardrails – what they are and how they came to be. We will plan for how you can help make this change happen in 2025 and beyond.
Fundraising Reimagined: Building a Social Enterprise
As the traditional fundraising landscape shifts, finding creative ways to generate unrestricted revenue plays a critical role in providing financial flexibility and stability for your nonprofit. This dynamic workshop is designed to equip nonprofits with an introduction to creating a sustainable and impactful social enterprise. Discover the essential aspects of building a social enterprise and how it can drive your nonprofit’s mission forward with resilience and innovation.
Jessica Smith, Deputy Chief of Business Development, The Connection Institute for Innovative Practice
Making DEI Change Stick
This workshop will explore strategies you can deploy to develop and execute a DEI effort that not just a social justice initiative but an organizational performance imperative.Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are all about change. Organizations in the United States spend $8 billion on diversity and inclusion training each year. Yet DEI initiatives are failing or being abandoned. The results simply aren’t there: 45% of US workers report experiencing discrimination in the past year and 75% of employees in underrepresented groups do not feel they have personally benefited from their company’s DEI programs.
James McKim, Founder and Managing Partner, Organizational Ignition & Author of “The Diversity Factor: Igniting Superior Organizational Performance”
Manage Up & Building Your Professional Tribe
What strategies could you employ to manage your manager more effectively? Managing your boss is a skill you need, regardless of your relationship or how effective your boss is at doing their job. Your professional effectiveness can directly result from how well you “manage up.”
In this workshop, you will learn how to tap into the strengths and talents of both you and your boss, the power of building mentoring relationships, and the impact of professional networking. Manage Up! will help you enhance and elevate your performance and your professional standing. With the easy-to-apply tips and highly practical strategies shared in this program, you learn important skills and increase your overall personal sense of job satisfaction and engagement.
Jacqueline Ross, Author of the book “Manage UP!”
Strengthening Executive Leadership: A Holistic Workshop for Non-Profit Success
This workshop is designed specifically for experienced executive leaders in the nonprofit sector, focusing on critical areas essential for organizational success and long-term viability. The workshop will cover topics such as building an internal talent pipeline, implementing innovative donor engagement strategies, understanding financial reporting and compliance, and effectively selecting and evaluating vendors. Participants will enhance their critical thinking skills and transformative leadership practices and gain a comprehensive understanding of emergency management to navigate crises effectively.
Dr. Gary Damon, Jr., President & CEO, Pressure Point Consulting
Succession Planning Best Practices
Nonprofits in today’s fast-paced world have a substantial responsibility to prepare their organizations for the future. The best way to do this is by ensuring that they have a PLAN to identify and develop their talent and key team members to be ready to take on key leadership and technical roles. Learn how to create a plan that will ensure transitions occur smoothly, and risk is mitigated for the organization. You will be the HR HERO by preparing for departures which can be critical to your organization’s sustainability. Join us to learn important insights and strategies that you can bring back to your organization to create a succession plan and ensure sustainability for the future.
Kimberly Dunn, Strategic Human Resources Consultant, EANE
Unlocking the Power of the Multigenerational Workforce
This interactive workshop provides practical strategies to foster a work environment where teamwork and communication are improved across generations. We’ll look at the best ways to leverage unique communication strengths of each generation, to strengthen cohesiveness and teamwork at work. Through interactive discussions and role-play scenarios participants will gain ways to find common ground and shared goals; and to foster an environment where all generations feel valued.
Frances Trelease, Owner, BoomerDen, LLC and Trelease Communications, LLC
Johnny Diaz II, COO, Alpha Capital