Events

2004 Collaborating for Success Regional Conference Summary

Cleveland

Over 110 participants from 16 states and Canada contributed to the tremendous success of the 2004 Collaborating for Success Midwest Regional Conference. Attendees were able to gather valuable information and make meaningful connections to further the development and management of multi-tenant nonprofit facilities. One participant stated, "Thanks for this incredible opportunity to interface with so many competent and thoughtful people knowledgeable about every aspect of MTNCs."

The topics covered at this first-ever regional conference in Cleveland, Ohio, included the following:

  • Nuts and bolts of the planning, design, and development process
  • On-going facility management, leasing and shared services
  • Vision, ownership and governance-how to build a shared identity and create a workable governance structure based on a clearly articulated unifying mission and shared set of objectives
  • How-to's for financing, both commercial and nonprofit-specific sources
  • Sustainable design for the nonprofit sector--how to create and finance green buildings
  • Creating and sustaining successful partnerships with government, philanthropy and for-profit sectors-why it is important and how to do it.

The conference evaluation indicated attendees were especially pleased with the knowledge and skill of the presenters as well as the networking opportunities provided by the luncheon and dinner. Written comments included the following: "Thank you all, what a great conference, very informative." "Great job! It's great to see continuing interest in this topic. Brand new learnings!"

We also received helpful suggestions on how to improve the structure of the conference as well as maximize the value of our handouts and other written materials. As a result of attendee feedback on next steps, Conference notes and materials will be available on our website (www.nonprofitcenters.org), by the end of summer.

A special thank you to all our attendees; our facilitator, Cleveland Green Building Coalition; our host, Fairhill Center; and our major sponsors, The Gund Foundation, The Kresge Foundation and The Omidyar Foundation. The next Collaborating for Success Conference will be a national event held May 12-13, 2005, at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

Evaluation Highlights

Why they came:

  • Evaluation respondents were most influenced to attend this conference by the topic (88%) and for professional development purposes (87%), as well as the opportunity to network (60)%.

How They Found Out About It:

  • Respondents discovered this conference primarily by word of mouth (38%) and via the website (30%).

Satisfaction with Conference:

  • 90% of evaluations indicated attendees were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the overall conference, and with specific aspects including content, facilities, and location.
  • "Introduction to Creating MTNCs" was rated the most useful conference session.

Follow-up -- The most helpful resources for the respondents would be:

  • Conference notes and materials posted on our website (87%)
  • A best practices handbook (75%)
  • Access to loan programs and grants (38%)

Thank you again to everyone who participated in making this year's regional Collaborating for Success conference a memorable experience.

Sponsors

Corporations

Chesler Group
Shorebank
Pinkerton Insurance
Building Improvements LLC
SCK Design

Foundations

Gund Foundation
Kresge Foundation
Cleveland Foundation
Omidyar Foundation

Events