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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
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