After Egger’s introduction to the conference, it was tough to imagine that anything could satisfy the masses for the rest of the week. Much to my surprise, though, track 2 delivered…

The day was designed to be mostly professional development. At breakfast we participated in roundtables, where a professional from the Sector sat with us and answered any questions we had. Stan and I were at the AFP table, where Catherine from the DC Chapter was patiently fielding queries. I was intrigued to learn about her background, which was in associations. And she wasn’t kidding – Catherine worked for the Association of Associations before joining the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Awesome.

After breakfast, it was off to workshops. I visited four sessions that day, and all were extremely invigorating. First up was a session on the Urban Institute’s new research software. Probably sounds infinitely boring to most of you, but trust me – it’s awesome. Have I ever mentioned that I’m a geek? After that I went to the most popular session of the week, Google For Nonprofits 101, taught by Matt Dunne who works as the Manager of US Community Affairs for Google. In addition Matt is an AH Alumnus, former two-term Vermont State Senator, and former candidate for Lieutenant Governor. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internets…

I’m really glad his campaign was unsuccessful, though – otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to share with us all the amazing things that Google offers for the Nonprofit Sector. I’ve already spoken of my love for Google, but seeing the software suite in action brought it to a whole other level. Here’s a fun little video if you’re looking for more depth:

After the technology overload, I transitioned into a session on effective meeting management. A couple great people from Leadership Ventures came and packed a full day’s worth of information into sixty (60) minutes. I left with a packet of sample agendas, recommended communication flows, and some creative problem solving ideas. Meetings can be mundane, but as the sage Dan Quayle (motto: “Thank you, George”) says, they can also be powerful:

The thing is, if you control the Senate meetings, you control the gavel. And the gavel is a very important instrument… an instrument of power. An instrument that establishes the agenda.

Armed with a slew of information on leading meetings with more creativity, authority, and instruments of power I headed to the last session of the day. But I was in Track 9 territory. No Man’s Land. Most of my energy had been stolen from role-playing (”OK, now Sam is going to be the disruptive employee. At what point do we confront his behavior in front of the entire group?”) and digesting mountains of technical data.

But much to my delight, I was greeted by Ann and Laura from Youth Resources in a workshop titled, “Youth In Governance: Breaking Into The Boardroom.” I went in with completely selfish motives. A few months ago I was honored with the opportunity to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, and I was recently invited to join the Board of Directors for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Phoenix. So, I trotted into the room thinking that I would share my experiences as a young person in the Boardroom and spread little Wisdom Dust on my peers.

Instead, I encountered one of the most articulate and intelligent people ever. Period. Listening to Laura talk about her time with Youth Resources was inspiring. The programming that Ann (Executive Director at YR) and her team offer to the youth supports their development, empowers them to make important decisions, and sets them up for current and future success. It was a pleasure to hear the story of Youth Resources, and I left looking forward to nothing more than tracking Laura’s career. She is the reason why Robert says that this upcoming generation is our salvation.

I left energized and excited about another day. John Cusak would’ve been proud.

Cheers,
Sam
“I swear to God this mix could sink the sun.”
Jack’s Mannequin

On January 4, 1965, during his State of the Union Address, Lyndon Johnson outlined his vision for the Great Society, which included a declaration of “war on poverty”.

On the 44th anniversary of that auspicious act, I spoke with close to 1,000 college students, instructors and nonprofit colleagues at the annual American Humanics conference in Indianapolis.

Talk about a solid way to usher in a bold new year…and talk about a wildly motivated cohort of future leaders. I tell you what, I’ve spoken all over the country, and flat out— this upcoming generation is our salvation. They are wholeheartedly into the “what’s next” debate and I aim to help them find their voice. I love my generation, and I will continue to try to be part of the dialogue that helps them loosen their grip on the sector, so that this new generation (who have more of an economic stake in the race than we do) can begin to try new ideas, new tactics and…at times, entirely new economic and political approaches to solving really tough social issues that charity alone cannot even dent.

Different Rabbis had different sets of interpretations about how they lived out and understood and interpreted the Scriptures. Now, a Rabbi’s set of interpretations was called a ‘yoke.’ So when you went to apply to a Rabbi to become one of that Rabbi’s disciples, what you wanted to do was to take that Rabbi’s yoke upon you so you could learn to know what the Rabbi knows in order to do what the Rabbi does in order to be like the Rabbi.

And after days of walking on dirty roads from town to town, you would be caked with whatever your Rabbi had stepped in. So this saying developed amongst the wise men and the sages. They would say to the disciples, “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.”

Cheers,
Sam
“Conversation about the weather is the last resort of the unimaginative.”
Oscar Wilde