March 1, 2023  |  7:30am-12:30 pm

SCHIFF FAMILY CONFERENCE CENTER, CINTAS CENTER, XAVIER UNIVERSITY

About the Conference: 

Securing the Future is an annual, half-day conference dedicated to building the strategic, leadership and resource development skills of the board, staff and donors of Greater Cincinnati nonprofits. This educational conference is designed to address the needs and concerns of board members and senior leadership. We are delighted to announce Vu Le, Nonprofit AF as our Keynote Speaker.  In addition to the keynote address, participants will have a chance to interact with peers and attend breakout sessions led by local speakers for a deeper dive into the keynote topic.

Courageously Shaping the Future: Daring and Doing

Keynote:  Pearl Alexander 

Pearl Alexander, JD, CPCC, ACC, Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator™ serves as executive director of diversity, inclusion, and engagement at the Georgia Institute of Technology where she thrives within the President’s Division as a member of the Institute Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team and professor of practice in the Scheller College of Business. Her portfolio of work involves strategic DEI consulting and communications, inclusive leadership and career development, and organizational DEI engagement.

A featured speaker, or moderator, for leadership institutes, retreats, and conferences, her audiences have included people from all walks of life and industry sectors such as higher education, law, medical schools, government, non-profit, public utilities, and Fortune 500 corporate professionals.

She integrates her expertise in diversity and inclusion principles within her coaching practice and consultancy services with the goal to inspire others to access their personal power and step into “wholeness.” 

Want to become a sponsor of Securing the Future?

LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE - BACK IN PERSON!

3-Day Leadership Challenge®
October 3 at 8:30 AM thru October 5 at 2:00 PM at Camp Joy (two-night stay)

Leadership Council members-only exclusive opportunity

The Leadership Challenge® is an intense and interactive three-day program that helps you tap into your personal leadership skills through a variety of activities. As you'll come to learn through The Leadership Challenge, leadership isn't about titles. It's not about the position you hold. It's about the way you behave, the way you influence and the way you inspire. And each of you needs to serve as leaders as you work toward your shared vision. 

LEADER TO LEADER MENTORING

Are you a new ED/CEO who needs some mentoring? This might be a fit for you!

Leader to Leader Mentoring Program - for NEW Executive Directors/CEOs as mentees and experienced Executive Directors/CEOs as mentors 

This exclusive benefit for Leadership Council members pairs new Executive Directors/CEOs with seasoned volunteer ED/CEOs. This opportunity is designed for executives new to their role, new to Greater Cincinnati, new to the nonprofit community or new to Leadership Council. Let someone who has walked in your shoes help guide you.

If interested, please reach out to info@leadershipcouncil.us.

ANNUAL NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Leadership Council is pleased to partner with sponsor Barnes Dennig and Association for Fundraising Professionals to host an informative, educational and engaging nonprofit summit. 

The 2021 Summit's theme is: Data-Driven Strategic Planning for Fundraising Success AND How to Turn Data Into Dollars: Demonstrate Your Social Impact

Join Sheri Chaney Jones as she talks about how funding is the lifeblood for all organizations in the business of social change. But when your resources are limited, so is your impact.

From galas to golf outings, many traditional in-person fundraising events were essentially nonexistent throughout 2020, and although some have slowly reemerged throughout 2021, it's likely that this form of securing financial security across the social sector will be changed forever. Click Here for More Information

2020 Summit - Keynote with Lynne Wester - was quite a success! Find the recorded webinar HERE, password to access is NFPDonorRelations

A PDF version of the guidelines is available here.

LEADERSHIP LEGACY AWARDS

Deadline Extended to Jan. 31!

About the Awards & Nomination Process

Leadership Council for Nonprofits, host of the Securing the Future conference on Mar. 1, 2023, is pleased to announce its 4^th annual Nonprofit Leadership Legacy Awards.

Our objective is to honor nonprofit leaders and nonprofit organizations whose leaders demonstrate great efforts to “secure the future” of the organizations they serve and support.

More than one nomination may be submitted. Deadline to submit nominations is Jan. 27, 2023. All nominations should be submitted online using the links below.

Selection Process & Announcement:

Leadership Council for Nonprofits’ Board of Directors will review nominations and vote on award recipients, who will be presented with their awards at the Securing the Future conference on Mar. 1, 2023. Each awardee will also receive a complimentary registration to attend the conference. See below for criteria of each of the award categories.

Visionary Board Leader

This award honors an established and proven board member of a nonprofit organization in the Greater Cincinnati region who has led their organization through transformational change, weathered difficult circumstances, or demonstrated outstanding vision and achievement.

Criteria: Cite current and significant qualitative and quantitative examples in response to the criteria listed:

• Must currently serve on a Greater Cincinnati nonprofit board or have actively served in the past six months.
• Has led their organization through a significant change or achievement in the past two years.
• Enhanced the leadership capacity and skills of the board and organization’s leadership.
• Strengthened the collective voice of the organization on behalf of the individuals they serve.

Submit your Visionary Board Leader Award here:

https://forms.gle/89txJuijiksQ3oqS7

VUCA Leader: Vision, Understanding, Clarity, & Agility

This award recognizes an early-career leader in the Greater Cincinnati nonprofit sector who is positively impacting their organization and the community through demonstrated:

Vision, Understanding, Clarity & Agility (VUCA+)

while operating in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous (VUCA-) world.

Criteria: Cite current and significant qualitative and quantitative examples in response to the criteria listed:

• Must currently be employed in the nonprofit sector in the Greater Cincinnati region.
• Has strengthened the work of the nonprofit organization and the community.
• Has contributed significantly to sustainable change, going above and beyond expectations through vision, understanding, clarity, and agility.
• Demonstrated exceptional leadership through inspired thinking and innovation.

 Submit your VUCA Leader Award nomination here:

https://forms.gle/JuE5879yCFGqjxEK9

Inclusive Culture

This award recognizes a nonprofit organization that is welcoming at every level to every individual.

Criteria: Cite current and significant qualitative and quantitative examples in response to the criteria listed.

• Must be an operating 501(c)(3) in the Greater Cincinnati region.
• This organization recognizes that inclusion is a skill that needs to be learned, practiced, and mastered by every leader starting with the CEO and throughout the organization.
• Organization has developed systems that actively enable people to be and express whatever identity they authentically claim, and at the same time looks for ways to elevate the individuality of others.

Submit your Inclusive Culture Award nomination here:

 https://forms.gle/qyDXff7TpsgGXJJB6 

Thank you in advance for submitting a nomination for the Leadership Legacy Awards. If you have any questions, please contact info@leadershipcouncil.us or visit the LC website at www.leadershipcouncil.us for more information.

Our programming is designed for your mission and challenges. From small to large nonprofits organizations across the spectrum of our region, we have something for you!

Some of our programs are open to anyone and some are exclusive to Leadership Council members - learn more about the benefits of membership here.

Conference Registration

Don't Miss this Conference! Register Now!

Conference Registration (Includes Reception):

 $75 Leadership Council Members*

$100 Non-Members

*PLEASE NOTE: The "Member Rate" is for Leadership Council for Nonprofits Member Organizations, and their staff. If you are not sure if your organization is a member, CLICK HERE to see a list of our current members. For questions, email info@leadershipcouncil.us.

Deadline to Register:  April 15, 2022

Cancellation Policy: The deadline to cancel and receive a refund is April 15, 2022.  There will be no refunds issued for cancellations received after April 15, 2022.  You may send someone in your place.  To substitute, send email to administration@leadershipcouncil.us.

2023 Securing the Future Steering Committee

A conference like this needs lots of help! We could not put on Securing the Future each year without the help of a steering committee from across our community. Please thank these volunteers for their help!

Securing the Future 2023 seeks speakers who will complement keynote speaker Vu Le, and provide timely and actionable information for attendees. Breakout session proposals are reviewed by a volunteer committee through a competitive process. 

Click here for a PDF version of the guidelines below.

Become a 2023 Securing the Future Conference Sponsor!

We are pleased to offer a range of sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 Securing the Future Conference, featuring keynote speaker Vu Le, breakout sessions, and exhibitor space.

Sponsorship is a great way to promote your product or services before, during, and after the conference to more than 350+ nonprofit executives, fundraisers, board members, funders, and community leaders. 

If you are interested in becoming a Securing the Future Conference sponsor, please download the Sponsorship Opportunities document or contact Beth Benson.

Securing the Future Conference

Request for Proposal (RFP) for Breakout Presenters

March 1, 2023 | 7:30 am – 12:00 pm

Deadline extended to Monday, Jan. 23, 2023

About the Conference and Conference Attendees

Securing the Future (STF) conference, hosted by Leadership Council for Nonprofits is an annual Greater Cincinnati half-day conference designed to build nonprofit resources, skills, and connections. Hundreds of nonprofit executives, board leaders, fundraisers, funders, and community leaders attend each year. The 2023 conference theme is:  Power, People, and Perspective: Provocative Conversations for Nonprofit Leaders. Our keynote speaker is Vu Le (returning after a successful keynote here in 2017), nonprofit speaker and thought leader, author of the blog Nonprofit AF and founder of the 50,000-member Facebook group Nonprofit Happy Hour.

The success of STF depends largely on our presenters and their ability to deliver thought-provoking sessions that help nonprofit leaders tackle important leadership challenges and seize opportunities to advance their missions. We expect our attendees to leave the conference with a broader understanding of current and future trends on the local, national and global level so they can help the organizations they serve to secure the future. 

Past breakout presenters have included some of the most influential and inspiring leaders and thinkers in the nonprofit sector. They are board leaders and chief executives who are transforming their organizations through extraordinary leadership or change management; researchers who are forging new understanding of leadership models and practices; advisors who are helping organizations expand their impact and improve performance; and other influencers who are helping the nonprofit sector think creatively and differently about leadership, innovation, and collaborations.

As a breakout speaker at STF you will have the opportunity to:

·        Engage participants in dialogue about important issues, trends, or challenges affecting nonprofits leaders and their boards.

·        Disseminate new knowledge, insights, or research that will help nonprofit leaders strengthen their organization’s staff and board leadership and impact.

·        Network with 350+ nonprofit staff and board members, as well as consultants, funders, and others who are focused on strengthening nonprofit leadership.

·        Attend the half-day conference program with a complimentary speaker registration.

Proposal Submission & Selection Information

As a breakout speaker at STF you will have the following responsibilities:

·        Presenters will conduct 30- to 50-minute sessions.

·        Presenters will provide information, materials, and resources for participants.

·        The conference is planned to be in person, so you will be presenting live, and your session will be repeated twice. In the event health conditions change and we choose to do a hybrid event, you may be asked to be live-streamed. You may also be asked to interact with attendees via a chat feature.

·        Additionally, you may be asked to do a practice session(s) if we are doing a hybrid approach, so you will know what to expect on conference day.

·        Ensure that the session is not perceived as an “infomercial” for your company and that you do not sell your company’s products/services to our paid participants before or during the session. Presenting at a STF conference is an opportunity to expand knowledge and skills while giving back to the nonprofit and philanthropic community. If you wish to promote products or services to this influential audience, we offer a range of sponsorship packages.

Successful proposal submissions will include:

1.     A compelling short title and 500-character description of your session.

2.     Information on the proposed learning goals, objectives, and outcomes.

a.     Goals: Overarching aims, generally not specific enough to measure. In broad terms, what do you want participants to take away from this session?

b.     Objectives: What specific things do you want the participant to know and do? These are specific achievements that contribute towards reaching the goal(s). When writing objectives remember to make them S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

c.      Outcomes: What do you want participants to be able to demonstrate after this session? Outcomes are changes in behavior, attitudes, perceptions, knowledge, and/or skills as a result of your session.

3.     A session format that is engaging and interactive for participants (i.e., lecture, panel, roundtable, Q&A etc.)

4.     Be innovative. STF is the most prominent local conference for nonprofit leaders, and we want sessions that have the content and approaches to support this distinction.

5.     Incorporate real-world case studies, relevant hot topics, practical applications, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities as much as possible.

Session Topics

Here are some examples of sessions that fit into the theme and could be responsive to our attendees’ concerns right now. You are welcome to submit other ideas related to building sustainable and successful nonprofits.

u People, people, people: Nearly every nonprofit (indeed every industry) is struggling with talent attraction and retention. Call it the great resignation, quiet quit, generational differences, adoption of hybrid work, lack of career pathways in our industry – we want to hear from nonprofits who are trying different approaches to our workforce. What’s working? What’s changed in employees’ motivation? What do we want our supporters to understand about our most valued resource – our people?

u Everybody In – Creating a Culture of Inclusion: Inclusion is more than counting heads. How do you create a mission and a structure that is welcoming and inclusive of power, influence, equity, and voice?

u Taking on “the system” – our system:  Vu Le and many others question some of the tenets that nonprofits (and donors) hold most dear. Is community-centered fundraising diametrically opposed to donor-centric practices or a natural evolution? Are traditional board member selection and “give-get” practices crucial for sustainability or barriers to equity and inclusion? Is “professionalism” inherently tied to employability and success? How do we take on the “overhead myth?”

u What happens after a windfall? We’ve heard about local nonprofits who have received a transformational bequest, an unexpected mega-grant, or even a hard-won government grant exponentially larger than any previous. How do these gifts change organizations? How do boards balance long-term stewardship with the potential to make sweeping immediate impact? Do they affect annual giving? Inquiring minds want to know!

u Grace Under Pressure, Hope for the Future – How can we bring optimism, hope, and visionary thinking to our missions and the people we serve without denying hard realities and burning ourselves out? People need to feel safe, seen, and heard, but also need a reason to believe.

u Nonprofit and Chill? Is a merger or strategic partnership in your future? There have been several high-profile hook-ups this past year, plus many that have stood the test of time. Should this be your biggest fear or your most promising sustainability strategy? We’d like to hear from organizations who have been through the process.

Selection & Deadlines

Selection Information:

·        Each session under consideration is subject to a telephone interview to review speaker(s)’ knowledge of the subject matter.

·        If you wish to submit more than one session proposal, treat each as a separate application.

·        Proposals will be reviewed by members of the conference planning committee. Once proposals are selected, and all respondents notified, those selected will be contacted by a committee member or executive director for review of their session.

Deadlines:

·        Proposal submission deadline: Jan. 18, 2023

·        Chosen presenters will be notified by:  Jan. 25, 2023

·        (If selected) Video submission deadline: Feb. 1, 2023*

* Videotaping a short 30-45 seconds about your session is not required, but is a great way to get people interested in your session. It is highly recommended.

Submission:

Proposals must be submitted via the online form: https://forms.gle/k2rknV9DNmp6T7aL7

Thank you in advance for considering submitting a proposal for Securing the Future! 

Questions?

Please direct all questions about this RFP to info@leadershipcouncil.us or visit the LC website at www.leadershipcouncil.us for more information. 

Keynote Sponsor

available!

Keynote Speaker: Vu Le

Vu Le (“voo lay”) writes the blog NonprofitAF.com. He is the former executive director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice by supporting leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities. Vu is a founding board member of Community-Centric Fundraising, a movement that aims to ground fundraising practices in racial equity and social justice. Vu was born in Vietnam. He and his family came to the US when Vu was eight. He spent several years in Seattle, attending elementary and middle school, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee for high school and St. Louis for college and graduate school. He has a BA in Psychology and a Master in Social work. He is a vegan, a father of two kids (ages ten and seven), and a staunch defender of the Oxford Comma.

Check out this article from HBR on the value of a Peer to Peer coaching program.

Program Overview

• Monthly meetings (about 2 hrs) September through May
• 6-10 nonprofit leaders matched by role and organization’s size
• Participants commit to meeting real-time challenges and creating solutions
• Meetings can be in person or on zoom (the group decides)
• Skilled facilitation by a professional volunteer

NOTE:  this program is exclusively for Leadership Council members

The participation fee is based on annual revenue from the most recent IRS Form 990 or 990EZ. 

Circles available* (participants must have primary decision-making responsibilities)

• Executive Director/President/CEO
• CFO/COO/VP or equivalent
• CDO, Development Director, or equivalent
• CHRO or equivalent
• CMO, Communications Director, or equivalent
• Community Relations Director
• Program Director/Manager

* Must have at least six registrants to form a Circle

Contact administration@leadershipcouncil.us with questions

Partner Level Sponsors

more available!

Conference Registration

  $75 Leadership Council Members*

$100 Non Members

*PLEASE NOTE: The "Member Rate" is for Leadership Council for Nonprofits Member Organizations, and their staff.  If you are not sure if your organization is a member, please send an email to: administration@leadershipcouncil.us and we’ll gladly check for you or click HERE to see a list of current member organizations.

Deadline to Register:  February 24, 2023
Cancellation Policy: The deadline to cancel and receive a refund is February 24, 2023.  There will be no refunds issued for cancellations received after February 24, 2023.  You may send someone in your place.  To substitute, send email to administration@leadershipcouncil.us.

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Sponsorship Opportunities:
Interested in being a sponsor for the event? Check out our Sponsorship Opportunities!

Call for Breakout Presenters:
Seeking presenters for breakout sessions! Learn more and submit here (deadline Jan. 18, 2023)

Leadership Level Sponsors

available!

Community Level Sponsors

more available!

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