CUIR Nonprofits & Technology 2014

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1 6 TH A N N UA L U R B A N I N I T I AT I V E S C O N F E R E N C E

NONPROFITS & TECHNOLO GY: F R O M S T R AT E G Y TO I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

WE D NE SDAY, MAY 28, 2014

CO-HOSTED BY: UWM SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES

NONPROFITS & TECHNOLO GY: F R O M S T R AT E G Y TO I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S : In the blink of an eye, today’s innovative Special thanks to all of the following for their time, ideas, and vision for this year’s conference:

technologies are replaced with a new generation of must-have tools, apps, and software. How can a nonprofit possibly stay up-to-date with

Conference Coordinator:

technology advances AND put them to work

Jarad Parker UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research

in advancing its mission?

Planning Committee: Jessica Bizub UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research Adam Hudson UWM School of Information Studies Praveen Krishnamurti Milwaukee Art Museum Craig Neuchterlein United Way of Greater Milwaukee Jarad Parker UWM Center for Urban Initiatives and Research Fong Yang ENTECH

The 16th Annual Urban Initiatives Conference, Nonprofits and Technology: From Strategy to Implementation is an exciting, one-day excursion with Amy Sample Ward, CEO of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), members of the NTEN staff, and other technology experts. Morning sessions with nonprofit technology leaders will discuss different strategies for putting technology to work for your organization.

Afternoon sessions will then provide tools and methods that can be utilized to implement the strategies discussed in the morning.

In addition, a “Tech Fair” will be held for the duration of the conference allowing participants an opportunity to network with nonprofit technology consultants and other organizations geared toward improving the effectiveness of Milwaukee’s nonprofit community.

Graphic Design: Gina Johnson Kendell Hafner

APPLIED RESEARCH

T E C H N I C A L A S S I S TA N C E

C O M M U N I T Y I N I T I AT I V E S

PROGRAM OVERVIEW 7:30-8:30 am

REGISTRATION

1:10-1:50 pm Galleria

I. Low-Cost Marketing Tools that Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Miss

7:30 am - 3:15 pm

TECH FAIR

Galleria

8:20-8:30 am

WELCOME

Festa Hall

Terry Batson, Acting Director, Center for Urban Initiatives and Research Alexandra Dimitroff, Associate Dean, School of Information Studies

Festa Hall

Ballroom East Ballroom Center Ballroom West

10:30-11:45 am

STRATEGIC SESSION II Ballroom East

II. Furthering Your Mission with Social Media Ballroom Center Ballroom West

Festa Hall

12:30-1:00 pm

LUNCH PLENARY

Classroom 1/2

II. Free and Low Cost Tech to Support Your Operations

Ballroom West Ballroom Center

III. Web Best Practices and Tools

Ballroom East

IV. Data Viz with Excel: Graphical Excellence without the Fancy Software

Classroom 1/2

Festa Hall

From Strategy to Tactics, Technology that Works for You Amy Sample Ward, CEO, Nonprofit Technology Network

Classroom 3/4

2:30-3:10 pm

TACTICAL SESSION III I. Understanding Social Media Analytics

Ballroom West

II. Free and Low Cost Tech to Support Your Operations

Ballroom Center

III. What Would It Take to Implement a Cloud Service?

Ballroom East

IV. Data Viz with Excel: Graphical Excellence without the Fancy Software

Classroom 1/2

3:15 pm

CLOSING PLENARY

11:45 am-1:00 pm

LUNCH

IV. Taking Your Service and Outreach Initiatives to the Next Level with Cloud Communication Technology

V. Making Wordpress Work for You, An Intro to HTML/CSS in Wordpress Themes

STRATEGIC SESSION I

III. Technology Security for Nonprofits

Ballroom East

1:50-3:10 pm Double Session:

9:10-10:25 am

I. Why Data Can’t Speak for Themselves Data Visualization Theory and Techniques

III. Web Best Practices and Tools

I. Low-Cost Marketing Tools that Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Miss

Amy Sample Ward, CEO, Nonprofit Technology Network

II. Technology Planning for Today’s World III. Exactly What is Cloud Computing and How Might it Help My Nonprofit?

II. The Whys and Hows of Social Media Policy Ballroom Center

TACTICAL SESSION II

Technology to Change the World, and the Way You Make Change

I. Aim to Engage: How to Create an Online Presence for Your Organization

Ballroom West

1:50-2:30 pm

8:30-9:00 am

OPENING PLENARY

TACTICAL SESSION I

Festa Hall

Putting Technology To Work for You Tomorrow Amy Sample Ward, CEO, Nonprofit Technology Network

STRATEGIC SESSIONS Strategic Sessions explore major thematic topics at the intersection of technology and nonprofit practice.

9:10-10:25 am

10:30-11:45 am

STRATEGIC SESSION I

STRATEGIC SESSION II

I. Aim to Engage: How to Create an Online Presence for Your Organization

I. Why Data Can’t Speak for Themselves Data Visualization Theory and Techniques

Presenter: Natascha Bohmann In this session, you will learn to harness the power of the online world to expand your organization’s reach, drive traffic to your platforms, and engage your audience. Participants will gain knowledge of website best practices and tips, blogging, email marketing, and easy-to-use tools.

The session will focus on how to use these platforms synergistically while maintaining consistency with your organization’s brand. It will also highlight key partnerships and tools to help drive a successful online presence with limited resources.

II. Technology Planning for Today’s World Presenter: Amy Sample Ward, Nonprofit Technology Network Resources are limited and technology is ever-changing. This session will help you prioritize the most important technology needs for your organization and how you can get the biggest bang for your limited technology budget.

III. Exactly What is Cloud Computing and How Might it Help My Nonprofit?

Presenter: Jerry Schulz, Gov HR USA We are increasingly hearing the term cloud computing, or “the cloud.”

But what exactly does cloud computing mean, and how might the use of cloud services be beneficial for nonprofits? Cloud computing is changing the very basics of how we use computers to do our work. For example, providers of data systems are now offering their systems as a service through the Internet, freeing nonprofits from needing to host these data systems at their sites. It’s important that nonprofit managers appreciate what cloud computing is all about, since this trend has great potential to improve and simplify how we use information technology.

The session will address these topics: • How does cloud computing shift computer work to the Internet?

• What types of cloud computing services are available for nonprofits?

• How does the move to the cloud help you cut the technology cord?

• What actions might you take now to take advantage of cloud computing?

• What resources are available for help with cloud computing?

Presenters: Virginia Carlson, Public Policy Forum with Matt Schumwinger, biglakedata.com The New York Times has garnered our attention with straightforward data visualizations that tell a story with compelling, beautiful, and simple-to-digest graphics. This session will talk about the promises and pitfalls of data visualization. What does a visual do that a table cannot? Do people use data visualizations to make the data “look good” or only tell part of the story? Coming away from this session you’ll have an appreciation for how you can showcase your organization’s data in a way that tells your story.

II. Furthering Your Mission with Social Media Presenter: Matthew Hottell, Serve IT, Indiana University Understanding and effectively leveraging social media is a key part of a successful marketing strategy for any organization. In this session we will discuss how to create an overarching strategy for social media use in your organization as well as identify specific tactics that can help you build your online community.

III. Technology Security for Nonprofits Presenter: James Schultz, UWM School of Information Studies Jim Schultz will discuss information security and provide useful and practical advice that can be easily implemented in most nonprofit organizations. Attendees will learn the pitfalls of moving into the technology arena and how to protect your data. What does the organization need to do to protect itself once the tech ‘floodgates’ have opened? Join this session to better prepare yourself in regards to your information security.

TACTICAL SESSIONS Tactical Sessions dive into the “how-tos” of using technology in support of nonprofit strategies

1:10-1:50 pm

1:50-2:30 pm

TACTICAL SESSION I

TACTICAL SESSION II

I. Low-Cost Marketing Tools that Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Miss

I. Low-Cost Marketing Tools that Nonprofits Can’t Afford to Miss (Repeated Session)

Presenter: Joleen Ong, Nonprofit Technology Network Behind every successful organization are some really great tools that help get the work done. Nonprofits today have access to a wide variety of low-cost (even free) tools, but how does this apply to your daily work? In this session, learn more about some of the most popular low-cost tools that nonprofits are using to support their marketing and communications activities and how this can help you meet broader organizational goals.

II. The Whys and Hows of Social Media Policy Presenter: Stephanie Kovanda, Indiana University Staff roles, responsibilities, and expectations can get a little blurry as your organization increasingly adopts social media. Do you need an explicit social media policy to mitigate risk both for your employees and your organization? In this session we will look at when it makes sense to create a social media policy and then step through the process of policy development.

III. Web Best Practices and Tools Presenter: Natascha Bohmann Let’s face it, the ever-changing world of technology and the web can be a bit daunting. This session will expose you to best practices and tools to help you as you implement and/or maintain your online presence.

IV. Taking Your Service and Outreach Initiatives to the Next Level with Cloud Communications Technology Presenter: Matt Lautz, President & CIO, CorvisaCloud No matter what your organization does, your phone systems are probably critical to its success. Whether you’re rolling out a large fundraising campaign or fielding inbound calls from community members, the right communication tools can help you engage with constituents more efficiently and effectively than ever before. In this session you’ll learn: • Ideas on how cloud communications can help you increase staff productivity.

• How the cloud can help you cut costs without sacrificing functionality.

• What to consider when looking at communication systems and providers.

II. Free and Low Cost Tech to Support Your Operations Presenter: Jessica Holliday, Nonprofit Technology Network With tight organizational budgets and often unrealistic expectations surrounding administrative overhead, non-profit’s operational systems operate under a lot of pressure. Yes, it can be boring but getting solid operational systems in place means that you can concentrate on fulfilling your mission, not photocopying. We will explore lowcost tools and tips for making your organization hum from managing documentation to streamlining HR, improving accounting to creating actionable impact reporting and beyond! Please bring a description of your implementation, current fave tool, OR your worst administrative nightmare and be prepared to share.

III. Web Best Practices and Tools (Repeated Session) IV. Data Viz with Excel: Graphical Excellence without the Fancy Software Presenters: Matt Schumwinger, biglakedata.com with Virginia Carlson, Public Policy Forum One doesn’t need to learn code or a new software program in order to make an excellent data graphic. Join us for a step-by-step tutorial on applying best practices in data visualization to spreadsheet charts. Make sure your next Excel chart gets the point across effectively.

Double Session 1:50-3:10 pm V. Making Wordpress Work for You, An Intro to HTML/CSS in Wordpress Themes Presenter: Erin Wilbur, Milwaukee Chapter Leader, Girl Develop It This session will be in the format of a workshop to dig into the specifics of maximizing your organization’s potential with a content management system (Wordpress). Use this information to kickstart your knowledge of how to create, customize and maintain your website without having to outsource. We’ll have an introduction to HMTL, CSS, Chrome Developer Tools as well as installing Wordpress, picking a theme and customizing your framework.

• How your organization can delight constituents like never before.

Continued...

2:30-3:10 pm

Keynote Speaker

TACTICAL SESSION III I. Understanding Social Media Analytics Presenter: Brittany Arnett, Indiana University One of the keys to growing your social media reach is knowing who is seeing, interacting with, and sharing your posts. Participants will learn how to extract usable information out of the social media analytics data that is available to them and be able to measure the effectiveness of their social media tactics.

II. Free and Low Cost Tech to Support Your Operations (Repeated Session) III. What Would It Take to Implement a Cloud Service?

Presenter: Jerry Schulz, Gov HR USA This session will use a workshop format to follow up on the morning’s topic of “Exactly What is Cloud Computing?” and consider the steps a nonprofit would need to take to implement a cloud service. The workshop will field questions and draw on the experience of the participants to address issues such as:

Amy Sample Ward, CEO Amy’s dedication to educating and supporting nonprofit and community organizations in using technology to make lasting change brought her to NTEN as the Membership Director in 2011, then as the CEO in June 2013. Whether it is by connecting individuals, organizations, campaigns, or possibilities, Amy hopes to facilitate the nonprofit technology sector transitioning into a movement-based force for positive change. She is also a blogger, facilitator and trainer having worked with groups and spoken at events in the US, UK and around the world. In 2013, she co-authored Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to implement online multichannel strategies to spark advocacy, raise money, and engage your community with Allyson Kapin. She previously coauthored Social by Social, a handbook in using social technologies for social impact, and has contributed to various other publications about social change and technology.

• Understanding the vendor marketplace and selecting a vendor.

• Doing a cost-benefit analysis.

• Configuring the system, converting data, and testing.

• Managing data and generating reports and downloads.

IV. Data Viz with Excel: Graphical Excellence without the Fancy Software (Repeated Session)

cuir.uwm.edu

Natascha Bohmann Natascha Bohmann has more than 10 years of experience in marketing and communications working in both nonprofit and corporate settings, with the bulk of her experience in the nonprofit sector. Her background includes website strategy and management, internal communications, social media, graphic design, event planning and management, public relations, and fundraising.

Virginia Carlson Virginia Carlson has over twenty years’ experience producing and using data for understanding urban America. She’s come to the conclusion that data are the outcome of social and operational processes, and so are often used incorrectly. She’s on a mission to change that.

Jessica Holliday As the Operations Director at NTEN, Jessica Holliday continually looks for ways to make her life easier. She is constantly playing with new technologies and systems to streamline processes and allow staff to focus on their mission.

From software development to kitchen management to finance, Jessica has enjoyed a long and storied career of creating and managing the systems that make small organizations tick. A few years of youthful dalliance with software development followed by a decade as a small business owner (gelato shop!) led to a Master of Science in Financial Analysis. Jessica loves keeping up with the latest trends in frozen desserts and REST-ful software architecture; she is very dedicated to getting NTEN a clean audit.

Matt Hottell Matt is a Senior Lecturer at the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing where he teaches the capstone course in information system design and development. He is also the Director of the Indiana University Serve IT Nonprofit Clinic, a unique academic organization that leverages the skills of IU students to address a variety of technical issues for local nonprofits. You can find out more information about Serve IT at serveit.soic.indiana.edu.

Joleen Ong Joleen Ong is the Marketing and Publications Director at NTEN, The Nonprofit Technology Network, where she works to help its community of over 50,000 nonprofit professionals meet their mission through technology.

At NTEN, she is the editor of NTEN’s Change Journal, a quarterly publication for nonprofit leaders (nten.org/ntenchange). Prior to NTEN, she served as the Communications Manager at the human rights organization, Social Accountability International in New York for over five years.

She is a webinar trainer at fundsforngos.org, and member/blogger of the Integrated Marketing Advisory Board (IMAB) at imabgroup.net.

She is also a contributor to the 2014 publication, ‘Annual Editions: Technologies, Social Media, and Society’ and was the editor of two award-winning short documentaries. Joleen earned her MS in Nonprofit Management from the New School, and BA in International Studies and Spanish/Anthropology at the College of New Jersey.

Matt Schumwinger Matt Schumwinger runs a small consultancy specializing in data analysis and market research. He trains urban planning, economic development, and other non-profit professionals in data visualization and interactive web mapping. You can find him blogging bits of research, maps, graphs, figures, and all kinds of quantitative whatnot at biglakedata.com.

Jerry Schulz Jerry Schulz is a Vice President with GovHR USA and provides consulting for local governments and nonprofits in their use of information technology.

He has over 35 years of experience in information technology management and analysis. He has held information technology management positions with the Milwaukee Public Schools, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and Waukesha County, Wisconsin. He is the author of the recent International City and County Managers Association InFocus Report on Engaging Your Citizens Using Social Media, and also two earlier ICMA publications, Information Technology for Local Government: A Practical Guide for Managers and Broadband Access: Local Government Roles.