Cause Camp 2020 is officially in the books! Nonprofit professionals from all over the country tuned in for two full days of premium education, inspiration, and connection. Our team owes a big ‘thank you’ to our Cause Camp host, Julia Campbell. She gracefully led us through both days of programming. Here is a recap of Cause Camp 2020.
The Ameritas Inspire Series honored those in the nonprofit industry who have made a difference in their community. For our third year of this series, we featured three outstanding people. Among those are Erin Dinan from One Sandwich at a Time, Jared Fenton from The Reflect Organization, and Veranda Rodgers from Pregnant with Possibilities Resource Center.
We also announced the Down Syndrome Network of Northern Nevada as the Cause the Change award winner for their UnchARTed Waters event. DSNNN won $2,500 for their collaborative art project and organization. The UnchARTed Waters event empowers artists with developmental disabilities to express their creativity through movement, motion, and wonder!
We hosted a crew of incredible keynote presenters, each with their own unique flare.
Julia Campbell: “Your mission matters.”
Julia welcomed attendees to Cause Camp 2020 and spotlighted a few hopeful things in our world. One of those being the rise of small donors. She remarked, “We are resilient. We are resourceful, we’re used to getting knocked down, we’re used to getting back up.” Julia foreshadowed the action-oriented and tactical ways to move forward in causing the change that would come over the two-day conference.
Lynne Wester: “Think deeply about the donor experience.”
The key takeaway from Lynne’s presentation was how to meet and exceed your donor’s expectations. She said, “It’s not about the money you raise, but instead how many donors that you keep year-to-year.” Lynne wanted to drive the point that nonprofits should appreciate the big gifts. However, give just as much, if not more, care and attention to the small donors.
Chantal Sheehan: “We should be thinking about how to broaden and deepen our collective impact.”
Chantal mentioned three strategic things that will help you thrive in 2020 and 2021. Those are partnerships and collaboration, meaningful budgets, and focusing on cash flow. She stressed the importance of thoroughly thinking through any big financial decisions with your team and not act out of emergency. Chantal said don’t develop your budget in a vacuum, “If you’re going to develop a truly meaningful budget, who better to involve in that conversation than your team.”
Justin Wheeler: “Being agile and being able to adapt is incredibly important for a 21st century nonprofit.”
It’s easy to fall into a year-after-year routine of doing the same events and using the same tools. Justin stressed that, as nonprofits, “We should constantly be in a state of iterating and making things better.” In order to get results, we have to focus on profitability to better serve our beneficiaries.
Antionette Kerr: “Give yourself permission to think about you.”
For both you and the people you work with, Antionette says it’s important for you to be “whole.” She recalled the time that she was on sabbatical and wrote her InnerMission. This helped her strive to live, work, and play in accordance with her beliefs. Antionette encouraged the audience to create their own InnerMission and post it somewhere they can see it every day.
Genevieve Piturro: “Human connection is the energy between us.”
Genevieve touched on seven ways that we connect, human-to-human. People take priority, we align by sharing stories and join together to lead with meaning. Also included are accepting the differences with compassion, motivating each other to build trust and respect.
An attendee said, “Cause Camp has rejuvenated my spirit and hope! This is my first Cause Camp and I think it was just what I needed – hoping to ride this wave of inspiration into next year. Thank you!” Another said, “The energy and optimism from Cause Campers despite the circumstances. Always an inspirational group at CC!”
In conclusion, we thank everyone who presented and brought their talents to our special boutique conference. It’s truly a group effort and we look forward to providing the same great experience in 2021.
