Learn, Discuss, Connect

Tighter than ever nonprofit budgets – yet you need upgrades in your technology.  Keynote Paul King of Process Experts LLC kicks off our day exploring How Technology Can be Used to Lower Costs for Nonprofit Organizations.  Find out how usage of technology in the nonprofit sector is different, how technology promotes good stewardship and how nonprofits can leverage technology in alternative and innovative ways, all in the interest of saving money but simultaneously boosting your capacity to serve your clients.

Lower your cost of doing business – work smarter and cheaper.  Microsoft Director Mike Brevard explains How Microsoft Can Help Your Organization Save Money in Tough Economic Times.  Our second keynote of the day will discuss ways to maximize the efficiency of your IT infrastructure, how to use technology to lower your cost of doing business, innovative ways to acquire and deliver technology and FREE and low-cost Microsoft resources.

Social enterprise is turning the heads of funders.  Collaboration among organizations has long been recognized as an effective way to solve community problems.  The Ohio Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GOFBCI) launched the Ohio Social Entrepreneurship Initiative to provide access to funding and financing information, training resources and best practices for organizations working to establish social enterprises.  Come join the discussion with GOFBCI Director Greg Landsman to find out how your organization can get involved, get in touch with funding opportunities and receive training to facilitate effective programming.

Potential donors – are you having trouble reaching broad audiences on a low marketing budget?  How would you like to have premier marketing tools at your fingertips for FREE?  Consider Social Media – it’s free and it’s gaining acceptance as a way to get nonprofit messages out to broad audiences.  Users of social media like blogs, Twitter and Facebook care about their communities and would rather talk about social causes than read an advertisement about them.  Twitter, Blogs & Beyond: Social Media and other Next Wave Trends in Marketing and Development, presented by Ric Wanetik, President of The Ricochet Group, leads a workshop to help you identify ways for your organization to capture and engage that global audience.  Learn how social media can help your organization keep them excited and tuned in with timely updates.  Learn how to use the two-way conversations to keep your organization dynamic and focused on relevant programs and services.

How do you get new people to your website?  Those who know you can find your site, but you know the simple math – more site traffic means greater opportunity to win business.  Effective Ways to Direct Traffic to Your Website, learn from Steve Clark, VP of Business Development for People To My Site, as he helps you master Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and other online techniques to reach people who otherwise might never have considered your business.

The digital divide is deepening.  Are you stuck in it?  38% of Ohio households and 40% of Ohio businesses do not have broadband access, slowing business growth and restricting technology advancement in our region.  Broadband Adoption and Application, State-wide is a workshop presented by Tom Fritz, Executive Director of Connect Ohio, designed to educate about the needs across Ohio, to explore solutions on both the supply and demand sides, to encourage and foster partnerships with technology organizations and to provide insight into the significant value that life with broadband can offer.

Facing a multitude of technology concerns?  Facilitated by Judy Czarnecki, the panel presentation Doing More with Less: IT Planning & Prioritization gives opportunity for interactive discussions on technology committees, technology plans & documentation, database management tools, integration between website & database tools, technical infrastructure & support, data security & business continuity and eCommerce.

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Follow GroundWork group on

Given the relevancy of GroundWork group's 4th Annual Nonprofit IT Conference, GroundWork group CEO John Hrusovsky will keep you informed throughout the day on Twitter. Follow John and GroundWork group on Twitter – username GroundWorkgroup.

Nonprofit IT Forum –“Do You Have a Plan B?”
Tuesday, October 13 – Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Jewish Family Services, 1070 College Ave., Columbus, 43209

Do you have a “Plan B” should there be a possibility that your IT person (or finance person, or CEO…) may, one day soon, not be there for any number of reasons…just stop coming to work, be let go unexpectedly or just move on?  It does happen, it happens every day, and it very well could happen to your organization!  What is your plan?

Among the elements that we will be discussing are proper network documentation, IT policies, cross-training, backup IT personnel and other things for which to be prepared or to which to give some thought!

Business Productivity Classes – Microsoft Office
Monday, October 19
Platform Lab, 1275 Kinnear Rd., Columbus, 43212
8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Excel 2007 Intermediate Level
12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Word 2007 Intermediate Level

Microsoft Excel 2007, Intermediate Level.  In the Level 1 course, you created, edited, formatted and printed basic spreadsheets.  You now have a need to streamline repetitive tasks and display spreadsheet data in more visually effective ways.  In this course, you will use Microsoft Excel 2007 to streamline and enhance your spreadsheets with templates, charts, graphics and formulas.  The target students for this course are those who desire to gain the skills necessary to create templates, sort and filter data, import and export data, analyze data and work with Excel on the Web.  Students should already have knowledge of the basics of Excel, including how to create, edit, format and print basic worksheets.

Microsoft Word 2007, Intermediate Level.  This series teaches users about creating and editing documents, the Word interface, navigating, editing, and working with text, spell checking, printing, formatting, styles, templates, borders, tables, columns, lists and using images in a document.  This course is for anyone who wants to get the most out of using Word 2007.  Students should already have a basic understanding of Word before attending this course.