Does this picture look familiar to anyone? This was the scene during GroundWork group's 2nd Annual Members Conference - the place to be during the month of October!

GroundWork group's 3rd Annual Members Conference is going to be our best conference yet! Our theme for this year's conference is "Collaboration - Working Together". The conference will be held on Friday, October 17th at the Fawcett Center at The Ohio State University from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

We will be offering eight breakout sessions that will give our Executive Directors, Members staff, Members IT personnel and those representing our corporate sponsors a variety of topics and sessions to attend.

Below are the sessions for the day's event to give a "sneak peak" of what we have planned.

Opening Keynote Speaker: Dr. E. Gordon Gee, President, The Ohio State University. Dr. Gee will be speaking on "Collaboration - Working Together", our theme for this year's conference. Active in both the fields of education and charitable service, Dr. Gee will bring a compelling and inspirational message to Central Ohio's nonprofit community.

Ending Keynote Speaker: Bob Harrington, Senior Manager, LaPiana Associates, Inc. Bob was the key facilitator during the merger between GroundWork group and CIVIC and brings both experience and knowledge from his work with nonprofits. Bob will continue the conference theme and will be speaking on "Mergers & Strategic Partnering - Working Together".

Breakout sessions for the day include:

• IT Managed Services - Taking the hassle out of IT
• Data Management "Lost and Found" - the "how to" on making it work
• Green IT - What it is and how you can make it work in your office environment
• How Does Your Website Reflect Who You Are - Or Does IT?
• Resource (Tracking) Management - Using technology to track resources, in-house library, bar codes, etc.
• HR - Using IT to Assess Job Skills
• Stretching the IT Dollar - Cost efficiency, budgeting for IT, making the most of available resources
• Making Sense of IT Communication - Teleconferencing, Bloggs, Webinars, Wikki, Online Networking

We will begin registration for this year's conference on Monday, August 4th. Watch for emails with registration details. The cost for this year's conference will be: $65 for Full Members, $80 for Associate Members and $100 for Non-Members / Corporate.

Remember to SAVE THE DATE! FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17TH, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., THE FAWCETT CENTER AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.

Ohio Wildlife Center (OWC) is a leader in wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education. OWC is a private, nonprofit organization. OWC receives funding from individual donations, memberships, foundation funding and service fees with very limited funding from any governmental or state agencies. OWC's mission is to foster an awareness and appreciation of Ohio's native wildlife through conservation education, wildlife rehabilitation and wildlife health studies. OWC treats nearly 5,000 animals in its wildlife hospital every year and reaches thousands of adults and children through educational programs.

Founded in 1984, OWC is a grassroots, nonprofit organization with more than 200 active volunteers dedicated to meeting the public demand for wildlife and education services. The work of OWC increases public understanding of the natural environment and engages Ohio children and adults in action-based wildlife conservation in their communities.

Ohio Wildlife Center outsourcing its database. Realizing the challenge of maintaining their own IT systems and management, OWC researched database management systems for their donor / member database. OWC joined the Groundwork group in early 2007 and chose the CIVIC Solution as their database management system. The secure web- based technology behind the CIVIC Solution has been a key attribute for OWC. The CIVIC Solution is a safe and secure way for OWC to manage its business- critical data. "The business functionality looks good, the user interface is very easy to understand, and the responsiveness of the GroundWork group staff is a real strong point" commented David Hoy, COO at OWC. "OWC is also able to leverage mutual benefits with our membership in Groundwork group and CIVIC since their merger in January 2008." In addition, OWC has also been able to leverage the GroundWork group Board Matching and Development Committee through the volunteer work of board member Ted Thompson.

Ohio Wildlife Center is open to the public at 6131 Cook Road in Powell (1 mile north of Shawnee Hills on Dublin Rd.) For more information visit the OWC website at ohiowildlifecenter.org

In recent eNewsletters we have announced new features currently in development for the CIVIC Solution as well as highlights of the GroundWork group Event Management service offering. In this month's column we are featuring the first installment exploring additional ways which we can be helpful with your data management needs.

List Acquisition Services: GroundWork group works closely with numerous nonprofits looking to expand their potential constituent markets. Whether you are looking to contact prospective new donors, ticket buyers or clients, GroundWork group has access to a large number of databases available for you to rent.

For example, one GroundWork group Member recently needed to identify individuals interested in golf. We helped them find and purchase 10,000 names of people in upscale central Ohio zip codes who either belong to country clubs, subscribe to golf publications or who have made online golf-related purchases in the last year. We worked with another agency who knew that their donor profile was single head-of- household females whose estimated annual family income was between $40,000-$65,000. We were able to purchase 5,000 names for that organization, helping them to expand their mailing pool of potential new donors.

GroundWork group is also a reseller of PRIZM names. Purchasing PRIZM names lets you target your development and marketing campaigns based on consumer behavior segmentation. Using the Claritas PRIZM system which defines every household in America in terms of demographically and behaviorally distinct types, or "segments," we can help you identify new markets based on likes, dislikes, lifestyles and behavior.

Call Dale Abrams (Ext 102) for more information about list acquisition services.

In future newsletters we will cover these additional Data Enhancement Services:

• National Change of Address (NOA)
• Tele-Append
• Data Mapping
• Merge/Purge
• Database Analysis/Data Hygiene Services

Did you know that GroundWork group provides Technology Assessments to nonprofit organizations?

The challenge that most organizations have when it comes to IT is understanding what they already have in place, what may be causing some of the problems they are experiencing and ultimately how to be more efficient when it comes to supporting and planning for technology now and in the future.

Technology Assessments help organizations understand the current state of their IT infrastructure. Assessments research and address areas such as data security (i.e. virus, backup), hardware, software, network, internet, support, etc. Typically the scope of our assessments is customizable and could include more detailed analysis in specific areas as identified by working with the organization.

Technology Assessments are valuable for organizations in a myriad of ways such as helping to identify pain points and assists with IT planning. Ultimately, GroundWork group Technology Assessments provide a comprehensive report of the findings and provide recommendations on possible solutions to help organizations get the best return on current IT infrastructure as well as any future IT investments. Once completed and presented to the organization, GroundWork group is also prepared to help implement the recommendations if needed.

For more information surrounding IT Assessments contact Stephanie Neighbarger at ext. 108.