The annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) is NTEN’s signature technology event. It brings together over 2,000 of the best and brightest nonprofit professionals from around the world. Together, participants collaborate, innovate, and discover new ways to spark change with technology.

Every year NTEN uses a community-driven process to develop the agenda. It starts with a six-week period to gather session proposals from the community, followed by two weeks of voting — which just started this week! Go ahead and vote on the sessions you’d love to see at the conference. Voting is open to everyone.

What does Forum One have in mind? Here are our four submissions that we’d love for you to support!

Inclusive Design – How Addressing Accessibility Benefits Everyone

Featuring James Kinser, MacArthur Foundation; Cyndi Rowland, WebAIM; and Courtney Clark, Managing Director of User Experience, Forum One

Nearly one in five people have a disability in the U.S. alone. That means your inaccessible website may be excluding 56.7 million people! Organizations are prioritizing accessibility more than ever because inclusive design benefits everyone (bonus: it’s great for SEO). 

During this session, you’ll hear how the MacArthur Foundation rebuilt their website to maximize access for people with disabilities and created an accessibility guide for grantees. Join a conversation with an accessibility expert, designer, and project manager to get deep insights on what accessibility is, how it shapes design, and how you can begin addressing accessibility on your website.

Learning outcomes include:

• Gain a greater understanding of accessibility and how it shapes design.
• Understand how to begin addressing accessibility your website – guide included!
• Obtain real-life insights on the process of redesigning and making a website accessible.

VOTE FOR ME!

United for News: Planning for the Future, Making an Impact Today

Featuring Jennifer Cobb, Internews; and Sara Tetreault, Director of Creative Strategy, Forum One

The brands that you love and respect were not created overnight. When designing a new brand, it is important to be mindful: how do you address the challenge of creating a brand for something as timely as combating fake news, while being mindful of its place in the long term?

In this session, we will discuss how Internews and Forum One worked together to create a meaningful brand for the “United for News Coalition.” We will discuss tactics to efficiently and effectively identify coalition goals, learn about audiences, and plan the rollout.

Learning outcomes include:

• Quickly build an effective brand in the short-term while considering long-term strategies
• Determine what to consider when launching a global coalition with a timely mission
• How to build narratives and visuals that support your brand’s mission

VOTE FOR ME!

Godzilla vs Mothra (Jira and Confluence for Everyone!)

Featuring Jeff Traynor, Director of Solutions, Forum One

Ok, hear me out: the 1964 film, Mothra vs. Godzilla, has a lot to teach us about how technical and non-technical can collaborate.  Jira is an incredibly powerful issue tracking, project management, and collaboration tool. It’s loved by agile software developers and IT services teams. And it can connect your entire organization, supporting your ongoing communications, development, and outreach efforts. 

It can also be a bit of a monster. Enter, Confluence… Through the lens of Mothra vs Godzilla , this session will explore how your entire organization can apply agile approaches and better collaborate using the Atlassian suite of tools. 

Learning outcomes include:

• Understand how communications and programs teams teams can be agile
• Explore Jira and Confluence strategies for integrating non-technical teams
• Determine when to use Kanban and when to use Scrum (or why not both?)

VOTE FOR ME!

Ultimate Communications Toolkit: Tried & True Resources Everyone Can Use

Featuring Vanessa Schnaidt, Cause Communications; and Courtney Clark, Managing Director of User Experience, Forum One

Jack of all trades. Team of one. Winging it. If you’ve ever described yourself with these phrases, we get you. Your time is split between a million high priority tasks – some you’ve never even done before! We’ve been there, too. 

Enter The Communications Toolkit! [*jazz hands*] This comprehensive guide offers practical information in virtually every area of communications — from how to develop a communications plan to what tools you need to raise awareness and funds. During this session we’ll share templates, checklists, and case studies that will help newbies and veterans alike tackle a variety of communications conundrums. 

Learning outcomes include:

• Learn core communications principles for your day-to-day activities and your long-term strategy
• Take home templates, checklists, and worksheets to help strengthen your organization’s communications
• Understand best practices and considerations for moving a printed piece online (a PDF doesn’t cut it!)

VOTE FOR ME!