CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS – 2022 Drury Nonprofit Leadership Conference

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., June 27, 2022 — Presentation proposals are now being accepted for the 11th annual Drury University Nonprofit Leadership Conference. The conference will take place on Friday, Oct. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield, Missouri. More than 250 attendees are expected at the one-day event.

This year’s conference theme is “Limitless,” which will explore methods and resources for nonprofits to recover from post-pandemic hardships and to maximize the emerging opportunities that exist in the current environment.

“As I’ve talked with leaders at different nonprofit organizations, what I hear is they feel limited. COVID, funding, and a lack of volunteers have limited them,” said Dr. Alex Cobb, director of Drury Leadership Collaborative. “They’re facing challenges and difficulties unlike they’ve seen before. Our conference this year is designed to help them reframe their mindset, to turn challenges into opportunities.”

Conference planners invite proposals that fit with one of the following tracks:

• Track 1: Leadership
  This track serves executive directors and other leaders who make the daily decisions shaping organizational success. We are interested in proposals addressing the interpersonal communication required of leaders (managing difficult conversations and fostering resiliency in others), evaluating and implementing the evolving technology needed to support an organization’s work, emerging trends affecting nonprofits, leadership and board development and case studies illustrating successful adaptation and innovation in the nonprofit sector.
• Track 2: Financial Sustainability
  This track serves individuals whose activities support the financial health of the organization, including development and fundraising staff, executive directors, CEOs, volunteers and board members. We are interested in proposals which provide fresh insights on planned and monthly giving programs, major donor outreach, business models to strengthen the resiliency of not-for-profits, innovative fundraising tools, refocusing campaigns to create engagement and giving, strategies for diversifying funding sources and blueprints for retaining first-time donors.
• Track 3: Communication & Marketing
  This track serves individuals who are responsible for the organization’s outreach to its various audiences – donors, volunteers, staff, board members, corporate sponsors, government officials and the public. We are interested in proposals that demonstrate how to create enduring connections with audiences during times of change. Relevant topics may include messaging to bring back supporters who have been sidelined due to pandemic restrictions, ethical storytelling, communicating organizational change to internal and external stakeholders, reshaping a marketing plan and budget to fit with post-pandemic realities and strategies to refocus email, social media and SEO efforts.

The sessions will be 60 minutes each, approximately 50 minutes for the presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q & A. Presenters should provide concrete take-aways and tools for participants through engaging and interactive sessions. Presentation materials will be shared with attendees after the event.

Proposals will be accepted through Friday, July 15 and can be submitted online.

For further information about the conference, contact Cobb, acobb003@drury.edu or 417-873-7516.

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Media Contact: Jasmine Bailey, Director of University Communications and Media Relations – (417) 873-7390 or JBailey012@drury.edu.