One of the largest meetings of nonprofits in Alabama took place this week. The Alabama Association of Nonprofits hosted their annual summit for nonprofit leaders, board members, and peers. The Renaissance hotel in Montgomery attracted over 250 members of Alabama’s largest nonprofits. The theme of the sold-out event was “strengthening our collective voice into collective power."
The keynote speaker for the night was award-winning journalist Nick Valencia, Founder of “Nick Valencia News.” After, Susan Kennedy, Senior Counsel for External Affairs and Economic Development for Mayor Randall Woodfin, prepared a segment on how nonprofits can navigate Alabama’s political landscape.
They also offered eight breakout sessions by leaders and veterans in the field. Among them included sessions about navigating legislative challenges, persuasive skills to obtain donors, and networking with researchers to improve shared knowledge.
Executive Director for The Alabama Association of Nonprofits Danielle Dunbar says it was a unique opportunity for nonprofits.
“We're here to work for the community, and how can we work with other nonprofits, so that we could all make our work more collaborative, and we are widening the ability of us to share our services.”
The summit and other events hope to collectively increase that success of nonprofits across the state. The website for the event describes part of the mission as “to help us re-imagine and redefine our nonprofit sector.”
Dunbar nonprofit leaders outside of the summit can do things to improve their readiness.
“We don't just have a summit, we get together and do professional development work and a Leadership Institute throughout the year, other ways to help leaders to just become better at what they do.”
This year marks the 29th anniversary since they started hosting statewide conferences, with the first occurring in 1997.
