A Convergence of Nonprofit and Tech You Want to Learn More About

The technology powering the nonprofit sector is more fragmented than ever. That's why we designed NonProfit POWER, an invitation-only, hosted summit created to enable leaders from across the nonprofit and technology spectrum to connect, exchange ideas and build relationships. NonProfit POWER is a free, all-inclusive experience for qualified attendees—key decision makers overseeing technology strategy at leading nonprofit organizations.

Nhu Te, Editor-in-Chief of NonProfit PRO, sat down with Matt Steinmetz to discuss every detail of NonProfit POWER to answer all the questions you may have.

Nhu: Who are you and what do you do?

Matt: I’m Matt Steinmetz, brand director for NAPCO Media’s Target Marketing Group and the event director of our all-new NonProfit POWER event launching this June.

Nhu: What is NonProfit POWER?

Matt: NonProfit POWER is a brand-new event being launched by NonProfit PRO. It’s a two-day, hosted-buyer event, coming up June 26^th and 27^th in Philadelphia.

NonProfit POWER is the only event of its kind, bringing together highly qualified nonprofit executives who are responsible for leading digital strategy with the technology providers that are transforming the nonprofit space.

Nhu: Why is NonProfit PRO launching this new event?

Matt: NonProfit PRO is the premier resource for nonprofit executives and development teams to find inspiration, learn about new technologies, explore new fundraising techniques and manage their nonprofits more effectively. We do this in a variety of ways, including the magazine, e-newsletter, website, webinars and other live events. So, NonProfit POWER is really just an extension of those efforts, and its unique format creates opportunities to share knowledge and build relationships among some of the nonprofit world’s most influential executives and organizations. 

Nhu: What makes NonProfit POWER different from other conferences?

Matt: Well, first off, it’s free for attendees. And not only is it free to attend, but we also cover travel, hotel and all meals for attendees.

But it’s also an exclusive event that requires attendees to qualify to participate. We ask prospective attendees to complete an application to attend, and the information we collect here helps to ensure we’re a) bringing the right group of 50 executives to the event and b) optimizing each attendee’s experience once they’re on-site.

This event is designed to be exclusive and intimate. With 55 or so attendees, you’ll have an opportunity to meet anyone and everyone you’d like to over two days.

Nhu: What’s the event experience like for an attendee?

Matt: First off and, you’ll hear me say this again and again, but... it’s free! And our team strives to make each attendee's experience a very rewarding one. Whether it’s booking each attendees’ travel and accommodations on their behalf or helping to build out each attendee’s itinerary for the event, our goal is to treat every attendee to a VIP experience.

Once on-site, attendees will participate in general sessions, smaller breakout sessions called "Boardroom Case Study" sessions, 1-on-1 meetings, and, of course plenty of meals and networking.

Nhu: Can you tell the audience more about boardroom case studies and the 1:1 meetings?

Matt: Sure. I think these two elements are probably what make hosted-buy events like NonProfit POWER so valuable. We break the whole attendee group out into three smaller boardrooms for a couple hours each day. In these boardrooms, attendees will see case study presentations from NonProfit POWER sponsors, showcasing how other nonprofits are leveraging that sponsor’s specific platform, tool or solution. These sessions are not sales pitches or product demos. We spend a lot of time educating and working with each sponsor to ensure their content meets our standards and serves NonProfit POWER's ultimate goal—to enable leaders from across the nonprofit and technology spectrum to connect, exchange ideas and build relationships. These sessions are a great opportunity to see, specifically, how one sponsor’s technology might help an organization. They’re also a great place to meet other nonprofit executives

Along the same lines, NonProfit POWER’s 1-on-1 meetings give attendees an opportunity to sit down with sponsors to ask the tough questions and to really evaluate how one solutions compares with another and whether it might be a fit for your organization.

Think about the amount of time each of us spends in any give day or week fielding emails or voicemails from technology vendors promising to save us money or time. Now think about how much we can all accomplish over the course of two days where we’re bringing the right people together for the right conversations, all to help you evaluate and make informed choices around the types of technology you and your organization will invest in.

Nhu: How do you determine whether someone is qualified to attend?

Matt: NonProfit POWER's attendee application helps us ensure we’re bringing senior-level executives—leaders from their respective nonprofit organizations. We ask them what types of technology they’re interested in learning more about, their role in evaluating technology decisions, their influence on budgets and a handful of other items. Because NonProfit POWER is limited to 50 to 60 attendees, this is probably the hardest part of our job; because there are so many executives who’d be a great fit to attend and participate. But, for year one, we’re focused on senior executives from U.S.-based nonprofits doing $50 million in annual revenue or more. 

Nhu: OK sounds great, but what’s the catch?

Matt: GREAT question! I’m inclined to say there really is no catch, but I guess I’d urge folks to come to NonProfit POWER with an open mind. We host similar events in several other industries, and I’ve lost count of the number of attendees who tell us that they came to the event looking for one type of technology vendor and left with three or four new partners. Or they came looking to address one need in their tech stack, but realized quickly there were three or four other opportunities to strengthen their stack. Otherwise, there really is NO catch—attendance is free. Travel and lodging is free. Meals and, yes, even drinks are free! 

Nhu: What will nonprofits take away from this event?

Matt: Our goal is to bring the right people together at NonProfit Power for the right conversations, so I can promise attendees will leave the event having met other nonprofit and technology leaders they may not have met elsewhere. And they’ll certainly leave Philadelphia with a number of ideas on how to use technology to run their organizations more effectively and serve their missions more successfully.

To see this Q&A video, click here.