Editor's Note: Fun in the Sun

Happy Summer! It feels like just last night that I was counting down the seconds until the start of 2017. But here we are, in (what feels like) a blink of an eye later. I’m not complaining, though. It’s the beginning of my favorite time of the year—when I spend my weekends making sand angels, frolicking under the hot summer rays.

To kick off the summer, we hosted our annual NonProfit PRO Leadership Conference last month. It was my first, and it was a ball. The highlight of the conference? I think we can all agree that Dan Pallotta really nailed it on the head with his keynote presentation. But personally, the social events were my favorite—cheese fondue, anyone?

In all seriousness, in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed roundtable breakout sessions. Why? For one, there were a variety of topics to discuss, but most of all, the roundtables gave everyone the opportunity to network.

I listened (and heard) everyone’s opinions and thoughts on the different challenges and issues affecting our sector. And I have to add that everyone threw around some fantastic ideas! One of the most important things in our sector is your voice. Well, without it, we wouldn’t get anywhere, would we? So I want to personally thank each and every one of you for coming out. I had such an amazing time chatting and getting to know each and every one of you. It means so much that you took the time to introduce yourselves to me. And we’re looking forward to improving the conference to bring you an even better experience next year!

The summer offers an array of activities for me. Because the weather is warmer—and less arctic-like—there are lots of walk/runs to participate in and (my favorite) more opportunities to visit my nearby animal shelter to spend time with the fur babies. The animal shelter by my house is always hosting donation drives (especially in the summer). They really take advantage of the warm weather to get people to come out. One of their outdoor events is called SUPs for PUPs, an event where you take your furry friend paddle-boarding with you. It’s something I’m really looking forward to doing with my Momo—the fierce, the mighty, 9-year old, 8-pound Yorkshire terrier—this summer.

With this in mind, I wanted to nudge of all you fundraisers out there to take advantage of the warm weather this summer. Outdoor activities are a good driving force to get people out there to participate in your events. Be creative and, of course, make it fun! Because “if you build it, [they] will come.” (Get it... Anyone?)

Does your organization have any event coming up this summer? If so, I’d love to hear about it! Drop me a line at nhute@napco.com

Nhu Te
Editor-in-Chief
NonProfit PRO

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the June issue of NonProfit PRO. Click here to view the entire issue.