NonProfit POWER Speaker Spotlight: Allison Fine
Next month, NonProfit PRO is bringing you a brand-new, invite-only, tech-focused conference called NonProfit POWER, where you will have an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals who are the leaders of the nonprofit arena, and learn from the technology strategy partners who are driving that change.
What makes NonProfit POWER different is that you will be able to network and learn in an intimate setting without all the clutter and noise that you would get at a traditional conference. With only 60 attendees, you will gain invaluable knowledge from your peers at stimulating keynote sessions, boardroom case studies and one-on-one meetings, which you can then take back to your organization, implement them into your strategic plan and get one step closer to achieving your mission.
NonProfit POWER will have nonprofit experts who will give you insights on how to navigate through this new landscape and how this fundamental shift will help your organization’s long-term, sustainable growth.
Allison Fine is among the nation’s pre-eminent thinkers and strategists on networked leadership and online activism. Over the past 10 years, she has written three books: “Matterness: Fearless Leadership for a Social World,” “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age” and “The Networked Nonprofit.” She has spent her whole life in the nonprofit sector, which she considers three acts:
- The founding of a nonprofit organization, Innovation Network, that provides participatory evaluation services.
- Writing about the intersection of technology and social change (including writing “The Networked Nonprofit” with Beth Kanter).
- Creating the next model of leadership that incorporates technology, while helping us to retain our humanity.
She has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with Beth to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to unleash donors generosity.
At NonProfit POWER, she will talk about the nonprofit of the future. Technology is going to make nonprofits bigger, smarter and faster. In her leading keynote session, she will address what is possible for social change organizations when administrative tasks are reduced, how nonprofit organizations will structure themselves differently in the future and who will be helped and hurt in this next chapter.
We did a short Q&A with Allison to find her thoughts on our technology landscape.
In your opinion, how does technology fit into the nonprofit arena?
"Uneasily. As my friend Lucy Bernholz has pointed out tech efforts in the nonprofit sector have too often been driven by the bells and whistles of the technology and not the human needs of nonprofits. In this next chapter of automated technology, it will be critically important that our efforts are human-centered."
What is a widespread challenge for nonprofits, and how can they use technology to mitigate that challenge?
"The biggest challenge is pivoting from being transactional to being relational with donors and volunteers. Organizations too often become myopic about plowing through their To-Do lists without enough attention paid to how they are making their supporters feel. The biggest indicator of this imbalance is the atrocious sector-wide donor retention rates. Technology can make it easier to share stories, ask for input and feedback and connect with supporters at large scale—but organizations have to want that to happen.”
Name a new technology trend that you think will significantly impact the future of nonprofit.
"There is no question that AI is going to have a huge impact on the sector. The only question is whether it will be for good or evil. Listen to my talk to find out!"
What new technology solution would you like see emerge in the nonprofit sector in the foreseeable future?
"I would like to see tech ease the administrative burdens on nonprofits, so that they can put their people to work building deep, meaningful relationships with supporters."
If you’re interested in hearing Allison and other influential speakers discuss the convergence of nonprofit and technology, come join us at NonProfit POWER. Click here to see if you qualify.
Nhu is a content strategist with over a decade of experience improving the way social good brands engage and build connections through human-first storytelling. She currently leads NTB Content, a content marketing agency with a niche in digital fundraising and nonprofit tech.
