Hundreds of nonprofit leaders from across the country are gathering today in Washington at the first national meeting to establish a coordinated plan for action across the country.
The Nonprofit Congress, a project of the Washington-based National Council of Nonprofit Associations, is an attempt to gather the collective voices of the sector and arrive at a series of priorities to guide sector leaders over the next few years. During the meeting the delegates will vote on their top three priorities then craft a plan for concrete action.
Inputs from countless town hall meetings — including one held in DC last July — have been assembled into a tentative agenda as a starting point for delegates’ thinking. Given the diverse nature of the sector, with groups working on needs ranging from health and homelessness to children’s issues, education and the arts, consensus may be difficult to reach.
“They will be free to modify this list, accept it, or substitute their own concerns, it’s really up to them,” NCNA deputy director Erica Greeley told the Examiner.
Whatever final plan delegates adopt, it will serve as a roadmap for the entire sector to take future action, Greeley explained.
Different delegates from the region have different hopes for the meeting.
“One of the reasons I’m most excited to participate in the Non-Profit Congress is that its organizers have very explicitly challenged delegates to think about paradigm shifts within the sector,” said delegate Kirsten Lodal, of the DC-based National Student Partnerships. Lodal pointed out that the meeting “will have an agenda that ensures that this won’t be just another “feel good” event with no real outcomes.”
Her special interest was those who fund nonprofits, an issue she expected the Congress to address.
“I fully expect to delve into challenging and even provocative discussions about the role of funders in both supporting and detracting from our missions; and our responsibility to educate funders,” she explained.
That means telling funding sources about the merits and challenges of more aggressively adopting certain private sector practices, which could help the sector.
“We also need [to address] the pressing concerns of building a new generation of non-profit leaders as we experience a somewhat seismic turnover in NPO leadership nationwide,” Lodal said.
Others were concerned about volunteers.
“We want to ensure that the tremendous economic resource represented by America’s volunteers continues to grow and is used effectively to help solve serious social problems,” said David Styers, senior director, National Partnerships of the DC-based Points of Light Foundation.
“Volunteers are the fuel for agencies’ success and ultimately community impact. I hope the Nonprofit Congress helps emphasize the need for more effective volunteer resource managers and a greater capacity to engage volunteers effectively.”
Ultimately, Styers said, he hoped this would lead to the recruitment of volunteers that are more effective – something that he predicted would help the sector grow.
Have information about area nonprofits? Contact Frank Sietzen at [email protected].
