I’m pleased as punch to be headed to the 2019 Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) Conference in Portland this week that is hosted by the team at NTEN. I’ll be there with 2,000 nonprofit professionals to learn about collaborating, innovating and discovering new ways to spark change with technology.

I’m excited because this is my first NTC Conference and only my second visit to Portland. If you will also be in attendance at this conference, please stop by and visit the Personify team at booth #725.

Here are some of the sessions that I’m most looking forward to attending:

Put a Cat Gif on It: Linking Storytelling and Social to Donations

Wednesday, 3:15-4:30 PM

Yes, that’s the actual session title. In this session, Ann Nguyen will look at how Lung Cancer Foundation of America went from an April Fool’s idea, #CatsAgainstLungCancer, to a digital engagement campaign with clear and measurable results to show for it.

Participants will learn how to identify concrete actions for users to take in a campaign and how those align with key performance indicators of moving their mission forward. Nguyen will also look beyond April 1 to see how the unexpected bright spots of LCFA’s website can still drive meaningful action — and help lung cancer research.

The Future of Work: Looking Through Nonprofit Tech Lenses

Thursday, 10:30-11:45 AM

In this session, Katherine Lagana, Rachel Paris and Arjun Reddy will explore how the future of work trends will impact nonprofit internal tech operations and the digital expression of each mission. When considering the evolution of Digital Ethics & Privacy, the Gig Economy and Augmented Analytics – how might these change the speed and method by which board pitches occur or the means by which donors are engaged? With this session, the speakers will don three trendy sets of specs – some with the bifocal of speed to explore the future of work.

Dirty Data? Clean It Up.

Thursday, 3-4:15 PM

Shameless plug: My colleague Maggie Cameron, Director of Enterprise Products at Personify, and our client Michael Fiaschetti, Senior Director of System Integration & Business Intelligence/IT at the Alzheimer’s Association, will share how poor data hygiene can have a massive impact on every aspect of your organization.

These impacts range from not being able to accurately report on your donors and advocates, to missing the chance to connect with them in an efficient and effective way. Join Maggie and Michael to discuss the challenges that bad data creates and how you can use tools and best practices to overcome them in your organization.

Storytelling for Impact: Helping Donors Understand the Value of Their Dollar

Friday, 10:30-11:45 AM

In this session, Andrew Buck and Becca Montjoy will share that if you want your donors to give more than once, you have to turn them into investors in—and not merely supporters of—your mission. Donors want to feel the impact of their gift. They want to see the concrete outcomes of their dollars. And they crave evidence that your organization is using their gift to make the world a better, fairer, safer, and happier place.

Storytelling compels your donors to stay engaged—and to donate again. Learn how to tell a story that cuts through the noise, and to transform data into real, specific, human stories.