Non Profit Conference + Awards Celebration 2018

Description

             


The Shoreline Chamber, Guilford Foundation and Branford Community Foundation Present:

The 1st Annual Non Profit Conference and Awards Celebration
 

Featuring Key Note Speaker: Rob Thomas will present his Rob Thomas Method (RTM) of Networking for internal and external use for your Non-Profit.

Rob Thomas is a master of business development having an 18- year career of growing and managing regional territories for Iron Mountain, Aflac and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, just to name a few. Rob credits his success to his own brand of networking, which turns the adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” into a new and actionable process. Today, as a business consultant and creator of the Rob Thomas Method™ of Networking, Rob teaches and coaches business owners and sales people on how to grow business by identifying and building a network of effective relationships. Rob also works with large organizations from C-level executives on down. He helps them employ the Rob Thomas Method as their internal networking process, to build stronger relationships and add value within the organization. Two personal things about Rob, you might never otherwise know- He is an Eagle Scout and he once worked at Disney World. 


Other Conference Topics Include:

New Tax Laws and How They Apply to You, Marcela Osello, Murphy and Company CPAs

    Marcela Osello is the new Director of Tax and Accounting at Murphy & Company in Branford.  Her diverse career experience ranges from Big 4 public accounting to publishing a children’s book and opening and managing her own business.  In public accounting, Marcela works closely with clients to provide innovative tax planning, consulting, compliance and audit services for start-up businesses through Fortune 500 companies.  Having run her own company, Marcela experienced firsthand the challenges of business structuring, the product life cycle and intellectual property protection, to name a few.  As a result, she has developed a robust skill set in not only tax and audit matters, but business advisory and overall accounting.  Having come from a family of hard-working entrepreneurs, she is passionate about the community and small businesses and helping everyone achieve their short and long-term goals.
Marcela has both a BS in Accounting and MBA from Fordham University.  She is a member of the AICPA Shoreline Chamber of Commerce and Milford Chamber of Commerce.  Marcela lives in Milford with her fiancé and their energetic rescue pup.  In between work and home life, she also loves spending time at schools instilling the values taught in her children’s book.


Board Members’ Round-Table facilitated by:  Anne Yurasek

    Anne has been an organizational development consultant and trainer for over twenty years in the nonprofit and private sector.  Her strength lies in her ability to listen to her clients’ needs and develop customized solutions.  Anne is an excellent facilitator and is known for her training and presentation skills.  Her role in many of Fio Partners’ projects is to gather information to support evidence-based decision making.  From informational interviews to surveys as well as research in a particular field, Anne is able to raise the information and present the findings to clients in an accessible format.  Her ability to support organizations through their inflection points – whether due to consolidation or growth – is unsurpassed.  Anne has an MBA in Management from Columbia University and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Wellesley College.

The Major Gift Process
       Ever wonder:  Where do I find potential major gift donors? How do I approach them? What are they looking for? How do I build a relationship with them, so I can eventually solicit them? What do I say in an email, or if I bump into a potential major gift donor? Come to this workshop and find out.  We will go over the specifics of The Major Gift process: Identify/ Research-Qualify-Assign/ Cultivate/Solicit/Steward.

       Sarah Shrewsbury started Vineyard Consulting in 2013 to help nonprofits start or enhance their major gift, fundraising programs.  For over two decades, Sarah was a major gift development officer for nationally recognized nonprofits. She raised tens of millions of dollars for Yale University (13 years), The Nature Conservancy of CT, Mystic Seaport and AmeriCares. She spent13 years raising 5, 6 & 7 figure gifts for Yale University, including 3 years at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and participated in two ‘billion dollar’ campaigns. In 2008, in less than one year, identified, cultivated and closed the largest single commitment - $2.5 million - in The Nature Conservancy of CT’s 50-year history. She Raised $200k from individuals and foundations, in under a year, to complete the funding for the conservation of the 200-acre Headwaters of the Niantic River for client New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF).  Most of these donors were not previously familiar with NEFF, nor with this project. She also exceeded the $500,000 goal for Women & Family Life Center’s campaign by $87,000, 18 months ahead of schedule. Former member of the board and Advisory Committee of the Guilford Land Conservation Trust.
 
Resources available for Nonprofit Organizations presented by Jackie Downing, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven 
Jackie Downing is the Director of Grantmaking and Nonprofit Effectiveness for The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.  She has been on the staff of The Community Foundation for seven years. She divides her time between supporting the competitive grantmaking process and strengthening nonprofits through capacity building programs, workshops, giveGreater.org^® and technical assistance.  A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, Jackie started her professional career at the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.  She went on to be Development and Program Director at the Dixwell Community “Q” House, and Development Director at her alma mater Sacred Heart Academy.  She spent four years the Deputy then Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Hamden in the Amento administration, and five years in Fund Development at the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (now Capital for Change). Jackie has served on the Advisory Board of Sisters’ Journey, co-chaired the Hamden School Readiness Council and has served on the Board of Directors of the Hamden Land Conservation Trust and the Hamden Arts Commission.  She volunteers with Hamden’s Whitney Players, Center Stage in Shelton and the New Haven Ballet.

 
Storytelling – How best to tell your story Presented by B.J. Finnell, Director of Brand and Creative Development, Fox 61/ CW 20 Hartford
B.J. Finnell is the Director of Brand and Creative Development for Fox 61 and CW 20 in Hartford.  His broadcast career has included positions in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cleveland and New England, and his public relations/advertising experience has taken him to Boston, the West Coast, Europe and the Midwest.  He is an Emmy and Associated Press award winning producer and executive at CBS, NBC, ABC, Raycomm and Tribune Media., and is experienced in all aspects of communications, brand development and broadcast journalism. B.J. is also producer and host of the podcast “Take Me Through It.”


Major Donors Panel

•     Andrew Eder, Philanthropist  

     After graduating from Franklin & Marshall College, Andy decided to gain business experience by working “for a short stint” in the Family Business,  Eder Bros., Inc.,  a Connecticut wine and spirits distributor.  He is still there 45 + years later, currently serving as its Chairman.
Andy has served the community in many ways, including as past President of Tower One, The New Haven Jewish Community Center, The Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of America and as a board member of many not  for profits.  He has helped start a few communal initiatives, including Neighbor 2 Neighbor Lifeline.  Andy previously served as a member of the executive committee of The United Way of greater New Haven, and was chairman of the governance committee.
Andy is married to Eileen, a professional artist, educator, and advocate for the arts who served on many boards.  They are the proud parents of 2 children and 7 male grandchildren, including triplets.
 

• Lisa LeMonte, Guilford Savings Bank  

    Lisa and her husband Lamar have been in Old Saybrook for almost 15 years.  She spent over 20 years in NYC with a career in advertising and strategic planning, on accounts including the US Army (Be All You Can Be), AT&T (Reach Out and Touch Someone), and JC Penny (Smarter than Ever).  She took a 4-year break to serve as the Director of Client Services for World Cup Soccer. When Lamar retired Lisa also decided to turn down the stress level, and started a new direction in the hospitality industry.  After being on the opening team for The Delamar, a Small Luxury Hotel in Greenwich, she had the opportunity to join the Saybrook Point Inn as Front Office and Reservations manager.  After 4 1/2 years, she began her fourth (and final!) career with the Guilford Savings Bank as the Marketing and Community Development Office, currently overseeing branding and product campaigns as well as the distribution of community donations and oversight of employees’ non-profit relationships.
 
As part of her job and personal interests, Lisa has become active in the Old Saybrook community.  She is president of the Board of Directors of the Valley Shore Y, and serves on the Boards of the CT River Museum, the Community Music School, the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, and HOPE Partnership for Affordable Workforce Housing.   She is a Corporator of Middlesex Hospital.
 

•    Liza Petra, Guilford Foundation & Branford Community Foundation

    Liza Janssen Petra is the Executive Director for the community foundations in Branford and Guilford, Connecticut. Prior to these roles, she served as the Executive Director of the Women & Family Life Center, located in Guilford. Both the Guilford Foundation and the Women & Family Life Center received “Service Organization of the Year” awards from the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce under her tenure, and she was a finalist for the Nonprofit Executive of the Year in 2010 from the Hartford Business Journal. She is the Chair of the Friends of Wellesley College Athletics National Committee, currently sits on the Human Services Council for the town of Guilford, and has served on a number of regional committees and Boards serving women in politics, the Blackstone Memorial Library, and individuals with cognitive disabilities, among others. Liza earned her BA from Wellesley College in English and a Masters of Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. Fun fact: Liza was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. She lives in Guilford with her husband and school-aged kids.

Awards Celebration includes:

Board Member of the Year - Laurie Desmet, Women and Family Life Center
Executive Director of the Year – Judith Barron, Community Dining Room, Inc.
Staff Member of the Year – Sylvia DeSantis, Shoreline Village CT
Volunteer of the Year – Stephen Burke, Branford Lions Club