On August 8th, 2013, HandsOn Twin Cities hosted their annual Skills Based Summit; an exciting event where corporate experts provided their knowledge and expertise on a wide range of topics- including general marketing, communications, social media, finance and much more. HandsOn Twin Cities offered concurrent sessions on a variety of topics and even offered one on one consultations with more specific requests. It was a fun day of sharing best practices and learning new skills at the Mall of America!
Thanks to the twelve sponsoring companies who sent presenters and consultants: General Mills, 3M, Thomson Reuters, Medtronic, Briggs and Morgan, Cummins, Deloitte, Star Tribune, Cargill, IBM, KARE 11, and Mall of America. In addition, we had seven umbrella organizations share their knowledge as well: Charities Review Council, GiveMN, Greater Twin Cities United Way, MAP for Nonprofits, Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, MAVA and Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
Over 200 participants had the opportunity to attend up to five of the presentations or consultations! A total of sixteen diverse presentations were delivered and sixteen diverse consultation topics were offered as well.
Companies and nonprofit umbrella organizations shared their expertise and resources with the participants. We at HandsOn Twin Cities know that good nonprofits always want to learn how they can be better at what they already do well. The Summit offers a venue for great learning in an atmosphere of win-win. Through the Summit, strong organizations seek and find resources to positively impact more clients, and appreciate the information from the presenters and consultants who give them ideas on how to leverage those resources.
We heard very positive comments from presenters, consultants, and participants that this event was one that is special and vital to the growth and development of the ever-changing nonprofit landscape.
Here’s what a few participants had to say about this year’s Skills Based Summit!
One thing I will remember and use from the Summit:
“Numerous resources, I learned a lot about what companies offer.”
“A lot about culture/engagement.”
“Elevator speech tips, IBM website, personalize recognition, a village for events, levels of engagement!”
“Retention – ask people how they want to be recognized.”
“Thomson Reuters design thinking.”
“Leverage partners.”
“Need more powerful stories – ask what do you want to know? Improve communications.”
“I very much appreciated the opportunity to learn from those in the field (the experts at what they do).”
“You cannot over communicate! And, always say thank you.”
“Well run event.”
If you attended a consultation, please provide any thoughts or feedback:
“Very valuable one-on-one time.”
“Printouts and resources were very helpful.”
“Going to go back and deal with our FB, Twitter and website!”
“Facilitators were experts and showed genuine passion about their organization and sharing their expertise to others. I learned so much from each presentation.”
Did you attend the 2013 Skills Based Summit? What were your thoughts on the event? Comment below with your impressions!
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