Whether you are helping rebuild lives, building communities or growing networks, every nonprofit needs technology to underpin its actions. Whether its mobile phones, Facebook, fundraising databases, office networks, or this year’s buzzword ‘the cloud’, technology is a given in your world. But you don’t have to be a geek to make smart choices.

This seventh Connecting Up conference also picks up on the growing need for the nonprofit and charity sector to be seen, to be heard and to be accountable, and the need to plan for this new level of openness and scrutiny. (Don’t forget, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission – ACNC – is in business from July 1st, 2012.)

Since 2004, the Connecting Up conference has been the meeting place for nonprofits who believe in their cause and are looking to connect with the people and technologies that speak the nonprofit language. Our goal is always to provide you with opportunities to learn new skills and strategies to take home and implement straight away.

This year’s highly interactive event will focus on how nonprofits and charities can:

• think strategically and plan practically about where technology fits into their plans,
• craft the messages and the methods they need to get across to their audiences, and
• manage the reality that everyone from donors to governments wants to know their business.

We’ll bring you high quality speakers and panels, including:

• Nonprofit technology activist, guru and facilitator, Allen ‘Gunner’ Gunn,
• Terry Stokes, Chief Executive of Lasa, an organisation that builds capacity in thousands of nonprofits across the UK by providing knowledge, support and resources.

We’ll bring you masterclasses, including:

• a full-day workshop opportunity with Nancy Schwartz, respected nonprofit marketing guide to many nonprofits in Australia and New Zealand via her Getting Attention programs, and
• Connecting Up’s very own social media, community, and content strategy specialist, Shai Coggins.

And we’ll improve on the already highly successful ‘speed networking’ sessions that proved so popular at Connecting Up 11 in Melbourne.

Don’t miss this unique platform for innovative communities, businesses and governments around Australia to share experiences, successes and lessons learned from programs and projects designed to change their ’world’, whether it be a neighbourhood or a nation.

A full program will be available in February 2012 – but keep your eye on this page to grab early announcements. Better still – follow the CU12 updates on CU’s Twitter, Facebook and blog.

Doug Jacquier
CEO Connecting Up Inc