What can community teach us about in-person education?

When you hear the word community, what do you immediately think of? Is it a gathering? A movement? An activity?

Communities take different shapes, sizes, and forms:

• Neighborhood Gatherings: Picture a group of neighbors holding a potluck or a barbecue, children playing, and adults conversing over food and laughter.
• Online Forums: A digital screen showing a chatroom or discussion board where users are sharing resources, ideas, and supporting one another.
• Community Garden: Residents tending to plants, sharing tools, and collaborating to make the space flourish.
• Support Groups: Individuals seated in a circle, sharing stories, offering support, and empathizing with one another.
• Cultural Festivals: A lively event showcasing dances, food stalls, and attire from a particular culture, bringing people together in celebration.
• Book Clubs: A group of people engaged in passionate discussions about a shared reading, exchanging diverse viewpoints.
• Nonprofit Organizations: People like the clients we serve at Neon One, uniting for a cause, working together to amplify the impact of their mission.
• Shared Workspaces: A modern co-working space with individuals from various professions networking, sharing ideas, and collaborating on projects.
• Local Sports Teams: Kids or adults in matching uniforms, playing and cheering together, embodying team spirit.
• Farmers' Markets: Stalls set up by local producers, with community members shopping, interacting, and supporting local businesses.
• Volunteer Drives: Groups cleaning a park, painting a school, or packing food for the needy, working hand-in-hand for a common goal.
• Music or Art Events: An audience engrossed in a musical performance or admiring art pieces, celebrating creativity collectively.
• Religious Gatherings: People congregating in churches, mosques, temples, or synagogues, sharing faith and rituals.
• Educational Workshops: Participants engrossed in learning a new skill, asking questions, and practicing together.
• Online Support Communities: Social media groups or platforms where individuals share experiences, advice, and uplift each other.
• Local Libraries: Individuals of all ages reading, participating in events, and benefiting from shared knowledge.
• Youth Clubs: Young people engaged in activities, games, or learning experiences, fostering camaraderie.
• Town Hall Meetings: Residents discussing local issues, sharing opinions, and making collective decisions.
• Craft Circles: Individuals creating art, knitting, or doing other crafts, sharing techniques and ideas.
• Elderly Care Homes: Senior citizens playing games, reminiscing, and supporting each other in their golden years.

These don't automatically imply digital, virtual, or otherwise. They are binding ideas and sentiments that bring people together. So it is a shame that I've continued to witness a return to transactional approaches to designing in-person learning experiences for nonprofit professionals.

The Power of In-Person

Gathering together to form a temporary or ongoing community is a human need. There will be no world where virtual education entirely takes the place of in-person experiences.

I continue to learn what the future of gatherings may look like with every conference, workshop, social event, and cocktail hour I am invited to. I take extensive mental notes on the experience itself, wondering what may be drawn out that will be applicable to my audience.

Here's what I've learned about the power of gathering in person in 2023:

• Generosity Roadshow : when Benjamin Johnson ?? and I traveled from Denver to New Orleans earlier this year, I found power in one one-on-one (it was a long drive, we needed to not kill each other) as well as being able to localize a themed event across different geographic locations
• Confab : events that prioritize wellness across the experience are going to become the priority investment for businesses and registrants looking for value outside of the content itself
• Clinton Global Initiative : creating an exclusive space has real power since it increases the attendees' ability to be vulnerable, share, and connect. Having "in" groups can be beneficial to learning (but this is where equity concerns flare up big time)
• The Impact Partners Network Summit: hyperfocused content and audiences perform best. You don't need massive numbers to make a big impact. The right people gathered around the right reasons can be transformative

Equitable Approaches To Investment

The internet is a curious place. I got a message from someone after I posted about our virtual conference, where I pointed out that people at smaller nonprofits might be feeling they are missing out on something with a few really exciting in-person conferences happening lately.

Specifically, they were wondering if I was ripping on NIO Summit , which was one of the more well-thought-out conferences that I've attended.

No, of course not!

But I'm still searching for answers on what that powerful experience looks like for the 97% of nonprofits who are under $5 million in revenue. Just because I point out that a bunch of people can't benefit from some of the more well-resourced experiences doesn't mean I think they're bad.

I just think we can approach this with an abundance mindset and add deeper value for a very large group of folks who are struggling to get access to critical insights. This is simply allocating resources equitably.

I have some theories based on what I'm witnessing, especially with some conferences that are niching their focus into either topics or personal identity. Regional conferences like KeyCon and my local AFP chapter's Philanthropy Day are places that I'm very much looking forward to diving in and building community in October and November.

Yet, I still think there's an opportunity for cross-sector collaboration that creates experiences that build community digitally and in-person in a more cohesive and movement-building way. Traditional conferences need to start to think creatively and in proper collaboration with sponsors if they want to continue to attract both investment and draw attendees in.

Generosity Xchange is coming!

This brings me to my final point of today - putting our money where our mouth is.

Whether it is digital or in-person, our audience deserves quality. In fact, it is vitally more important to us that any experience is going to prioritize the needs of small to mid-sized nonprofits that are looking for operational maturity.

If I can't make things special, I lose interest. I'm not looking to put our logo on a website, I'm looking to transform the way people think about generosity and technology.

So if you want to know how I am confident we can do that for our audience, then I cannot wait to see you October 11-12 at this year's Generosity Xchange. We at Neon One have big ideas on how to address what I'm talking about, but you know what's super cool?

• Sessions from folks like Kia Croom , Philip Deng , Tim Lockie , and many more that will push the ways you think about generosity experiences
• In-depth product dives on amazing features like workflow automation in Neon CRM, a debut of the evolution of events in our ecosystem (classes! workshops! assigned seating!), and discussions about the power of community giving days like Long Beach Gives
• Social and cultural content, such as a 20 piece jazz band concert and speed networking with fellow attendees
• An entire stage dedicated to conversations with authors, filmmakers, and experts in legislation impacting nonprofits

These experiences aren't free, but they can be accessible to any nonprofit. Thanks to the support of our sponsors and our own carefully focused investments, we are proud to put on what I feel is the most impactful virtual experience that small to midsized nonprofits can prioritize their time around.

See you soon, both in person and digitally I hope!