The Value of In-Person
By Zane Slacum
Last month, I tried something completely novel for my time at Point b(e) Strategies – I attended an in-person conference. Carolyne Ash and I flew to Indianapolis for the Alliance for Non-profit Management conference that focused on grappling with power. This conference is designed to bring consultants, funders and nonprofit practitioners together to have conversations about the state of the sector. This year’s conference was a smaller group that largely consisted of solo consultants, larger consulting companies, and a smattering of practitioners and funders.
In the sessions, we learned about the tools, frameworks and approaches that individuals and organizations within our sector are using to shift traditional power structures at nonprofit organizations. Some consultants are working with their partners to redesign their structures to more effectively serve their organization’s needs. Others are utilizing new frameworks to consider how principles of trust work with decision-making structures throughout their organizations. Lastly, some are serving as intermediaries between funders and their grantees to ensure funding processes are shifting toward more equitable practices.
Outside of the sessions, we were able to connect with our nonprofit consultant peers about their work, their challenges, their successes and their take on where the sector is headed in the coming years. It was in this space that I found some of the greatest insights as I think about Point b(e) Strategies’ operations. On a walk to happy hour, one consultant shared that her organization attends conferences for three reasons—to connect with peers, to find business, and to learn about the sector. Another woman and I had a long conversation about how we staff people on projects, including how many projects each member of a team can handle at a time.
Lastly, I was able to connect with my colleague, Carolyne. We were able to talk in depth about our learnings and how we can integrate them into our own work. We were able to do this on our walks back to the hotel, while exploring Indianapolis, and in transit back to Denver, and It was through this shared processing that we were able to bring tangible action steps and meaningful conversation back to our team to ensure that this learning was not in a vacuum but something that can improve our work.
I found the informal connection time to be most valuable. There have been so many platforms created and attempts made by conference hosts to foster this connection remotely. I think we have done an excellent job as an organization of fostering connection in a virtual space, but this conference truly demonstrated to me that there is no substitute for taking some in-person time to connect with one’s colleagues and peers to strengthen the work and shift the sector.
