TANGO 2023 Building Bridges Educational Sessions
Sessions & Speakers Announced!
Thursday, November 30th 2023
We are proud to offer a variety of session topics for you to choose from! TANGO and our Partners’ goal is to ensure your nonprofit organization is running efficiently, and our educational sessions will cover many business essentials to help your nonprofit thrive!
We will have two simultaneous educational sessions running for you to choose from.
Sessions & Speakers
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Registration, Breakfast & Meet the Partners: 8:00 am to 8:30 am
Conference Welcome: 8:30 am to 9:20 am
Rollin Schuster, Managing Director, NFP and President & Founder, TANGO, will welcome the conference attendees.
Special Guest Speaker: Deb Smolensky, Author, CWP, CLP, WELCOA Faculty Member
SVP and Global Practice Leader, Well-Being and Engagement, NFP
Brain ON! Getting the most out of today and your workday: In this opening session best-selling author and award-winning thought-leader, Deb Smolensky will discuss how our brain works at work and share key mental fitness strategies to help you get the most out of your conference experience and each workday.
Two Sessions will take place simultaneously
SESSION 1: 9:30 AM – 10:20 AM
Engaging with Your most Valuable Stakeholders… Your Donors, Your Board Members and Your Employees
Join our distinguished panel of experts as they delve into the post-pandemic shifts defining the nonprofit sector and explore strategies that foster donor engagement, boost employee appreciation and retention, and manage risks. The most influential nonprofits of today seamlessly integrate these elements to excel in their missions.
Discussion Points:
- Evolving Post Pandemic Trends
- What Role Does ESG Play
- Retention and Succession Planning
- Preparing for the Unexpected
- Balancing Budget’s and Impact
Guest Speakers:
Ben Kille – Managing Director, Wealthspire
Ryan Lawless – Senior Consultant, Corporate Benefits, NFP
Joe Poretto – Vice President, FNP
Augusto Russell – Vice President, NFP
Rollin Schuster – President & Founder, TANGO – Managing Director, NFP
How Nonprofits Can Navigate the Tide-Change Toward Digital Marketing
Whether you are a fan or not, the world has gone digital. Although sometimes scary, the transition to digital marketing can be a big boost for your nonprofit. The average person spends about 2.5 hours every day on social media, and there are 8.5 billion Google searches globally. These stats, and many more just like them, confirm digital marketing is here to stay. Google it!
In this session, we discuss how content creation and digital marketing can be powerful tools for your nonprofit. Awecast will kick off the discussion on the essentials and methodologies of crafting content tailored specifically for digital marketing, even with constrained budgets. Cause Inspired will bring it home with how to maximize digital advertising through the Google Ad Grant, and examine the significant role AI can play in your digital marketing.
Guest Speakers:
Honey Belarmino – Project Lead, Cause Inspired
Albert Petrunti – President, Awecast
SESSION 2: 10:30 AM – 11:20 AM
Unlocking Talent: Training for Employee Retention
The rising expectations of employees, especially concerning work-life balance, career growth, and a positive work culture, necessitate companies to continually adapt their retention strategies. In this session we will look at industry trends related to retention – through the lens of innovation – and identify an actionable solution to boost retention and improve organizational health.
Guest Speaker:
Jessica Smith – Deputy Chief of Business Development, The Connection
Why Financial Matters Matter
There is no time like the present to review your organization’s finances. As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and related stop-gap funding dries up, not-for-profits need to take stock of their financial health.
Join this session to help you perform a full check-up for your organization. Discover how to use key performance indicators (KPIs) to take stock of your finances, adjust tactics, and update your controls in an ever-changing working environment. The session will also provide guidance on educating program and development staff on responsible and responsive financial management, as-well-as how, when, and what to update your Board on regarding your organization’s bottom line.
Learn about the essential ongoing tasks like monthly closing procedures and regular reconciliations in an accessible way that you can implement immediately so your organization can be continually on top of its financial health. Plus, as an added bonus, we will cover how and why to monitor publicly accessible organization information from services such as Guidestar and Charity Navigator so that you’re never surprised by how your not-for-profit is represented.
Guest Speakers:
Paul Ballasy – Partner, CohnReznick
Patrick Gill – CFO & Business Development Officer, Financial One
Rebecca Lyman – Senior Manager, Cohn Reznick
Amber Tucker – Partner, Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina LLP (FML)
Lunch & Keynote Address
11:35 AM – 12:30 PM
Keynote: The Future of Nonprofit Funding in Connecticut
Fiscal Guardrails? Budget Surplus? Covid/ARPA funds? Unfunded mandates? What’s the potential impact on nonprofit programs? These and many other budget topics will be tackled and discussed.
A brief Q&A session will follow as well.
Alan Deckman, President of TCORS Capitol Group, LLC., will be moderating the panel discussion. He will be joined by Senator Cathy Osten, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, and, Representative Tammy Nuccio, Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee.
Guest Speakers:
Cathy Osten – CT State Senator
Tammy Nuccio – CT State Representative
Alan Deckman – President, TCORS Capitol Group, LLC.
SESSION 3: 12:40 PM – 1:30 PM
The Ripple Effect: Women, Nonprofits, and the Power of Partnerships
Join our Women Take the Lead committee for an engaging panel discussion exploring the advantages of networking and collaboration for women (in the nonprofit sector). Our panelists will delve into how building connections can lead to enhanced resource sharing, amplified impact, and innovative solutions to tackle the complex challenges related to operating nonprofit organizations. Discover firsthand the ways in which networking and collaboration empower women to drive positive change and create lasting social impact within the nonprofit sector.
Guest Speakers:
Dawn DeMatteo – Senior Account Executive, NFP
Kristin Guglielmo – Vice President, NFP
Holly Knight – Senior Advisor, Retirement, NFP
Heather LaDue – Executive Director of Professional Programs & Partnerships, Franklin Pierce University
Jessica Smith – Deputy Chief of Business Development, The Connection
Amber Tucker – Partner, Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina LLP (FML)
Nonprofit leaders can’t keep delegating technology oversight…but who wants to become an IT expert?
As the digital-first landscape impacting nonprofits evolves rapidly, the time for organization executives to take more responsibility for the convergence of technology, cybersecurity, and data management is now. It’s no longer sufficient to delegate oversight of these areas to IT resources when the consequences of inaction or wrong decisions are so important.
Join us for a discussion about amplifying your nonprofit’s reach, engagement, and impact by embracing “IT” as not only a leadership imperative but also one of the few ways transformative change can occur without investing substantial time and money. Transform by:
- Boosting funder confidence to new levels
- Automating internal & external workflows to realize double or triple-digit efficiency gains
- Creating more motivated and optimistic employees, a more positive organizational culture, and much lower levels of staff burnout
- Reducing legal liabilities through better technology risk management and keeping your most critical data out of harm’s way
Guest Speakers:
Mike Bentley – Executive Partner, Vertikal6
Carl Fazzina – Senior Sales Manager, Novus Insight
Joe McGrattan – Director, Strategic Relationships, Novus Insight
SESSION 4: 1:40 PM – 2:30 PM
From Mission to Margin: A Nonprofit’s Journey into Social Enterprise
This presentation will provide a comprehensive exploration of the dynamic intersection between nonprofit organizations and social enterprise. We’ll uncover how nonprofits can leverage social enterprise strategies to enhance their financial sustainability while advancing their missions. Additionally, we’ll discuss the legal intricacies, compliance requirements, and best practices that guide nonprofits as they navigate the evolving landscape of socially-driven entrepreneurship.
Guest Speakers:
Rollin Schuster – President & Founder, TANGO – Managing Director, NFP
Rick Sebastian – President/CEO, The Kennedy Collective
Jessica Smith – Deputy Chief of Business Development, The Connection
Ed Spinella – Partner, Murtha Cullina
How Professional Sports can Help Build Awareness for Your Mission!
Getting your organizations name and mission to the public is key! Join the Hartford Yard Goats and the CT Sun and hear how they work closely with TANGO Members and Nonprofits to help generate awareness and promotion of mission through their events. In this session we will also discuss how our Partnership with TANGO can help increase your employee satisfaction and provide an array of avenues to help additional donations.
Guest Speakers:
Olivia Besthoff – Account Executive (Nonprofits and Corporate), The Hartford Yard Goats
Dan Tamburro – Director of Ticket Sales and Service, Connecticut Sun
Closing and Raffle
2:30 PM – 2:45 PM
Thank you to our Partners
TANGO has put together a team of partners who can provide seasoned advice and counsel within many areas of expertise. We have learned there are often times when nonprofit organizations are faced with strategic or operational business decisions where consultation from an outside voice can ensure they are making the best decision for the organization’s future.
