2025 Nonprofit Finance and Sustainability Conference Request for Proposals

Attendees of the 2025 Nonprofit Finance and Sustainability Conference will be able to:

• Better understand issues of nonprofit finance including financial compliance, investing, budgeting, audits, internal controls, and equity in economic opportunity 
• Better understand issues on nonprofit human resources including leading intergenerational teams, recruiting and developing staff, and the benefits and challenges of using AI in HR 
• Better understand themes of nonprofit sustainability including business planning, entrepreneurship, finding the right revenue mix, potential shifts in government oversight, community-led models, increased expenses, fluctuations in charitable giving, and the end of COVID relief funding 
• Gain insight into the relationship between finances and nonprofit leadership – from the point of view of the board, executive, senior leadership, and finance director 
• Dive into current work force trends with peer experts  
• Get specific about issues facing various subsectors, such as housing, human services, the arts 

Attendees will include 500+ nonprofit leaders including staff, board members, and volunteers. Past conference attendees included:

• finance / accounting staff
• HR / operations staff
• executive directors
• fundraising / development staff
• board members

Propel Nonprofits and MCN seek workshops that will focus on a range of skills, knowledge, and models of working that highlight both technical skills (i.e., budgeting, audits, and compliance) and strategic thinking and processes (i.e., team leadership, organizational sustainability, internal controls, oversight, and imaginative change). 

For 2025, we will highlight two content tracks: (1) Finance and (2) Human Resources.  

We are open to a variety of topics; however, we are especially interested in sessions that address the following: 

• Communicating finances to board and staff members
• Introducing AI into your financial and HR processes confidently and ethically  
• Actions and strategies for addressing increased workloads and expenses in the sector 
• How current fluctuations in charitable giving are impacting nonprofit business models  
• The connection between money and trauma and how that impacts that way people interact with finance
• How national push against efforts toward racial equity is showing up in your organization’s financial decision-making, service models, and overall health (See 2024 Current Conditions of Minnesota’s Nonprofit Sector, pages 12-13)
• How to manage government grants including how to work with the new Office of Grants Management guidelines 
• Preparing new nonprofit leaders for financial leadership success
• Defining financial health based on your business model and funding streams
• Understanding and implementing pay equity structures 
• Determining how and when to invest in infrastructure and personnel and how to communicate these needs to board members and funders
• Financial, team, and constituent sustainability in rural contexts 
• All things real estate – how and when, build vs. buy, how to finance, maintenance projections 
• Deciding on a financial software program when you’ve outgrown Excel 

We also encourage sessions that engage topics and approaches relevant to and implementable by small nonprofits ($0-$99,999).

MCN and Propel seek dynamic presenters from the nonprofit sector and allied organizations and fields who firmly understand nonprofit finance and human resources. Session presenters must demonstrate a depth of knowledge on the workshop topic. Sessions and presenters should reflect the racial, economic, cultural, age, and geographic diversity of the communities in the state of Minnesota. We are also encouraging proposals from presenters outside the state because of the conference’s virtual format. Sessions that include nonprofit presenters will be given priority. 

As an incentive to encourage your broad participation at the full conference, workshop presenters will be registered for the full conference for free (maximum 3 presenters per session). We hope that the presenters will take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to attend the full conference and to interact with other attendees over the course of the conference.  

Consultants and/or for-profit businesses with an overriding interest in selling their products and services, as opposed to contributing to a learning community will not be invited to present.  

To ensure the highest quality sessions for the conference, the planning committee will place priority on session proposals that incorporate modern adult education modes, formats emphasizing participant engagement and interaction, and are accessible. MCN will offer strategy sessions for interested presenters to think through getting the most out of the engagement tools available in a virtual format. 

• Your session should engage attendees so that participants are actively involved in dialogue, discussion, and idea-generation throughout the session in some form 
• Your sessions should allow attendees to connect with one another
• Your session should provide specific takeaways that attendees can implement in their work
• Your session should have no more than three presenters (including any moderator).
• PowerPoint slides filled with words should be kept to a minimum. Consider using pictures and stories to convey your message. 

Session speakers may elect to receive a stipend. We will pay individual presenters a stipend of $75, with a limit of $225 per session. This modest stipend is in addition to complimentary admission to the conference for presenters. 

Yes.

Submitting a proposal is easy! Simply complete the online proposal form. The deadline to submit a proposal to present at the conference is Sunday, November 3, 2024, 11:59 p.m. central. 

The questions you will answer on the online form:

1. Session title (8 word maximum)
2. Session description (150 word maximum)
   • Disclaimer: Please submit a fully formed description so the session selection committee understands what you’re proposing. Additionally, if your session is accepted, MCN and Propel may use the description you submit for conference marketing/communication purposes. 
3. What content will be covered? Provide three learning objectives participants will take with them after attending this session.
4. What level of prior knowledge is required for success in your session? The conference seeks all levels of learning although most accepted sessions will focus on advanced or intermediate levels.
   • General Prior Knowledge: Presenter(s) will provide presentations that would be useful to people of all knowledge and experience levels with the subject matter.
   • Intermediate Prior Knowledge: Presenters will define terms and spend some time providing basic information on the subject, but participants should have some familiarity related to the subject (i.e., lived experience or on-the-job experience).
   • Advanced Prior Knowledge: Participants should have advanced knowledge of/experience with the subject area to get the most out of the session.
5. What level of participant engagement are you envisioning? (Select 1 or 2 styles of engagement)
   • Small group conversations/activities
   • Individual reflection (Ex. You give people time to self-reflect on an idea and how it impacts their work/life)
   • Whole group discussion (Ex. You/you and co-presenters share and then invite anyone to add their experience to the conversation. This could be done through facilitated conversations, world cafes, or other participatory methods.)
   • Responding to quizzes or polls
   • Formal Presentation – “Lecture-style” presentations featuring one or two presenters. Formal presentations should include ample time for audience questions, discussion, and interaction
   • Panel discussion (Ex. Panelists present their experiences and learnings and then invite anyone to add their experiences to the conversation) .
   • Takeaways and tools (Exs. Template, list of resources, case studies) 
6. Tracks: Please identify the track that best matches your session:
   • Finance
   • Human Resources
7. Session length: What is your preferred length of session? 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or 90 minutes.
8. Contact information for main contact person: Please include the full contact information for the session presenter who will be MCN’s main contact during the planning process. This must be one of the session presenters.
   • First name
   • Last name
   • Pronouns (optional)
   • Title
   • Organization or company (if applicable)
   • Tribal Affiliation (if applicable/optional)
   • Race/Ethnicity (optional)
   • Email address
   • City
   • State
   • Phone number
9. Co-presenter information (Optional): If you have one or two co-presenters, please include their information below. (Please note that three total presenters — inclusive of any moderator — may be admitted to the conference with free registration. Any additional presenters will pay the full conference registration fee. We discourage including more than three presenters for any session.)
   • First co-presenter’s name, pronouns (optional), title, organization, and email
   • Second co-presenter’s name, pronouns (optional), title, organization, and email
10. Nonprofit presenter(s): Please tell us if any of the workshop presenters works at a nonprofit. Sessions without nonprofit presenter(s) will have a lower rate of acceptance. Some sessions may be accepted on the condition that a nonprofit co-presenter will be added.
11. Background information: If any speaker listed above has never presented at a conference, please include a brief bio highlighting their experience presenting on this topic. 

Submit Your Proposal Now!