Annual Conference – Request for Proposals

Anyone! MCN is seeking dynamic presenters like YOU, who are inquisitive and bring nuanced, clear, and equitable approaches to nonprofit challenges and opportunities.

Whether you’re a director, just getting started in the workforce, or somewhere in-between we want to hear from you. If you’re a public policy advocate, running a rural theater, raising funds for a food bank, or providing mental health services we want to hear from you. We want to hear from people at large and small nonprofits.

Session proposals take 20 to 30 minutes to complete through the online form and are due by Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 11:59 pm CST.

MCN is seeking dynamic presenters who are inquisitive and bring nuanced, clear, and equitable approaches to the nonprofit sector. 

We seek proposals for sessions that have clear and actionable takeaways and offer a clear vision and point of view.

We are looking for a broad array of session topics and encourage you to present in content areas you are passionate about, skilled in, and will resonate with your peers.

This year, we are particularly interested in sessions that bring the following content areas to life: 

• Forms of resiliency, resistance, and rest.
• Impacts of Federal Government on nonprofits and strategies for staying whole.
• Strategic approaches to coalitions, partnerships, and mergers that center people.
• Assessing and addressing threats to continuity of service, core operations, and values (with a particular focus on small, rural, and BIPOC-led and serving nonprofits).
• Scenario planning with a focus on funding volatility.
• Facilitating change management as a constant rather than sporadic need.
• Brave and bold actions in the philanthropic sector.
• Immigration resources.
• Financial modeling for small to –mid-size nonprofits.
• The why and how of advocacy for nonprofits.
• Reimagining and improving nonprofit boards.
• Registration and reporting requirements for nonprofits.
• DEI in the nonprofit sector.

Session presenters must demonstrate a depth of knowledge on the proposed session topic.

MCN is committed to prioritizing proposals that include nonprofit voices and presenters who reflect the racial, economic, cultural, age, gender, ability, and geographic diversity of the sectors and the communities the sectors serve. Experts and presenters who are able to share first-person experiences will be strongly considered. We encourage participation from Greater Minnesota leaders and leaders from the LGBTQIA+, accessibility, and intersecting communities. If you propose a session with multiple presenters, we ask that you take diversity of lived experience into account. 

Sessions that include nonprofit presenters will be given priority. Proposals from our allies in for-profit companies are welcome; however, please note that preference will be given to sessions that demonstrate active involvement of nonprofit professionals and sector researchers and members from the communities they engage as session presenters or co-presenters.

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.  

Presenters receive a stipend of $75, with a limit of $225 per session (for multiple presenters). 

Presenting is complimentary; however, presenters attending the entire conference need to pay a “presenter registration rate” which is 50% of the early bird registration rate (available to 3 presenters per session). You may also register using the Pay What You Can (PWYC) rate. Previous conferences have sold out, therefore registering allows us to gather accurate information to ensure everyone can fully engage in the conference.

To ensure the highest quality sessions for the conference, the planning committee will place priority on session proposals that emphasize participant engagement, interaction, and are accessible.

Recommended session formats incorporate:

• Participant engagement in dialogue, discussion, and idea-generation throughout the session. 
• Time for attendees to connect with one another.
• Specific takeaways that attendees can implement in their work.
• No more than three presenters (including a moderator).
• PowerPoint slides filled with words should be kept to a minimum. Consider using pictures and stories to convey your message. 

Attendees will include 1,000+ nonprofit, public sector, and philanthropy leaders including staff, board members, and volunteers.

Session proposals take 20 to 30 minutes to complete through the online form.

You do not need a fully formed presentation to submit; you are sharing an idea that you’ll shape into a presentation. However, you should be clear about the learning objectives you are centering and what experience-level you expect your audience to have. 

The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. central.