8am to 6pm
Teatro Conference and Event Centre

"Co-operation among Co-operatives" will be the central theme of the 2015 Conference, as On Co-op will examine and explore the benefits of working together to create better and stronger co-ops and communities.

After focusing for the past year and a half on  regional initiatives and efforts to create awareness and strengthen connections between co-operative businesses in cities across Ontario, On Co-op are thrilled about bringing co-operators together again under one roof!

Attendees will be treated to a plated three-course luncheon while celebrating the contributions made by individuals and organizations to the Ontario co-op movement, at the 2015 Spirit Awards

The 2015 event will be a full-day (morning to late afternoon event), that will include some traditional activities, as well as some brand new initiatives.

Register for the Co-op Conference and Celebration

Who Should Attend?

Sessions, speakers will benefit new and emerging co-ops, as well as co-op and credit union leaders, managers, staff, students, and those that are exploring the business model and/or are brand new to the sector!

Attend “THE” co-op event of the year, and…

1. Connect with the co-op community
2. Celebrate our co-op successes
3. Share your co-op knowledge
4. Learn from our co-op experience
5. Experience the co-op spirit
6. Support co-op education
7. Enjoy the day!

For More Event Information

2pm to 3pm Eastern Time

What if the performance data that you receive do not adequately capture the effectiveness of a nonprofit?

Over the past two decades, funders and policymakers have put more pressure on nonprofit organizations to pursue and achieve measurable outcomes. The increasing focus on performance-driven frameworks such as “pay for success” and “social return in investment” signals that such pressure will only grow more intense. For nonprofit professionals, that trend raises troubling questions: What if the ways that your organization makes a difference in people’s lives are not easily measured through conventional performance metrics? What if the logic model of your organization does not fully account for the value that you deliver through direct work with beneficiaries?

Presenters

Lehn Benjamin, associate professor of philanthropic studies at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, will lead a discussion of what frontline nonprofit work looks like in practice—and how to accurately measure the value of that work. Joining Benjamin will be Katya Fels Smyth, founder and CEO of the Full Frame Initiative; Maria Peña, chief program officer of LIFT; and Jesús Gerena, senior vice president of the Family Independence Initiative.

Speaker Bios

In the webinar, these presenters will:

• Explain how some of the most popular performance models used in the nonprofit sector fail to measure the true impact of what nonprofit professionals do
• Examine the reasons why it can be so difficult—yet so important—to recognize the value that on-the-ground work delivers to beneficiaries and their communities
• Explore examples of nonprofits that have succeeded in capturing and conveying the full value of frontline work

Who should attend this webinar:

“Valuing Frontline Work” will be of interest to nonprofit practitioners whose organizations provide direct services to marginalized groups. The webinar will also be highly relevant to funders, consultants, evaluators, and other professionals who support organizations that engage in such work. During the latter half of the session, registrants will be able to direct questions to Benjamin, Smyth, Peña, and Gerena. Michael Slind of Stanford Social Innovation Review will moderate the webinar.

Price: $49, which includes access to the live webinar; unlimited access to the webinar as many times as you’d like for twelve months; and downloadable slides. 

Register for Valuing Frontline Work

3pm Eastern Time

Join the Democracy Collaborative's Keane Bhatt and Steve Dubb, co-authors of the new report Educate and Empower: Tools for Building Community Wealth, for an online discussion with leading practioners on the practical strategies to empower residents to engage and participate in community economic development.

Register for the Educate and Empower webinar

Tools for Building Community Wealth

How do low-income communities learn to advance economically and build wealth? Low-income communities and communities of color, in challenging structural economic and social inequality, have historically grappled with tensions inherent to development. Who participates in, directs, and ultimately owns the economic-development process? In creating and sustaining new, inclusive economic institutions, how do community members cultivate and pass on skills, commitment and knowledge—especially among those who have long faced barriers to education and employment? And how should communities strike an appropriate balance between utilizing local knowledge and accessing outside expertise?

Download the Educate and Empower report

Speakers

Aaron Bartley, Executive Director and Co-Founder, PUSH Buffalo
Carla Javits, President and CEO, REDF
Dana Pedersen, Education & Outreach Coordinator, Cooperation Texas

SOURCE: Democracy Collaborative