Nonprofit

I was scheduled to be out of town, but when my plans changed, I purchased my ticket to attend the Data Days CLE 2024 annual conference. The conference took place on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at the Cleveland Public Library-Louis Stokes Wing. I have been following the activities of Data Days CLE on social media for years, but I have never been able to attend any of their events. I knew I would be in for an impressive day, and what I got was even more. It ended up also being a reunion with people I had not met in person for a while, and gave me the opportunity to meet new people who were attending or presenting.

I like how the Data Days CLE 2024 organizers make an effort to make it easy for all who are interested to attend their events. Since I follow Data Days CLE on social media, I had the opportunity to use the social media promo discount they offered to their followers. I recommend you see their current list of social media accounts at the bottom of their DataDaysCLE.org website, and follow those that you are active on, so that you learn about their future events.

I put together this blog post to share the photos and notes I took during the event. Of most importance is that I want to thank the organizers, sponsors, and presenters for making Data Days CLE possible. I enjoyed learning how our community is now better served after several years of work by the people participating in this annual conference.

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, I was scheduled to be out of town on a backpacking trip that was unfortunately canceled. As that adventure opportunity closed, I was fortunate that another opportunity was presented to me as I was invited to attend the Eighth Annual Better World Day -- Cultivating Gamification for a Better World 2024 -- that took place at Hyland - Building #3 in Westlake.

Looking back at past years in my calendar, I see this is the fifth year I have attended this event. In this blog post, I will share both my photos and notes from Better World Day 2024. I want to encourage you to learn more so you can help spread the word about this great annual event that provides support to nonprofits!

I hope this blog post encourages you to attend future Better World Day events! A BIG thank-you to Todd Packer and Marc Majers for gathering such great presenters for the past eight years, and continuing to work to make a better world through technology for local nonprofits.

A year ago, I learned about and planned on attending the grand opening of the Cleveland Foundation's new headquarters building in 2023. I had learned that the building was going to be much more than the Foundation's home for their staff to work in -- it will also be a resource for the greater community to use! A new role in the community for the Foundation -- very exciting! I looked forward to the opening and to being part of the community celebration.

Next, in May 2023, it was announced that in addition to the new beginning with a new building, there would be a change in Cleveland Foundation professional leadership -- President & CEO Ronn Richard's retirement would lead to the installation of Lillian Kuri as the new leader of the Foundation on August 1, 2023.

Finally, as I attended the Cleveland Foundation 2023 Annual Meeting and open house/tour, I learned about more new beginnings -- a second building!!

In this blog post, I will share announcements that were made before the 2023 Annual Meeting and related festivities, and then write about my experiences at the following celebrations:

• Thursday, July 13, 2023 - Annual Meeting Celebrating Community Service

• Friday, July 14, 2023 - Cleveland City Club Meeting: Honoring Ronn Richard's History of Service

• Saturday, July 15, 2023 - New Headquarters Opening Dedication

• Saturday, July 15, 2023 - Exploring the New Cleveland Foundation Headquarters

• Saturday, July 15, 2023 - Celebratory Performances for the KeyBank Dance and Arts Studio

I learned about another reason to celebrate in the near future:

• THE FUTURE! - Another New Building To Come!!

After missing 2020 and going virtual in 2021 due to COVID-19 safety considerations, at the start of 2022, the Cleveland GiveCamp Steering Committee was open to new possibilities as to what form the free tech solutions would be provided to local nonprofits.

Cleveland GiveCamp 2022 stayed with the weekend format of nonprofit teams and standup progress meetings, but new this year was:

• the location -- Hyland
• the month -- August instead of the traditional third Saturday in July
• offering a hybrid option -- a combination of remote and in-person volunteers, which one nonprofit team utilized

In this blog post, I will:

• convey what happened before and during the August 12-14, 2022, Cleveland GiveCamp Weekend
• thank the volunteers and sponsors that made it possible
• share information about the nonprofits served

While the most important activity happens over Cleveland GiveCamp Weekend, when the tech solutions are actually developed for the Nonprofit Partners, Cleveland GiveCamp is a year-round organization plannings and preparing for the weekend of service.

With Cleveland GiveCamp 2020 being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was known from the very beginning of planning for the eleventh Cleveland GiveCamp in 2021 that flexibility would be needed.

Two decisions were made early on to ensure a safe event in this time of a once-in-a-century pandemic:

• First, to move the Cleveland GiveCamp 2021 Weekend from the third weekend in July to the fall. This would allow extra time for volunteers to get the coronavirus vaccination and to have time to learn from others working in office settings what safety procedures would be needed.

• Second, to plan simultaneously both an in-person event and a virtual event, so as to be prepared for changes in the environment.

Cleveland GiveCamp 2021 Weekend took place September 10-12, 2021.

Better World Day is brought to you by Leading Hands Through Technology and Workmen's Circle Educational Center of Ohio. The conference focuses on technology to arm non-profits with the knowledge to continue their fight for a better world.

Blockchain for a Better World
Better World Day
Thursday, October 17, 2019 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)

Blockchain for a Better World
(How Non-Profits Can Successfully Apply Blockchain)
At our third annual event, we're excited to bring together researchers, technology experts, non-profit leaders and fund-raising professionals to develop innovative solutions that combine technology and compassion to improve our world.

I am grateful that Marc Majers knew of my interest in technology solutions for nonprofits, and thus invited me to this year's Better World Day educational event. This panel discussion and keynote address on how nonprofits can use blockchain technologies took place on October 17, 2019, at the Cuyahoga County Public Library Parma Branch.

On November 11, 2018, I had written a blog post entitled Cleveland Foundation #CtrlAltCLE Convenes: Tech & Digital Equity/Blockchain for Social Good which featured an excellent introduction to blockchain by Cleveland Foundation's Chief of Digital Innovation & Chief Information Officer Leon Wilson. I was excited to learn more from Leon Wilson and the other members of the panel, as well as the keynote presenter.

The purpose of this blog post is to capture some of what I learned, and share it with others.

As a graduate of the MNO program at Case Western Reserve University, I was invited to a special celebration on Friday, September 27, 2019. I was very impressed with the evening's activities. The celebration focused on two areas:

• First, the Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) is one of just nine graduate programs ever accredited by the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council.

• The second cause for celebration was the launch of a new Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) scholarship.

I look forward to learning more about the activities of the Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) program as future leaders of the nonprofit sector are developed.

10th Anniversary Cleveland GiveCamp!

The Mission of Cleveland GiveCamp is to pair creative and technology talent with nonprofits in need.

On July 19-21, 2019, Cleveland GiveCamp marked the tenth year of its tech volunteers serving nonprofits in the Cleveland and Akron areas. We (Stuart O. Smith, Jr., and Kevin F. Smith) want to share with you tweets, videos, photos, and information about Cleveland GiveCamp 2019.

Stuart has volunteered at Cleveland GiveCamp Weekend for all of its ten years, and this was Kevin Smith's sixth year working on the Cleveland GiveCamp social media team.

10 years! It is hard to believe that it has been ten years! It has been exciting to see Cleveland GiveCamp grow over the years and help so many nonprofits with free websites and other tech solutions.

The Mission of Cleveland GiveCamp is to pair creative and technology talent with nonprofits in need.

Stuart did not have time to write this blog post at the end of July, since he was preparing for a backpacking trip and writing blog posts about FRONT International, but we still wanted to share our experiences at Cleveland GiveCamp 2018.

On July 20-22, 2018, Cleveland GiveCamp Weekend marked the ninth year of serving nonprofits in the Cleveland and Akron areas. The Smiths (Stuart, Kevin, and Mike) want to share with you the following tweets, photos, and information about Cleveland GiveCamp 2018.

Stuart has attended Cleveland GiveCamp weekend for all of its nine years, and in 2018 served on the Cleveland GiveCamp Steering Committee for his eighth year. He continues to manage both the ClevelandGiveCamp.org website and the @CleGiveCamp Twitter feed year-round, and serves on the Social Media Team during Cleveland GiveCamp weekend. This was Kevin's fifth year working on the Cleveland GiveCamp social media team. Mike returned this year to work on a Wordpress project for Hope for Kids Geauga (HopeForKidsGeauga.org) at his seventh GiveCamp. Cleveland GiveCamp continues to be one of the largest GiveCamps in the nation.

I recently learned that the Cleveland Foundation has launched the new Ctrl + Alt + CLE group. Although I missed the first meeting on September 6, 2018, #CtrlAltCLE Convenes: Tech & Digital Equity, it dealt with a topic that I am very interested in, so I knew I should make it a point to attend future meetings. Fortunately, I was able to attend the second #CtrlAltCLE meeting, and a special #CtrlAltCLE blockchain training for nonprofits/government.

In this blog post, I will share:

• Some of the background information from the Launch of Ctrl + Alt + CLE.

• Information about the two #CtrlAltCLE meetings I attended on the topics of Digital Equity and Blockchain for Social Good.

• Funding opportunities announced for Digital Equity and Blockchain for Social Good.

I am also including information about Lynda.com classes that relate to the work of #CtrlAltCLE. The classes are available FREE with your library card!

This is just the beginning of the new #CtrlAltCLE program, and I recommend you join with me in learning how Ctrl + Alt + CLE will evolve.