Resources & Solutions: BlueBridge Networks Third Nonprofit IT Innovation Summit

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I attended the BlueBridge Networks Third Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit on July 27, 2017, at the Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt ) as a guest of Kevin Goodman (@KevinGoodmanBBN), managing director and partner at BlueBridge Networks (@BlueBridgeLLC).

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We would like to cordially invite you, and any relevant co-workers and colleagues, to BlueBridge Networks third Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit. This lunch and learn is the only one of its kind in the region and promises to provide you with valuable information to help you prepare for the upcoming year in IT. With a strong focus on the non-profit sector in CLE, we will share best practices, new technologies and provide pain point relief for taxed IT departments and budgets...

...BlueBridge Networks is award-winning in the areas of innovation, client service, and philanthropy. We provide world class service in data center services, cloud and cyber security with a specialization in assisting non-profit organizations and helping them meet their IT objectives.

This was the second time I have attended this nonprofit IT summit, having attended in the BlueBridge Networks Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit II on November 5, 2014. I want to thank Kevin Goodman (@KevinGoodmanBBN) for inviting me again, and let the presenters know how much I appreciate them taking time to share their knowledge.

The panel of presenters included:

• Niki Krause (@NikiKrause2542) - Director of Applications Services, Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt )

• Dennis Anderson - Senior Vice President of Information Technology, Centers for Families and Children (@TheCentersOhio)

• Dale A. Dresch - IT Audit Manager, Maloney + Novotny LLC (@Maloney_Novotny)

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See the tweets below which include information shared related to the summit. The panel was moderated by Michael Hudak, IT business consultant at BlueBridge Networks, who brought up questions that related to nonprofit information technology needs, and then opened the discussion up to questions from the attendees. See photos and summary published on the BlueBridge Networks LinkedIn page here and in a BlueBridge Facebook post here.

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It was interesting to learn more from Niki Krause (@NikiKrause2542) about the technology used at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and then going out into the museum to show the college student who attended with me the new ArtLens Gallery. Niki talked about how the museums' effective use of technology goes way beyond the ArtLens App and ArtLens Gallery, but those items, along with their Drupal website, are what is visible to the public.

Learn more about ArtLens in my July 10, 2017, blog post: Crash Party: Being Among the First to Experience the New CMA ArtLens Gallery

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Resources Shared

One of the great things about attending functions like the Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit is what you learn from other participants during the networking portion of the summit. Here are a few resources that I learned about, which I believe can be useful to nonprofit organizations:

• Ohio.net (@OhioNetInternet) Internet provider also has a service of re-purposing phones donated by businesses for nonprofit organizations.
   
  I had known of Ohio.net from years ago, but until I talked to their sales and marketing director, Alex Desberg (@adesberg), before the summit, I did not know about their phone donation process. I found an August 1, 2017, Cleveland Magazine (@ClevelandMag) article by George Hahn (@GeorgeHahn) that explains the program: Ohio.net Shares Refurbished Phones with Nonprofits  
  

• Computers Assisting People, aka CAP Inc. (@ClevelandCAP), has moved to a larger location.
   
  Great Lakes Geek (@GreatLakesGeek) blogger Dan Hanson (@DanHanson), who is the manager for CAP, let me know that they have moved to a new location. My sons and I visited their old location when I took a group of Boy Scouts to learn about CAP when I was on the board of the Greater Cleveland PC Users Group- GCPCUG (@GCPCUG) about 13 years ago. Computers Assisting People was founded out of GCPCUG in 1995. I suggest you go to the "about" web page on their website and learn about their work in addressing the issue of the "digital divide."
   

  ...the volunteers of CAP take in donated equipment (PCs, peripherals, software, etc.) and refurbish, repair and combine them to make useful, working systems. We then give them away, free of charge, to non-profit organizations in the Cleveland area to be used in fulfilling their missions. 
  

• It was great to talk to Melanie Meyer (@MelanieAMeyer), who is the director communications and technology at BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (@BVUVolunteers). In 2016, through the support of the Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation), Melanie was involved in creating the inaugural BVU Ohio Nonprofit Technology & Communications Summit.
  
  
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  I attended the 2016 BVU Ohio Nonprofit Technology & Communications Summit as BVU's guest, where I represented the good work of Cleveland GiveCamp (@CleGiveCamp). Read more details and my notes from this first-time summit in my blog post: BVU Ohio Nonprofit Technology & Communications Summit
   
  I was excited to hear Melanie announce that "#BVUTech17 - Nonprofit Technology & Communications Summit," featuring Joe Pulizzi (@JoePulizzi), founder of the Content Marketing Institute (@CMIContent), and David Pogue (@Pogue), founder of Yahoo Tech (@YahooTech), will take place on October 3, 2017, through the sponsorship of Cureo (@CureoLLC).
   

  This full-day summit is designed for nonprofit management, technology, fundraising and communications professionals.  The summit includes 2 nationally-recognized keynote speakers, 12 hands-on workshops in areas such as marketing and communications, fundraising, leadership, website, social media, program delivery and technology planning & IT. There will also be an exhibit hall with the opportunity to connect and share ideas through multiple networking experiences with peers and leading experts, who understand the unique needs of nonprofits.

   
  The week after I heard Melanie's exciting news, I had a breakfast meeting with BVU Project Manager Consultant/Encore Fellow Dan Yurman (@djysrv). His Fellowship is supported by The Cleveland Foundation's Encore Cleveland program (hashtag: #EncoreCLE). He shared with me some very exciting BVU plans regarding technology and the nonprofit community that will be announced publicly in the coming months.
   
  I have known Dan for a long time, since we were both members and presenters at the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group - CDPUG (@CDPUG), so it was great to learn about his new, important work with BVU. (Dan wrote a blog post about one of my CDPUG presentations entitled, Stuart Smith on Twitter in 2012.)
   
  Currently, BVU is researching the IT needs of local nonprofits through a Nonprofit Technology Survey (please take the survey here and also be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card). Be sure to watch for more information in the coming year by following announcements from @BVUVolunteers.

Cleveland GiveCamp

The BlueBridge Networks Third Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit took place the week after Cleveland GiveCamp (@CleGiveCamp), for which I serve on the Steering Committee and the Social Media Team. At the end of the luncheon, Kevin Goodman surprised me by asking me to close the summit by sharing the news about the success of Cleveland GiveCamp 2017.

Here is a video that Great Lakes Geek (@GreatLakesGeek) blogger Dan Hanson (@DanHanson) captured of my 2017 Cleveland GiveCamp wrap-up talk:

I was honored to be asked to speak about Cleveland GiveCamp, and was pleased to mention the following organizations in my talk. I have included links and Twitter names so you can learn about these organizations that do so much to support Cleveland GiveCamp and/or our community:

• BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (@BVUVolunteers )
• Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Cleveland Chapter (@AFPCleveland)
• Foundation Center Midwest in Cleveland (@FCCleveland)
• Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation)
• United Way of Greater Cleveland (@UnitedWayCLE)
• Cleveland Metroparks (@CleveMetroparks)
• LeanDog (@LeanDog)
• Burke Lakefront Airport (@BurkeLakefront)

You can read more about Cleveland GiveCamp 2017 in my "letter home from camp" blog post, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, from Cleveland GiveCamp 2017!

Tweets & Retweets

Twenty-three summit-related tweets! Please share by retweeting those with useful or interesting information!

Related Blog Posts

Here are other blog posts I have written about BlueBridge Networks events:

• Blog Date: October 27, 2014 - Cleveland Amplify Panel & Tech Town Hall

• Blog Date: October 17, 2012 - Economic Growth in Cleveland

See my past Cleveland GiveCamp blog posts to learn more about how this tech event has been serving our community for eight years. You will see BlueBridge Networks listed as a sponsor in many of these Cleveland GiveCamp blog posts. Thank you, Kevin Goodman, for the ongoing support.

I always enjoy visiting the ArtLens Gallery, and often use the ArtLens App. I have written several ArtLens-related blog posts. Read these to learn more about how Cleveland is the first in the nation to have this great resource:

• Blog Date: July 10, 2017 - Crash Party: Being Among the First to Experience the New CMA ArtLens Gallery

• Blog Date: May 8, 2017 - Alex Katz Media and Influencer Exhibition Preview Night
  Includes photo of my co-blogger and wife, Julie, on her first visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art's Studio Play, which is now called ArtLens Studio.

• Blog Date: December 26, 2016 - TechPint Winter 2016 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland 
  Read about Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt) Chief Information Officer Jane Alexander's(@JaneCAlexander) presentation at TechPint Winter 2016 (@TechPintNews) about some of the incredible things happening with technology at the Museum.

• Blog Date: November 9, 2016 - CircleTrek Walking Tour of Cleveland's University Circle
  Includes tweets about Stuart's first time visiting the Cleveland Museum of Art's Studio Play (ArtLens Studio).

• Blog Date: January 30, 2013 - Photos of Gallery One Opening!

• Blog Date: Friday, January 18, 2013 - CMA's New Interactive Gallery Opens, plus GCPCUG & CLE Drupal

• Blog Date: December 27, 2012 - @ClevelandArt #GalleryOne Crash Party

There are many more blog posts that we have written about the Cleveland Museum of Art and other museums in University Circle that you can read here. We recommend following @InTheCircle on Twitter, and exploring University Circle's website: UniversityCircle.org

Disclosure: My guest (a college student who works for me) and I received a free lunch at the Cleveland Museum of Art as a guest of BlueBridge Networks when we attended the BlueBridge Networks Third Non-Profit IT Innovation Summit. I was approached by Kevin Goodman to attend because of my support of  activities in our community relating to technology and nonprofits, which I promote via my @sos_jr Twitter feed and sosAssociates.com blog. I enjoyed this summit and related activities, and wrote this blog to share my experience and information I learned at this event.