The United Way of Greater Chattanooga’s Center for Nonprofits will present the Tennessee Valley Institute for Nonprofit Excellence Conference on Wednesday from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
“For nearly a year now we have been engaged in a strategic planning process,” said United Way CEO Lesley Scearce. “One of the most important things we’ve taken away from that is that United Way has a role to play in accelerating the impact we and our partners have on our community’s most dire social issues. The Center for Nonprofits and TVI Conference are vital to increasing the rate of change.”
The conference is headlined by Dan Pallotta, an entrepreneur, activist and author, who has delivered talks on philanthropy and innovation across 38 states and eight countries to wide acclaim. His most popular TED talk "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong" has received over 4.2 million views and counting. The Stanford Social Innovation Review said, “Dan’s book, Uncharitable – How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, deserves to become the nonprofit sectors manifesto.”
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity to promote bold social impact in our community through this year’s TVI Conference," said Laura McCann, vice president of the Center for Nonprofits. "We want to inspire our nonprofit community to be on par with their for-profit counterparts. Chattanooga is a hub for innovation in the business sector and that is influencing social service organizations as well. For example, our partners at Pinnacle Bank sponsored the rebrand of the CNP. That’s an example of a progressive, corporate investment in our infrastructure that will help spur revolution in the nonprofit space.”
In addition to Mr. Pallotta, there will be an unveiling of the CNP’s new brand, breakout sessions from eight local nonprofits that are pushing innovation and examples for best practices. Attendees can also attend two bonus events. Breakout sessions are listed below.
“At the end of the day we know that incremental impact just is not enough,” said Ms. Scearce. “If we are going to move the needle on issues that matter we have to be bold and smart. Balance innovation and risk taking with investing in results. That’s why Dan’s message is so timely.”
Nearly 500 people have made plans to attend this year’s keynote luncheon. The event is sponsored by Pinnacle Financial Partners and President Craig Holley, the Weldon F. Osborne Foundation, The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Lyndhurst Foundation, Southern Insurance, Kelly Subaru and WTCI.
For more information about the Center for Nonprofits or the Tennessee Valley Institute for Nonprofit Excellence please contact Cathy Mendez at United Way of Greater Chattanooga at 752-0329.