Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce: New Signature Event "Meet the Money"

Meet the Money is a new Signature Event of the Melbourne Regional Chamber that promotes vital connections between Nonprofits, Funders and the Business Community to build critical alliances for stronger communities. 

• To raise the visibility of our nonprofit organizations and the broad range of services, resources and critical economic impact they contribute to the residents of our communities throughout East Central Florida; 
• To move away from the academics of nonprofit management and provide a collaborative, experiential learning environment where nonprofit management of all sizes can gain the knowledge, resources and introductions they need to achieve their next stage of growth to sustain and advance community services.
• To build  relationships and opportunities for collaborations between Businesses and Nonprofits. 

“The Meet the Money – Learn the Secrets to Getting Fully Funded” conference is open to the public and nonprofit organizations of all sizes and services are encouraged to attend. Registration will open at 12:30 with networking until 1:00pm. After a brief welcome, participants will attend one of four different break out sessions and then return to the general assembly for our Meet The Money Panel. When the conference concludes at 4:45, everyone will move to the Business After Hours Reception to enjoy drinks and refreshments while meeting with the speakers and gaining important introductions to the business community. 

Unlike typical classroom techniques and training mechanics, attendees will meet real people who have first hand, up-to-date, expertise – These are not people who normally train – they DO…. give and get.

Sessions will be held concurrently so agencies should plan to bring additional staff and or board members to cover all the sessions. Additional registrations have been set at $15 to make it affordable for all.

Session One: Turning your Story into a Money Machine (Appropriate all levels) Presenter: Jennifer Samuel-Chance - Ted Talk Coach, Strategic Storytelling Expert – Stories Tell & Stories Sell.

The most important thing a nonprofit can do is learn how tell their story - with impact, clarity and brevity. It’s not really about a service – it’s about a solution. Who gets helped… why is it important… how does the person or family or situation benefit and how does this help our community? As a coach to Ted Talk speakers and Master Storyteller, Jennifer will lead participants through a process that will get you to a compelling, and happy ending.

Session Two: Economic Impact Pays Big Bucks (Recommended for mid-level to established orgs) Presenter: Debbie Goode, Partner, Carr, Riggs & Ingram

As someone who has served numerous nonprofit boards, Chaired the most recent United Way campaign and led the board of the Economic Development Council, Debbie has a thorough, first hand knowledge of what a community needs and what nonprofits deliver. As an accomplished business women and financial expert, she also understands what the business community expects when they are asked for funding. When you attend this session you will learn the true meaning of  community impact and how your services make the kind of meaningful contributions that will earn financial support.

Session Three: Outcomes for Sale – Raise your Credibility and Raise Your Income (Recommended for mid to established organizations) Presenters: Erica Lemp and Kathleen Register, weVenture, Powered by FIT

You can have a great story and be making great contributions, but if you can’t capture results in a meaningful, specific way, you won’t be able to attract meaningful money. weVenture learned that there is a big difference between saying “our clients grow their businesses” and reporting that “our clients demonstrate, on average, a 40% increase in revenues as a direct result of our programs. Let Erica and Kathy show you how to identify, capture and communicate specific, measurable, meaningful outcomes that support grant and foundation requests, demonstrate superior business practices and  secure more money.

Session Four: From Zero to $30 Million– How to Build Sustainability with Diverse Income Streams (Appropriate for all levels) Presenter: Ryan Rogers, CFO, Brevard Achievement Center 

Almost every nonprofit starts the same way… with a lot of heart, unlimited amounts of passion for the mission and very little money. If you ever wondered how some grow into multi-million dollar agencies….. look at their funding strategies. Like any wealthy person or corporation – they diversify. While this may sound simple, there are lots of things to consider and Ryan Rogers knows the good and bad having experienced both over his decades in the world of nonprofits. At this session you will benefit from his wealth of knowledge to build greater wealth of your own.

General Session: The Meet the Money Panel

If you ever wondered why some agencies get funding and others don’t – these folks can and will share the real deal. They will answer some of your most pressing questions and address issues you might not even consider. In this session we will get beyond the written guidelines of a funding request and discuss other little acknowledged criteria that can make all the difference in your quest for sustainability.

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:

As a new, innovative event concept, broad publicity will be utilized to highlight all founding sponsors to include press releases, social media announcements and on and off-line, pre- and post-event marketing in addition to the event recognition.

TO SPONSOR, CONTACT THE EVENTS TEAM:

Events@MelbourneRegionalChamber.com or Jeannette Kraar at 305-726-8357 or jkraar@gmail.com for more information.