My previous boss in Berkeley, Sylvia, introduced me to the nonprofit scene in the Bay Area, taking me to 501 Tech Clubs from NTEN and the Craigslist Foundation. I enjoyed this scene, so I made it a priority to come back to Berkeley for the Craigslist Foundation’s 2007 Nonprofit Bootcamp. It’s a fantastic conference with tips on starting a nonprofit, marketing it, and much more.
At first, I didn’t realize how Bay Area oriented the conference would be, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as nonprofits generally have tight budgets for travel. This made it a bit harder for me to network with other conference attendees, as I wouldn’t really get a chance to see them in the future. However, I did spend a lot of time talking to the salesmen in the sponsored areas. Obviously, they were trying to sell me their services, but I still enjoyed talking to them and the services they provided. In particular, I liked discussing with NPO Orbit about Salesforce customization, TriNet about HR outsourcing, and Mobilecause about getting the nonprofit mobile services. These are all services that would seemingly work with any nonprofit, and though I haven’t worked with them yet, they all look promising.
So all in all a good conference. Sadly no pictures. I’ve heard there was a possibility of a Los Angeles area bootcamp; I’m up for joy with that thought.