NP2020 Conference: Issues and Answers from the Next Generation

NP2020 is both a conference and a call to action to address a leadership deficit in the nonprofit sector.  According to a recent Bridgespan Group report, over the next decade nonprofits will need to attract and develop some 640,000 leaders -approximately 2.4 times the number currently working the field.  When one considers the impact of baby boomers preparing for retirement over the next two decades, there is a clear need for smooth leadership transition from one generation of leaders to the next.   

The conference will bring together individuals from around the country to begin a discussion about leadership in the nonprofit sector from July 26-28th at the Pew Campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   The conference will address questions such as:

• Who are the nonprofit leaders of the future?
• What skills, resources, or support will they need?
• How to address this growing need?
• What barriers exist to successful transition?
• What solutions lie within the nonprofit sector?

As one of those "baby boomers preparing for retirement over the next decades," at first I thought this conference was only for people between the ages of 21-40.  However, I misread the promotional material and Ashima Saigal, one of the conference organizers, assures me that is not the case. It will be a cross generational dialog, but they are specifically targeting younger leaders.  Hmm .. I wonder if they a facebook group for the event?

The conference is open space format, but the founder and executive director of Mixed Greens, Lisa Rose Starner, will give a keynote and representatives from Young Nonprofit Professionals Network will present findings from their research of member attitudes about the topic.

The registration deadline is coming up next week!   Here's the link for more information.

Comments

[Maria Gajewski]

Thanks for blogging about us, Beth! We do have a Facebook group - NP 2020. We are also on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/np2020.

[Beth]

I'm not sure I get the emphasis on the youngsters. I'm in the last third of Boomers, and I'll not be at retirement age in 2020. Given that my generation is one that is not necessarily expecting to retire like their parents did (most won't be able to afford to), I'm not sure I agree with these forecasts on hiring. That said, the good news is that for us older workers, the prospects are considerably better than they were for the generation just ahead of us!