Past ACN events

Past ACN Events

ACN events held for the 2006 - 2007 year included:

A Room Full of Experts: Bring Your Questions, Bring Your Expertise, Bring Your Business Cards
October, 2006
This focused networking event enabled all participants to act as peer consultants to help one another strengthen their consulting practice. Participants shared their expertise on a myriad of topics, and compared solutions to a host of pressing problems, such as how do you turn prospects into clients, how do you handle Executive Directors who treat you like staff, what's the best health insurance for a sole proprietor, how do you close the deal?

Close The Deal, Close The Year
November, 2006
Steve Fretzin, Principal of Sales Results Inc., spoke to ACN members and guests about moving legitimate prospects forward more quickly. His perspective is that effective steps to "closing the deal" begin with the first contact, rather an action initiated to complete the final step.

Steve has over 20 years of sales, management and business development experience. Prior to starting Sales Results, Inc., Steve worked in the franchise industry coaching over 50 franchisees in the mid-west on sales, marketing, management and operations. In addition to coaching many new and existing business owners, he helped over 35 franchise owners buy/sell their companies in a 4 year period.

Technology for You and Your Clients
February, 2007
This workshop designed for both consultants and the nonprofits they serve focused on how to use technology to improve processes, increase business efficiency, and provide maximum security. Our three speakers (all ACN members) discussed implementing technology from a strategic framework, and best practices for securing all types of information. Our speakers included:

Daryl L. Thompson, Thompson Network Consulting
Kauser Razvi, Strategic Urban Solutions
Susan Parks, Parks Consulting Group

Consulting 202: Advanced Program for Consultants
May, 2007
This workshop enabled attendees to ask a panel of seasoned consultants their burning questions about how to build a successful consulting practice. The consultants and skilled moderator discussed client/consultant relationships, meaningful interactions, roles and responsibilities, philosophies, and useful consulting strategies.

Bill Brooks, Bill Brooks & Associates
Joyce Hollingsworth, Hollingsworth & Associates
Carol B. White, Carol B. White & Associates
Edith F. Canter, Persuasion Plus (moderator)

Annual Meeting and Networking Event
June, 2007
We finished our program year with our annual meeting and election of a new board along with informal networking and tasty food and drinks at Adobo Grill.

ACN events held for the 2005-2006 year included:

Meet Your ACN Colleagues
Sept. 2005
At the 2005 get-acquainted program, ACN members enjoyed "60 Seconds of Consultant Fame" and learned about recent ACN branding initiatives of the Marketing Committee. Attendees delivered their "elevator speeches," introducing their consulting practices to ACN colleagues, facillitating future networking and collaboration.

How Understanding DiSC® Can Help Improve Your Consulting Practice
October, 2005
The DiSC® Classic Profile helps people understand and improve interpersonal relations and situations; DiSC® Dimensions of Behavior provide nonjudgmental language for exploring behavioral issues across four primary dimensions. Chris Johnson, president of TheTrainingDepartment, Inc., and ACN president, guided participating consultants through the profile and its uses, showing how such instruments can play important roles in successful consulting.

Board Governance: Advancing Your Mission Through Volunteer Leadership
November 2005
Panelists Robert Schuetz, a director and officer of Park Lawn Association; Vanita Stevenson, director and officer of Uhlich Childrens Advantage Network, and founder of Generations of Success, NFP; and Marcia Coburn, president of Red Door Animal Shelter, discussed effective volunteer leadership-development strategies for nonprofits and their boards. Facilitator Kathryn Vanden Berk, JD, the ACN secretary, has provided legal counsel to NFPs for 26 years.

Documenting Relationships with Clients and Independent Contractors
January, 2006
Attorneys Anne C. Keays and Josh Kaplan, both of law firm Levin Ginsburg, described important issues in establishing good business relationships between consultants and their clients and/or subcontractors. They reviewed such specific provisions as contracts, RFPs, and the consultant's perspective on proposals, with discussion focused on the basics of effective contracting, from establishment of the business relationship to minimizing disputes.

For the Love of Money & Mission - An Advanced Seminar on Development Planning
Feb. 2006
You’re familiar with the tricks of the development trade -- grants, individual gifts, events, campaigns, etc. But how do you help a nonprofit decide which tools to utilize when? Development planning should be strategic, address the specific needs of the nonprofit and effectively utilize the nonprofit’s resources. This engaging advanced program taught consultants how to help their clients create a strategic development plan. Our expert panelists provided valuable tools, tips and a chance to experience the development planning process right on the spot!

Cultural Competency - Beyond Diversity Training
March, 2006
While awareness is a necessary element of all diversity efforts, this session provide d information to move you beyond awareness toward building cultural competency. A distinguished panel that participated in the Chicago Jobs Council Cultural Competency and Employment Initiative shared their experience and insight, with a focus on factors that will enhance your organization's ability to address the challenges in implementing a cultural competency initiative. Participants also had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on group exercise.

Leveraging Your Marketing Budget with Video
April, 2006
Many nonprofits use video and the Internet as part of their marketing efforts. Others, however, worry about cost and make minimal or no investment in this area. This program explained the basics of using video to capture your nonprofit’s message
and ways to leverage that investment across multiple media platforms for such purposes as fundraising, education, training, communication, marketing and recruiting volunteers. Elizabeth Richter, principal of The Richter Group, a communications strategy consulting firm, served as moderator. Panelists included a video editor, a web specialist, and a nonprofit leader who has used video successfully.

Evaluation Tools You Can Use
May, 2006
This workshop offered members and nonprofits an overview and demonstration of evaluation frameworks and measurement tools that help to define consultant roles in evaluation and address nonprofit needs around evaluation. TCC Group provided some instruction on how to develop evaluation frameworks (logic models, indicator sheets, etc.) that serve to ground evaluation activities and ensure programmatic goals are sufficiently identified and appropriately measured. Mission Measurement, LLC presented its approach to performance measurement and discuss some of the tools it uses to help clients make better funding decisions, allocate resources and learn from performance data. A representative from the Chicago Community Trust presented the Trust’s approach to evaluation, its expectations of grantees around evaluation and provided a funder perspective as TCC and Mission Measurement work through the evaluation tools and case examples with participants.

2004-2005 Events

2003-2004 Events

2002-2003 Events