Xlerate Day Toronto 2018

Light breakfast and coffee

In 2016, Ecojustice launched a fledgling digital advocacy program. Before that, digital had always been pretty much synonymous with fundraising. But as Ecojustice learned, it was their donors who wanted more ways to engage. Learn about one organization's digital evolution, from the 'why' to the 'how' of ensuring the sum of the whole is greater than its parts.

Drawing up lessons learned from Ecojustice’s campaign to protect endangered orcas, Kimberly will share insights on:
* Changing the culture, or how to convince a bunch of a lawyers to give this digital advocacy thing a shot
* Tapping into your North Star, or why grounding engagement in your mission leads to powerful results
* A new way of thinking about integration, or why it’s not about channels, it’s about strategy
* Discipline and keeping your eye on the big picture, or how learning on the fly and responding to the news of the day can pull double duty as opportunities to build better systems

We've crossed the mobile tipping point: the internet is now primarily accessed by mobile devices.
But more than that - mobile has emerged as the 7th mass medium, which means it is something very different than everything that has come before it. We need to start planning how to harness it, for communications, marketing and fundraising. It is no longer financially acceptable to lack a mobile strategy.  Erik and a co-presenter will discuss what goes into a mobile strategy, and share a case study from an organization that shows how adopting mobile first best practices has helped more than one organization raise more money and deliver on their mission more effectively.
Participants will learn:
-that mobile is the 7th mass medium. The opportunity to reach and engage new audience is massive.
-that mobile requires it's own unique strategy.
-how one organization has leveraged mobile first strategies to raise more money and deliver on their mission.   

Organizational digital transformation is no longer that curious thing that some outlier organizations do: it's becoming necessary to thrive in this environment of new competition, channels, opportunities and expectations. 
You know some of the companies and nonprofits that seem to get 'it': do you ever wonder how they got there? Digital transformation is a journey and it doesn't happen organically. We're going to share with you what digital transformation and maturity actually look like, and what the journey entails. So even if your organization isn't ready yet, you'll know when you will be. 
We'll start by discussing two things you'll need for the journey: clarity in where your org is vs. where you want to go and understanding your risks vs. your opportunities. Then we'll map out the defining characteristics of successful and impactful organizations: bold leadership, curiosity/culture shift, responsiveness, openness, and distributed functioning.
This is the conversation about digital as a strategy - and digital at a leadership level - you've been waiting to have. Oh and you don't even need to be digitally sophisticated to participate. But you do need to be curious about digital transformation or be a decision maker or leader of an organization. 
We're not talking about which technology is the best, or the most popular social media platforms of the year. Those conversations should only happen after your organization understands how digital fits into everything. We're talking about digital transformation.    
You'll learn:

• How a digitally transformed organization naturally puts its constituents' first. 
  
• Why it’s better to start where you are, rather than wait for a magical, perfect time.
  
• Why curiosity and culture play such surprising and big roles.
  
• How equity, diversity and inclusion can be easily prioritized within the new dynamic.
  
• Why it’s not about hiring 'digital people'.
  
• Why it’s not about process and is about empowering your team
  

What questions are we asking our supporter base in the Fundraising industry? And more importantly, what conditioning (racism, xenophobia, classism, sexism, etc.) is informing the questions you’re asking? Join us for a discussion on the Fundraising industry’s “best practices” and unpack the bias behind the demands we all make of our supporter base. Learn how to ask the right questions in order to reach out ethically to communities of colour in your next fundraising campaign.

We get it. Digital Marketing today can be overwhelming. 
That’s why we’re bringing you the very first Digital Campaigns Explained (DCX). Grassriots’ goal for DCX sessions is to elevate your efforts by taking you behind the scenes of successful digital marketing campaigns. 
Join Sarah Ali and Joe Marilla – strategists and marketers at award-winning digital agency Grassriots – as they take you through each phase of ALS Canada’s recent digital campaign in excruciating detail, answering the nitty gritty questions that come up throughout the multifaceted and often messy process of planning and running an effective digital campaign from start to finish.
This is a must-attend for anyone trying to turn small budgets into big results.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Learn step by step how we went from research, to strategy, to ad buying, all the way to post-campaign reporting
   

2. Build a data-driven strategy to find and convert users at the lowest cost
   
   
   
3. Determine what metrics to track and report on for campaign success
   

Curious what “big data campaigning” and “microtargeting” mean? Looking for strategies to build and target your offline lists? Wondering what to do about the shrinking number of supporter and donor phone numbers you have as more and more go cell phone only?
 
This session will present answers to all these questions. Based on dozens of campaigns and initiatives this session will: dissect the strategic heart of “big data” campaigning; present a proven method for list building and targeting; share an experimental method of building cell phone lists by targeting likely cell phones with peer to peer texting, live calling and automated dialing.

Ableism isn’t just about trying to decide between saying differently abled or disabled people, it’s about not incorporating inclusion. While many charities deal with issues relating to ableism, fundraising hasn’t kept up. This session will look at the language we often use, the ways we exclude people from events and giving, and examples of digital campaigns that reinforce—even encourage—stigma and ableism. 
What can be done to make sure that we aren’t doing more harm? What accommodations are needed in the way we communicate online and offline to ensure that we aren’t dismissing 24% of the Canadian population? In this session, we’ll also look at the underrepresentation of disabled people in the fundraising profession. Are we doing everything we can to include disabled people?

In this session, fundraisers and marketers will learn how they can use data and analytics to leverage their database of supporters to improve the way they engage their digital donors. Organizations of all sizes will learn how linking demographic, behavioural and psychographic data with existing supporter information will enable them to see what motivates their donors to give and reveal the best ways to connect with others like them. These insights will enhance the digital donor journey and deliver better results.  

The #metoo movement, founded by Tarana Burke, has galvanized women to come forward with their experiences of sexual violence.  Patriarchy, violence, stereotypes and problematic behavior that can  
lead to harassment and discrimination are pervasive. But how can the  nonprofit sector step up and respond at this moment of heightened awareness? What do we do next? Our panel will begin to address these  important questions.

Etana will share some of the preliminary findings from the Ontario  Nonprofit Network’s Decent Work for Women project, of which she is  co-chair of the Advisory Committee. She will also zero in on the use  
of storytelling in the sector to raise money and generate awareness  about systemic issues, including gender-based violence. She will  explore how nonprofits can adopt practices that promote ethical  
storytelling.

Drawing from her legal and artistic background, as well as her  experience dealing with issues of harassment and violence, Julie  will explore how nonprofits can lead by example by engaging in  
critical self-examination and adopting promising practices that  encourage respectful behavior both online and in person. In short,  how can nonprofit sector workers embody respectful norms?

With money, staff and a crystal clear mandate (to win!), political campaigns are often the most digitally savvy and risk-forward with it comes to testing new digital tools and tactics. There's a lot to learn from political campaigns—but non-profits, charities and issue-based campaigns don't always take advantage of these successful learnings. Until now.
This session will provide an overview of some of the best digital tactics from recent campaigns in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We'll look at email programs, Facebook ads, petition landing pages, and social media engagement tools to see what worked and what didn't to capture their supporters' attention. Together, we'll examine these tactics to learn how they can be best applied for non-political campaigns—and help bring new ideas and strategies to nonprofits and charities as they advanced their own advocacy and fundraising campaigns.

Join Emma Lewzey (Blue Sky Philanthropy), Alex Tom (UNHCR), Corinne Berman and Suzanne Karajaberlian (Environmental Defence), as they share some leadership-level real-talk with you about breaking down silos for a better donor experience, greater effectiveness, more fundraising dollars in the door and better user engagement overall. 
  
Suzanne and Corinne, from Environmental Defence, will share their experience of how they collaborated on their development, digital engagement and advocacy initiatives while prioritizing the donor/supporter journey. Emma and Alex will talk about their experience at a major hospital foundation and how they built a two-way bridge between annual and major giving for more dollars in the door and a better donor experience. 

Different type of and sized organizations. Different silos to bust. Different goals in mind. But the same key characteristics: a fundamental lack of ego, a willingness to challenge convention and embrace risk, a focus on the donor or constituent first, and an emphasis on data as a key tool to help make or justify new decisions. 

All of them are seasoned team leaders. All of them will share advice that you can take back to your desk. All of them are ready for your questions so join them for what's sure to be an enlightening talk. 

We’ll walk through how to develop principles for your digital communications that align with the same strong values you hold when building and maintaining offline relationships. We’ll discuss the downsides of blasting out one-way emails or texts to big lists and the upsides to thinking through creative ways to have personal conversations with a bunch of supporters at the same time. Lastly, we’ll run through how to build a team that reflects the digital principles you’re developed. Bonus materials: Using data and digital tools in a way that ensures that you’re having the right conversation with the right person at the right time while expanding your reach and relationships.

Would you like to see into the future with more certainty? Your organization likely has a plan for next month, next quarter and perhaps even into the next few years, but have you built in strategies to predict both success and failure to ensure your fundraising program is both prepared and protected?
This session will lead you through 5 ways you can build innovative strategies for your organization to install predictability and minimize risk, allowing you to future-proof your program and drive growth. Get your data in order so you can wring out every insight and structure and align your team, your board, your budget and every tool at your disposal so you can not only drive your organization forward, but inspire donors and lead with innovation.
Learning outcomes:
--steps to determine KPIs and highlight trends for your organization
--strategies to ensure consistent and achievable development
--how to get your data in order to help predict growth
--how to use data 'test smart' for constant innovation and deploy at scale for success
--how to align all the foundations of your fundraising program to maximize data-driven opportunities for success and minimize failure

Ryerson University has been working towards decolonizing its curriculum, faculty and programs long before the TRC began to raise Canada's consciousness about its history of colonization. This presentation will share Ryerson's journey from its first Indigenous faculty hire in 2001, the creation of an Aboriginal Education Council, creative ways of hiring Indigenous Peoples, and implementing infusion models within various Schools and departments. In particular, the School of Social Work will be highlighted as an internationally recognized model of Indigenous content infusion within curriculum.

Learn about how a large institution came to confront its problematic history, recognize it wanted to work towards real respect, inclusion and equity of Indigenous Peoples, and some of their lessons learned along the way.

If there's one constant truth in the world of digital organizing, it's that organizations struggle to meaningfully connect with their supporters. Many of the industry's most creative ideas are on display at this conference, but there's a limit to digital organizing. To get past that limit, we need to blow open our imaginations and find new ways to build real community as part of our work.

In this keynote panel, Sandy and Nora will explore what it means to break through isolated organization. They will share with delegates their favourite campaigns and tactics, and they'll imagine the best of the oldest and newest ways of organizing.