President's message:

It was perhaps the biggest & best
Hawaii nonprofit conference ever

The Conference of Nonprofit Communities of Hawaii has come and gone. Nearly 600 people attended and almost 200 more came to the Omidyar keynote luncheon, possibly making it Hawaii’s largest gathering of nonprofit stakeholders ever.  As Hawaii Community Foundation’s Kelvin Taketa joked, it was truly the Woodstock of the nonprofit sector. 

The two days were rich with content and featured top-notch, thought-provoking speakers who aimed to please both those new to the sector and old-timers. We hope everyone left rejuvenated and inspired, better informed and better connected.

We thank conference partners, the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Aloha Chapter and Chaminade University, and especially Hawaii Community Foundation, the title sponsor, which generously provided conference and travel scholarships to ensure statewide presence at our event. We also appreciate the role of our supporting partners the Aloha Society of Association Executives and Partnership for Philanthropic Planning Hawaii.

Collaborations like this take time and can be complex but are worth it when they deliver a comprehensive educational product that leverages each partner’s resources to benefit our combined constituencies.

The conference could not have been possible without the generosity of our other major sponsors and more than 20 exhibitors, who shared information on useful products and services for nonprofits -- and all the working committee members who dedicated countless hours to planning and coordination.

Please enjoy this month's newsletter with special conference coverage.

Happy Holidays. See you in 2012.

Lisa Maruyama
HANO president and CEO