NEWS FOR NONPROFITS

HANO conference helps nonprofits build awareness, support

Nearly 250 nonprofit leaders attended the 2008 HANO Conference on Friday, May 16, at the Ko‘olau Golf Course Conference Center in Kaneohe to network with each other and explore the importance of effective storytelling to increase awareness and support of their work and the nonprofit sector as a whole. 

Governor Linda Lingle welcomed the conference attendees via video – she was travelling in Israel – and the keynote speeches, which framed the day’s agenda, were given by Michael Margolis, of Thirsty-Fish Story and Strategy, a business storyteller and “PopAnthropologist” with a passion for organizational dynamics and Puanani Burgess, local poet, cultural translator, and master storyteller. 

Margolis’ presentation, “The Nonprofit Narrative: Using Stories to Reframe the Sector,”  urged attendees to invite their audiences into a relationship with their organization through strategic storytelling.

Your story is “more than a few client anecdotes or the clichéd guilt-ridden appeal. Your story is the sum of why people care and take interest in what you do,” he said. He described how nonprofits and the sector telling these stories helps others understand how we serve as the social fabric and conscience of society and suggested that there are three strategic stories for every nonprofit:

  • The Founding story – understanding your purpose and origin
  • The Future story – describing the promised land in vivid terms
  • The Fundraising story – getting people to act on their values

Puanani Burgess focused on the Hawaiian storytelling tradition and “Building the Beloved Community.”  She shared several powerful stories, outlining her vision of the three most strategic stories an organization has to share: the story of how the organization was named, the story of the community the organization serves and the story of the organization’s unique gift to the community.

Breakout sessions included:

  • Brand Storytelling, presented by Michael Margolis, which focused on the vocabulary of strategic branding, and how to think about a nonprofit’s story beyond just a logo, tagline, or advertising campaign to the emotional relationship between an organization and its core constituents (donors, clients, board, media, etc…).
  • Make Constituents Part of the Story, presented by Stephanie Jowers-Margolis of Thirsty-Fish Story and Strategy, which offered participants a set of principles for how to activate passion and engagement from their core constituents.
  • Uncovering Donors’ Stories and How They Can Transform Organizations, presented by Monica Grant, YMCA of Honolulu, which focused on how to elicit donors stories and understand the connection between their stories and your organization’s story.
  • Using New Media to Tell Your Story, presented by James Gonser, Community News Editor of The Honolulu Advertiser and Keali‘i Lopez, President and CEO of ‘Olelo Community Television, which discussed free media tools available to nonprofits as well as techniques and practical examples of effective visual storytelling.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann addressed conference attendees at lunch and encouraged participants to address the need for positive stories about how nonprofits contribute to the community. He also congratulated HANO CEO John Flanagan, who plans to retire in September, on having built the organization and joked that he had a number of jobs available for Flanagan in City government.

Conference attendees had the opportunity to chat with 16 exhibitors and to have 'Olelo videotape a sound bite about their nonprofit and its unique role in our community.

In the afternoon plenary session, Flanagan shared a draft Hawai‘i nonprofit sector report, containing statistics on the size and makeup of the state’s nonprofit industry. He urged attendees to send HANO their stories to breathe life into this report by describing the positive contributions it makes to the quality of life. 

Roshani Shay, HANO member and director of the Hawaii Wellness Institute, echoed the call to action and shared her experience with the power of telling the nonprofit story, turning a political opponent into a champion for the disabled. 

Andrew Aoki of Kanu Hawai‘i asked attendees to make personal commitments to bring their lives closer in line with the Hawai‘i we want to see. These commitments, made on cards distributed to attendees have been posted on the HANO page of the Kanu Hawai‘i web site.

“We thank all of you who attended the conference, all our sponsors and exhibitors, talented presenters, the HANO staff – especially Jennifer Cornish Creed whose organizational skills brought it all together – and the HANO board members who helped through donations of time, talent and sponsorships,” said Flanagan. “Your support is invaluable in helping HANO to unite and strengthen Hawai‘i nonprofits.”