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A Recap of TechSoup's Future of Work Conference

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift where virtual meeting platforms, work flexibility, equity, and team happiness are key factors shaping the future of the nonprofit workspace. These changes bring both benefits and challenges, and keeping up can feel overwhelming, exciting, or a confusing mix of both.

TechSoup recently held an online conference about the tools and techniques needed to create resilient and sustainable organizations for social change. We explored the methods nonprofits can use in order to improve collaboration inside organizations while also creating a more equitable sector.

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Read on for a video replay and breakdown of each session. Although the event is over, the content remains very relevant and helpful. We hope you and your nonprofit will watch these sessions featuring experienced experts in the field, covering topics such as well-being at work, managing disasters, the value of AI and data in improving our workspaces, and more.

From Exhausted to Energized: Centering Well-Being in the Way You Work (and Live)

Beth Kanter, co-author of The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World, helped us kick off the event with an engaging keynote on why recharging time is increasingly recognized as part of peak work performance and getting results.

As a sector, we are evolving from the workplace norm that you need to work to the point of burnout in order to succeed. Watch below as she offers practical tips on how to sustain your energy and bring more joy to your work (and life).

Speed Geek Demos

We offered fast-paced demos of tools and services for nonprofits that improve collaboration, efficiency, and operational processes in community facing work.

The five-minute demonstrations included

  • Using Otter.ai machine transcription
  • Establishing your credibility with Feedly
  • Proving the ROI of social media with Hootsuite
  • Leveraging the power of Airmeet to build community
  • Understanding the opportunities that AI presents to nonprofits
  • An online collaboration guide for facilitators
  • Managing your software with NachoNacho in an era of distributed workforce
  • Managing fundraising campaigns with HubSpot
  • Using Slack workflows to onboard volunteers

Watch below for the demos.

What Is the Metaverse, and Why Should Nonprofits Care About It?

Elul Rifman from Meta joined us with practical examples of how nonprofits are using the metaverse to deliver and implement their programs. Though the metaverse won't be a replacement for our experiences in daily life, it will help create richer experiences, he argued. Watch the session below for more.

Learn how to get Workplace from Meta.

Organizing Your Remote Working Team

Remote working is here to stay, and you've mastered the basics. But how do you implement creative and collaborative planning when working online?

Marti Grimminck, founder and CEO of International Connector, joined us to discuss the next step toward even more effective remote work collaboration in the virtual world. Watch the replay below to discover new tools and technologies for remote planning.

Security and Privacy in Today's IT Environment

Implementing proper cybersecurity at your organization may seem like a difficult task, but it is possible with just a few basic steps.

TechSoup's very own Kevin Mulhall closed day one of the conference with some simple actions you and your organization can take to stay safe while using devices on the web. Check it out below.

Facing the War: How Civil Society Adapts to New Reality in Ukraine

What could your nonprofit learn from Ukrainian organizations experiencing relocation, safety issues, cyber and physical security, and crisis project management?

To kick off the second day of the Future of Work conference, we were joined by Iryna Shvets from Ukrainian nonprofit Civil Network OPORA, a TechSoup Global Network partner. Watch below for a case study of how OPORA has adapted and continued its important work throughout  the Russian invasion.

Speed Geek Demos

Day two of the Future of Work conference included more quick demos of tools that nonprofits can start easily using today. These five-minute demos included

Watch below.

The Dividend of Time: How Smart Tech and AI Can Remake Work for the Better

What is smart tech and how can it help your nonprofit automate tasks? When used well, it can create a new “dividend of time” that staff can use to build relationships, tell stories, or just think.

Allison Fine, co-author of The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World, joined us for an overview of smart tech and how chatbots, AI, and similar technologies can help people remake work so that they can spend more time on the things they love, such as relationship building, and less time on mundane, repetitive tasks.

Watch below.

Internalizing Data Equity in Nonprofit Operations

Data is an essential part of modern nonprofit life, but it needs to be used thoughtfully to have a positive impact.

Our Future of Work conference was closed out with a presentation from LA Tech4Good's Kai Williams to discuss data equity concepts, the latest frameworks to promote equity in your data, and actionable steps you can take to make your data practices more equitable.

Thank You

TechSoup extends a huge thank-you to everybody who attended and engaged with us over the two days of our Future of Work conference. Stay tuned for more webinars and events coming from TechSoup. An extra special thanks to our sponsor, RoundTable Technology. Their critical investments in ensuring that the nonprofit sector has the digital skills to succeed have enabled TechSoup to deliver these sessions.

Top photo: Shutterstock