What we learned at the 2023 Nonprofit Technology Conference
Great Believer attended the 2023 Nonprofit Technology Conference, which was held in Denver. As always, the amazing team at NTEN did an incredible job planning everything.
Here are a few things that stood out from our experience.
Lots of non-designers are looking to hone their craft.
Mike and Josh from Great Believer ran a session called Design Tips for the Non-Designer. The audience for this session were nonprofit staff who find design work creeping into their day-to-day responsibilities (even though they have no formal design training). Turns out a LOT of people fit this description.
Our session covered the key pillars of good design – color, typography, whitespace and hierarchy – and featured real-world examples of how these pillars can combine to generate more clean, nuanced design. We’re hopeful that our session’s attendees have grown more confident in their design skills.
M&R has the goods.
Our friends at M&R ran a great session with Planned Parenthood called 60 Tests in 60 Minutes. Throughout the session, M&R shared the results of impact-based research they’ve done on the nonprofit space.
Here are a few takeaways that stood out to us:
- More hopeful, optimistic images perform better than a crisis-oriented photo (this is a new trend that goes against a former best practice)
- When a mass email has personalized language (e.g. “Hello Jocelyn!” instead of “Hello friend!”), there’s a 480% increase in conversion rate.
- Using emojis in a mass email’s subject line leads to a 35% higher response rate. 😊
This is the kind of research featured in M&R’s latest Benchmarks Study. Check it out!
We can design more sustainable, eco-friendly websites.
Finally, there are ways to measure the environmental impact of your website!
The Website Carbon Calculator will tell you your website’s carbon footprint (and suggest ways to reduce it). Plus, you can use the Green Web Directory to find eco-friendly website hosting providers.
Happy hours are fun.
Along with our friends at Big Duck, CitizenRacecar, Roundtable Technology and Whole Whale, we sponsored a happy hour for all NTC attendees.
We hobnobbed with nonprofit professionals representing all sorts of causes and hailing from all over the world. Lots of love to everyone who came out.
Pickleball is taking over the world.
NTEN always gives the people what they want – even when it comes to activities attendees can do between sessions or once the day winds down. This year’s prime attraction: pickleball.
Yes, we could have played ping pong or cornhole. But who needs it? Pickleball is where it’s at. And as you can see above, we made some new friends over a friendly game of pickleball.
We can’t get enough NTC.
If this post hasn’t made it clear that we love us some NTC, allow us to share this NTC-loving Instagram Reel.
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24NTC will be held in Portland, Oregon and the GB team is IN. See you there!