ECBN Denver, CO

The sixth annual Gathering of the Environmental Capacity Builders Network (ECBN) will take place February 8th, 9th and 10th 2012, in Denver, Colorado.

A little about the gathering...

The Gathering is a unique opportunity to learn and network with select group of 20+ colleagues who all do similar work in the environmental field. Please join us as we learn new strategies, share insights, and build relationships with fellow capacity building organizations

Register by Dec 31, 2011

Registration Here

Meeting place
The Alliance Center, that houses multiple nonprofit organizations in an award-winning sustainably-designed facility; the Colorado Environmental Coalition will act as our host;
Tattered Cover Book Store in the Alliance Center is a great spot for breaks and refreshments;

Cost:
$25.00 per person; lodging, travel, meals are each person’s responsibility

Lodging
The Curtis – a Doubletree hotel in downtown Denver; within walking distance of the Alliance Center; $99 for double or single; complimentary internet and fitness center; can purchase vouchers for breakfast;
(The Hotel understands that each guest will be arranging his/her own room reservation. To be certain that reservations are confirmed, please call the hotel directly at 303-571-0300 or toll free at 800-525-6651 for USA and Canada 24 hours a day. Requests may also be faxed to 303-615-5110. When making reservations, guests should identify themselves as part of Environmental Capacity Builders Network (ECBN) and have a credit card ready to guarantee the reservation. The hotel accepts all credit cards. All reservation requests must be received by the reservation deadline of 1/9/2012. Any remaining rooms not reserved will be released for sale to the public and reservations received after this date will be subject to space and rate availability.)

Travel Tips
– if you are flying to Denver, take the $20 super shuttle from airport to downtown Denver;

Draft Agenda (still being developed)

Gathering times:
Wednesday, Feb. 8: 4-5:30 & 7-9 group dinner
Thursday, Feb. 9: 9-12 & 1:30-5 group dinner???
Friday, Feb. 10: 9-12

Wed 4:00 – 5:30 pm
• What to get out of the meeting
• Participants’ exercise
• Discussion/consensus about “open space” topics

Wed 7:00 – 9:00 pm
• Stories of capacity building success/ challenge (and how the challenge was resolved)

Thursday and Friday sessions (major topics and open space/small discussion group topics to consider):
• Thursday and Friday sessions (topics for open space and small discussion group):
• The state of capacity building and funding challenges
• Better collaboration among our members; 10 tangible collaboration ideas
• ICL’s new assessment tool and other tools to engage the community and assess if orgs are fully reaching all populations of the community;
• Assessment tools in general – how to go from theoretical to practical implementation of results of the assessment
• Organizational assessment tools - how we assess the capacities of our member organizations; what kind of tools – examples
• Leadership Development: When Leaders Leave- Succession Planning for a Smooth Transition
• Leadership Development: Deep Fried- Preventing Executive Director Burn Out
• Fundraising: Donor Prospect Research on a Shoestring
• Fundraising: Getting Your Board on Board with Fundraising
• Communications: Effective Social Networking Tips for Organizing and Advocacy
• Coaching systems
• Leadership development – measuring the development and effectiveness of their leaders
• Volunteer leaders – ICL’s volunteerism 2.0
• More … your ideas

Hope to see you there!

If you have any questions feel free to contact one of the Planning Committee members:
Kevin Williams, Western Organization of Resource Councils, montrose@worc.org, 970-323-6849
Vicki Deisner, Freshwater Future, vicki@freshwaterfuture.org, 231-347-1181
Renee Kivikko, Land Trust Alliance, rkivikko@lta.org
Melissa Gavin, State Environmental Leadership Program, mgavin@selp.org, 608-268-1440
Mary Ellen Olcese, River Network, meolcese@rivernetwork.org, 410-745-3053

About the Environmental Capacity Builders Network
The Environmental Capacity Builders Network is a network of nonprofit capacity building organizations from North America (including the United States, Canada, and Mexico) devoted to enabling organizations to fulfill their environmental missions. Our mission is to enhance the effectiveness of the work we do to build the power and impact of environmental, conservation and environmental justice groups in North America, individually and collectively.

Register Today!