14th Annual Conference ~ Decisions & Debates

October 25, 2006, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel
700 Aliceanna Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202

About the Conference

How do you make the decisions your organization depends on? In defusing a bomb there is very little room for mistakes. In baseball, a player becomes a superstar if he makes the right decision at the plate a third of the time. For managers, the margin for error falls somewhere in between. The number of correct decisions a person or organization makes often matters less than the relative value of those decisions.

Decision-making cuts across all the positions in an organization and is the essence of management. Nonprofit staffs are generally judged on outcomes, and most of the decisions made and the people who make them are not always sure after the fact what really led to their final answer. Within the broader topic of decision-making there is a cornucopia of factors and issues: Why do some people and groups seem to agonize over even the simplest of decisions? Do we let rationality or gut instinct drive our decisions? Whose decision is it? And, many decisions have an ethical dimension – when you say yes to one thing, you are saying no to something else. How are you making that decision?

Maryland Nonprofits’ 2006 Annual Conference will be devoted to the art and science of better decision-making. Conference sessions will be focused on how we make decisions in everything from board governance to public policy to human resources and fundraising and how these decisions are likely to affect the outcomes we are working towards. Nearly 600 nonprofit leaders are expected to once again come together to network, learn and discuss current issues facing the nonprofit sector. The jam packed one-day conference begins with a morning plenary including a guest speaker, followed by the first of three 80-minute breakout sessions. The luncheon includes our annual Standards for Excellence awards ceremony, followed by additional breakouts, and, we hope, an afternoon debate with electoral candidates. The conference will again feature a Vendor Marketplace with more than 70 exhibitors catering to the growing needs of Maryland’s nonprofit sector.

Program Schedule (Subject to Change)

Registration information coming soon.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, MICHAEL R. LEGAULT >>