Over 100 nonprofit representatives attended the Bayou Community Foundation’s 2019 Bayou Region Nonprofit Conference on Friday, August 16, 2019, designed to help local nonprofit staff and Board members strengthen their organizations and the impact that they make on our community.

Fletcher Technical Community College hosted this year’s conference at its main campus in Schriever and the Greater New Orleans Foundation was event sponsor.  The first Bayou Region Nonprofit Conference was held in July 2018.

“Bayou Community Foundation was delighted once again to offer this exciting and informative learning opportunity for our local nonprofits right here at home.  To have so many local nonprofits come together for one day to learn, share and grow in our own backyard was truly incredible,” said Bayou Community Foundation Executive Director Jennifer Armand. 

“Nonprofits are heart and hands of our Bayou Region, and by investing in these local organizations, we are making our precious coastal community stronger. That’s what the Bayou Community Foundation is all about,” she said.

“The nonprofits of our region represent the very fabric of our civic life,” said Andy Kopplin, President & CEO, Greater New Orleans Foundation. “One of our ambitions at the Greater New Orleans Foundation is for our region to be known for having the best governed, best managed, most effective nonprofits in the nation. By focusing on board governance and nonprofit leadership, we drive effectiveness and impact. The Bayou Conference is one of the best ways we partner to provide this critical impact, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration for years to come.”

“Fletcher Technical Community College was honored to once again host this year’s Bayou Region Conference for Nonprofits,” said Dr. Kristine Strickland, Chancellor of Fletcher. “The educational and training opportunities provided at the conference are directly aligned with Fletcher’s mission and our participation is fundamental to who we are as a community college. The nonprofit organizations in our region work diligently to provide services and opportunities for residents, uplift our community and promote an enhanced quality of life for all,” she said.

The full-day conference featured regional nonprofit consultants with expertise in nonprofit communication, fundraising and governance as session presenters. Learning sessions covered topics as Telling Your Nonprofit’s Story,Strategic Planning for Small Nonprofits, Leading Finance Practices, and Capitalizing on Fund Development Trends with Your Online Presence, among others.  

Local social media video celebrity “DJ Rhett” Lecompte kicked off the day with an energizing opening presentation, “Just Do You!,” and a panel discussion on fundraising moderated by consultant Susan Mancuso was held after lunch. Participating on the panel were Jonathan Foret, Executive Director of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center; Chandler LeBoeuf, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement at Fletcher; and Sherri Roach, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Terrebonne Foundation for Academic Excellence.