One of the Workshop’s key events each year since 1993, our conference is designed for nonprofit communicators: volunteers and staff who are responsible for telling their group’s story through the news media or other channels. We bring them together with journalists looking for stories ‘off the beaten path’ and invite them to join in a dialogue on how to produce news that matters.

Conference attendees get four key takeaways:

• Training: to increase nonprofit communicators’ skills and understanding of the news process, allowing them to better access the media in ways that are effective.
• Sourcing: journalists get leads and sources from among a group that tends to receive ‘spot’ coverage rather than more focused and influential treatment.
• Skill-building: Connecting these two groups with web advocates and nonprofit technologists in order to develop a better understanding of new media to deliver their message.
• Relationship-building: the conference builds relationships between nonprofit and news outlet personnel. Beyond more and better coverage of nonprofits, their constituents and their issues, the outcome of our conferences has been understanding and consensus on where nonprofits fit in the news cycle.

Don’t take our word for it. If you’re wondering who comes and what they got out of it, you can download the evaluation from last year’s conference. You can also see what last year’s attendees had to say about the Making Media Connections conference by reading their survey feedback.