What: The 2nd Annual Collaborative Action for Employment (CAfE) Conference
Theme: Moving Forward Together

Conference Overview:
In this economy, service providers are being forced to find creative ways to help individuals and families access the resources and services they need to move forward.

This conference strives to improve and strengthen the way professionals collaborate — share resources, tools, and information — with the common goal of helping individuals and families. This conference will highlight different collaborative initiatives, provide hands on education of social media tools, give insight into local funding organizations, and send you home with a collaboration toolkit to get you started!

CAfE Vision: To get organizations/individuals actively working together, sharing knowledge to learn and building consensus, while obtaining greater awareness and effectively using finite resources to enhance services in individuals.

When: November 4, 2010
8:00-3:30 pm

Where: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska MN

Cost: $30 (includes lunch)

Registration: http://www.regonline.com/2010CAfEConference

Abbreviated Agenda: (See registration site for more details)

Opening Morning Keynote Session
Andy Weisberg is a motivational speaker that will address collaboration in our current economy and give us a new perspective on change, creativity and leadership in the work we do.

Morning Break Out Sessions (Repeated again in the afternoon)

1. Collaboration Panel: This session will showcase different collaboration initiatives at different “life stages.” Each initiative will talk about their collaboration by describing the process including giving insight into the successes and challenges they have faced along the way. Participating collaboration initiatives: Heading Home Ramsey, Twin Cities Network for Financial Success, FastTRAC, & Pathways to Legal Status/Citizenship Project.

2. Funding Panel: Come and learn how local and greater Minnesota funding organizations view collaboration, what they look for in collaboration initiatives, and how they measure collaborative outcomes. Participating funding organizations: The Jay and Rose Phillip Family Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Greater Twin Cities United Way & The Minneapolis Foundation.

3. Social Media Panel: This session will bridge the usefulness of social media tools in collaboration with the technical instructions of how to use these tools. This panel will also showcase examples how social media has been used within specific organizations. Panelists: Mimi Larson and Katie Ladas, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Lindsi Gish, Second Harvest Heartland, Meghan Seawell, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valley & Ashley Schweitzer, Nonprofits Assistance Fund.

4. Collaboration Toolkit: This session will walk participants through a toolkit offering a variety of resources that can be adapted to guide them through the collaborative process.  Participants will walk away with adaptable templates and worksheets aimed to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of inter-organizational work. Presenter: Anne Johnson, Office of Economic Opportunities, Department of Health and Human Services.

Closing Afternoon Keynote Session
Jodi Sandfort, University of Minnesota, is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota and a Special Assistant to President Robert Bruininks. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on improving the implementation of social policy, particularly those policies designed to support low-income children and their families.

Conference Partners:

• MN Community Action Partnership
• ISEEK
• Minnesota Financial Fitness Network
• Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
• MN Dept. of Employment and Economic Development
• MN Dept.of Human Services/Office of Economic Opportunity & Transition to Economic Stability
• MN WorkForce Council Association
• U of M Extension

Registration: http://www.regonline.com/2010CAfEConference

**Please Forward to Other interested Individuals/Organizations**