10:23 a.m., March 1, 2010----“The Future of the Nonprofit Sector in Delaware and the Nation” will be the subject of a two-day University of Delaware conference, scheduled Monday and Tuesday, March 22-23, at Clayton Hall on the Laird Campus.

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The conference, which will include opening remarks by UD President Patrick Harker, will feature state, foundation, corporate and nonprofit leaders discussing the initiatives needed to strengthen the nonprofit sector and its partnerships with government and philanthropy.

Keynote speakers on March 22 will be Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and Steven Rathgeb Smith, who is the 2009-10 Waldemar A. Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy at Georgetown University's Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership.

At Georgetown, Smith teaches courses on public private partnerships, implementation of social policy and nonprofit management and conducts research on foundations, advocacy by nonprofit organizations and nonprofit social services. He is the coauthor of Nonprofits for Hire: The Welfare State in the Age of Contracting and Public Policy for Democracy.

Monday panel discussions

The first day of the conference also will feature three panel discussions:

--“The National Status of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector,” moderated by Dan Rich, University Professor of Public Policy at UD, with Elizabeth Boris, director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.; Tim Delaney, president of the National Council of Nonprofits; and Aaron Dorfman, executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy;

-- “The State of Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in Delaware,” moderated by Tony Allen, trustee of the Laffey-McHugh Foundation, with Deborah Auger, associate professor of urban affairs and public policy at UD and director of the “Forward Together” Project; Pam Cornforth of the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies; Mary Kress Littlepage of KBT & Associates and author of Philanthropy in the First State; and Steven Peuquet, director of UD's Center for Community Research and Service; and

-- “Strengthening Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in Delaware,” moderated by John H. Taylor Jr., executive director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute, with Delaware Lt. Gov. Matt Denn; Tim Huval, Delaware market president of Bank of America; Peter Morrow, president of the Welfare Foundation; Jon Pratt, director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits; and Helen Stewart, vice president of JP Morgan Chase.

March 23 will kick off with a welcome by Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, and focus on the initiatives needed to strengthen nonprofit organizations big and small, and their partnerships with government and philanthropy.

Tuesday workshops

Two sets of concurrent workshops will consider critical issues facing the nonprofit sector in Delaware and the action steps needed to address these issues. The workshops will help shape a work plan for sustained partnership efforts over the succeeding months and years.

Participants can choose from four workshops at 9 a.m.: “Strategic Opportunities for Collaboration and Consolidation - Models of Success,” “Implementing Forward Together: Government, Nonprofits and Philanthropy,” “Fulfilling the Information and Research Needs of the Nonprofit Sector” or “Strengthening Philanthropy in Delaware.”

At 10:30 a.m., three concurrent workshops will be offered: “Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Small, Grassroots and Faith-Based Nonprofits,” “Effective Advocacy for the Nonprofit Sector in Delaware” or “Challenges Facing Nonprofit Boards.”

Concluding the activities on March 23 will be a noon plenary roundtable on the topic, “Strategic Actions: What's Next?”

Cost for the conference is $75, with a special rate of $25 for representatives of nonprofit, University and government organizations. Early registration is recommended since space is limited.

Additional details of the conference and registration are available online at the Creating Knowledge-Based Partnerships Web page.

The March 22-23 conference is part of a continuing series of programs on Creating Knowledge-Based Partnerships, that is designed to engage education, government, community and business leaders in the challenges and opportunities of creating and sustaining partnerships of importance to Delaware, the region and the nation.

Conference sponsors are the Longwood Foundation, the Delaware Philanthropy Forum, the Delaware Community Foundation, the Jesse Ball du Pont Fund, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Laffey-McHugh Foundation, the Welfare Foundation, AstraZeneca, DuPont, Delmarva Power, the Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, the Wilmington Trust Co., United Way of Delaware, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, the Cannon-Arsht Foundation, the Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies (DANA), the state of Delaware, the Office of the Governor, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware Public Policy Institute, the News Journal, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical and Community College and the University of Delaware.