The conference for Montana’s Nonprofit Sector.

In a world that divides, nonprofits unite.

In a divisive election year, AND is an opportunity for Montana’s nonprofit sector leaders to come together and celebrate all the ways we’re working to make our state a better place to live. This conference is a chance for learning AND rejuvenation. For you AND your team. For celebrating what we’ve done AND recommitting to what we have yet to do.

As you explore AND at this conference and in the days and weeks that follow, we hope that you are restored AND challenged.  By showing up and bringing your whole self to this space, you offer wisdom AND resilience AND strength to others.  Thank you for showing up AND for all you do to serve Montana.

speakers

keynote: Mia birdsong

Author of How We Show Up

Mia Birdsong is a pathfinder, culture change visionary, and futurist. She writes, leads, and opines from a futurist’s perspective while staying rooted in the here and now.

As founding Executive Director of Next River: An Institute For Practicing the Future, Mia is shifting conversations, culture, and resources to nourish the people, practices, and ideas that move us toward a liberated future. Mia’s voice is singular, but her approach is collective. She is a world builder who lives and breathes the transformative power of community. In her book How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community (Hachette, 2020), Mia maps swaths of community life and points us toward the promise of our collective vitality. In “More Than Enough,” her podcast miniseries from The Nation, she expands the guaranteed income movement by tapping into the voices and visions of low-income people and inviting us all to claim our inherent deservedness.

Believing that, taken collectively, we are the guides we most need, Mia has made an art out of inviting people into rich explorations of how we map paths forward. Her writing, interviews, and public conversations draw targeted attention to the stories of people who are finding their way despite myriad barriers. Mia’s culture and context shifting work helps us understand and embrace radical frameworks for concepts like freedom, deservedness, and interdependence.

Mia is a Senior Fellow of the Economic Security Project, a Future Good Fellow at Institute For the Future, and an inaugural Ascend Fellow of The Aspen Institute.

keynote: Kristen Grimm

Founder & Strategist, Spitfire

In her work at Spitfire, Kristen has created narratives that stick, messages that motivate, theories of influence that shape new laws of the land, campaign and communication strategies that drive momentum for movements, and field-building resources that share tricks of the trade so fellow change-makers can do smarter, more impactful work. Over her 30 years doing public interest communication and campaigns, she has worked for clients across issues and across the world. Kristen has a B.A. from Smith College. She currently serves on the boards of Grist and the Windward Fund, and she is on the advisory board for the Narrative Initiative. She is a member of the 2014 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute and serves in the moderator corps for Aspen. On faculty at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, she teaches a course on using influence to advance public policies.

Preconference Sessions

Join us in Helena on October 9 for one of three all-day preconference sessions. These workshops are your chance to dive deep into the topic of your choosing. Preconference sessions are $95 per person for MNA Members before September 18 ($150 after early bird pricing expires).

Call to Courage – A Dare to Lead

with Chantel Schieffer

Join Montana’s own Chantel Schieffer for a deep dive into your leadership. Based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown, Dare to Lead™ is an empirically based courage-building program for leaders across industries and positions. Get ready to rumble with vulnerability, live into your values, brave trust, and learn to rise in this interactive session.

Succession Planning for Leadership Continuity

with Catherine Bradshaw

Succession planning is one of our most requested workshops and an essential practice of a healthy nonprofit. Whether you’re a board member or executive, this workshop will provide tools, templates and frameworks that get you started on developing your organization’s succession plan.

Montana’s political landscape, the Montana legislature, and nonprofit lobbying 

with Ella Smith and SK Rossi

Whether it’s your first or fifth legislative session in 2025, this workshop is geared to help you feel confident, prepared, and effective. Get the insider track to who is who in Montana politics, how the legislative process works, and how to work with active coalitions.

-AND- is SPONSORED BY