I have been accepted to attend the StartingBloc New York 2018 Institute, taking place on August 16th thru August 20th in New York, New York! This five day training event teaches leadership, social innovation, human-centered solution design, and inclusion. StartingBloc has offered over a decade of programs, and is one of the premier organizations offering Leadership Development for nonprofit professionals and the agenda focuses on team leadership, storytelling, human-centered program design, facilitation, and community building that are very relevant to my career challenges right now. StartingBloc’s programming, speakers, and the community of professionals who attend are noteworthy. For example, the keynote speaker in the past has been Robert Egger, the founder of the DC Central Kitchen, a man who was named a Top 50 Most Influential Nonprofit Leader, four years in a row. The community is comprised of 2,800 professionals from around the globe, representing 56 countries. The event features in-depth workshops around creative problem-solving, cultivating strong and effective communication, leveraging key relationships, and managing paradox in organizations to create better outcomes, so I will return with new skills to apply to my work and share with my teams. Also, StartingBloc is a perfect space to build alliances with professionals who could become partners or customers for my growing profession! This will prove highly valuable for my professional development. Please see the conference website at http://startingbloc.org/ and an overview of the Institute here: www.startingbloc.org/institute/ The cost to attend the event is typically $1,250 and I have been awarded a scholarship for 50% of the tuition for this incredible development opportunity by the StartingBloc committee - so, that means that if I can rally 125 people to donate just $5.00, the cost of my tuition is covered - also, your donations are tax deductible! I will still be responsible for travel to and from New York (if you have airline miles you might be willing and able to donate to me that would also be an incredible way to help me achieve my goals) and room and board (so if you have friends or family who live in the city and would be willing to put me up for 4 nights that would be amazing too!). I realize how silly this all must sound, but ya know - sometimes we need to call out to our community to help lift us up! Thank you so much for your time and consideration of sponsoring my participation in this incredible program.
Onward & Upward,
Ashley Poulson
Aspiring Social Entrepreneur
Environmentalist
StartingBloc NY 2018 Fellow
