What is a nexus? A Japanese luxury car? No. You’re thinking of Ninfiniti.
A nexus is a connection between people, things, or ideas. For example, Eden Prairie Lifestyle is your nexus to every business in the southwest metro worthy of your patronage. You’ll find many such nexuses in the commercial sector. You just happen to be holding the best one. Go ahead. Feel that high-quality paper between your thumb and forefinger. We made it from high-quality trees, just for you.
The nonprofit sector, on the other hand, is comparably bereft of nexuses. That means it is regrettably easy for leaders of nonprofit organizations to feel like they are adrift at sea, except said sea is a protean imbroglio of challenges related to funding, recruitment, and community engagement.
The Eden Prairie Community Foundation and Helping Paws are fixing that.
“It used to be called ‘Coffee Klatch,’” said Emily Orr, executive director of the Foundation. “It was established by Mark Weber, one of my predecessors, and invited leaders of nonprofit, government, and other service-based organizations to convene and converse about their respective causes and challenges over coffee (or tea). It was also quite popular, as I received multiple requests to revive it upon my taking office last February.
“I decided to do just that, and was fortunate to have the perfect ally right from the onset: Alyssa Golob, executive director of Helping Paws which raises beautiful assistance dogs right here in town. Her intimate knowledge of nonprofit networking groups throughout the Twin Cities provided the foundation we needed to launch the successful reinvention of Coffee Klatch – now named ‘Coffee, Causes & Conversation,’ primarily to accommodate those who’ve never heard of a ‘klatch’ before.
“It’s as casual as casual can be. We gather from 8:30 to 9:30am on the last Monday of each month at a rotating location – Peoples Organic during our inaugural meeting, followed by Helping Paws in July – where we discuss challenges we are presently confronting and explore potential solutions together. And it’s proven to be quite the brain trust! Having already welcomed Ruth Kewitsch of True Friends, Molly Malone of Eden Prairie Schools, Pat MulQueeny of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Joan Palmquist of the Eden Prairie Housing Alliance, and Paja Xiong of the city of Eden Prairie, I can confidently say that Coffee, Causes & Conversation encapsulates all the experience nonprofit leaders would need to weather nearly any storm.
“Coffee, Causes & Conversation may be new, but it can already claim some successes. Helping Paws owes their new partnership with Reach for Resources of Edina to the ideas we all tossed around. Alyssa repaid the favor by sharing her expertise on event planning, which has attracted new donors to our members’ various fundraisers.
“That’s the power of meeting in person to share organic conversation. We speak freely, and assemble frequently enough to keep abreast of the rapidly evolving nonprofit landscape – where obstacles you could not have foreseen one month become the talk of the town the next. All of our members got their full fill of Zoom meetings in 2020, and appreciate these opportunities to connect face to face with their peers. It gives them a greater sense of belonging to the very same community they’ve committed to serve.
“The Chamber already goes above and beyond uniting and uplifting local businesses. We’ve nothing to offer to entrepreneurs and other industry leaders that Pat and his team aren’t already. That being said, if you would like to volunteer your own business as the spot for an upcoming Coffee, Causes & Conversation, then we would be delighted to have you speak for a few minutes about your support for the nonprofit sector!”
Coffee, Causes & Conversation is invite-only, but everyone whose job doesn’t chiefly involve mercantilism is invited. Email emilyorr@epcommunityfoundation.org to join the mailing list! EPCommunityFoundation.org | HelpingPaws.org