One of the highlights of 2019 was, of course, our 30th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting at Chicago Architecture Center. But there is much more from this year that we are proud of, including the following highlights. 

We were engaged

• Overall program attendance grew 5-10%
• Established two new committees, Finance and Nonprofit Relations Committee
• 30% of our members currently volunteer on the board of directors or on a committee
• Membership is growing and set to break our current record

We helped you grow your business

• Shared a record number of RFPs with members (55) 
• Created ACN member badges for website and email usage
• Increased frequency of guest blogs and introduced a new blog series to promote member collaborations (Collaboration Corner)
• Offered the opportunity to apply to be a speaker for Forefront and Chicago Cares educational webinars and workshops

We were social

• Launched a private Facebook group (almost 50% of members have joined)
• Upped our social media presence on LinkedIn and Facebook
• Launched a GivingTuesday campaign to promote our members and nonprofits

We collaborated—and made an impact 

• Established a relationship with Giving DuPage and hosted our first collaborative networking event 
• Co-hosted networking events with local like-minded organizations, such as Social Enterprise Alliance Chicago
• Partnered with local nonprofits, such as Burst Into Books, to add a “give back” element to our quarterly Connecting for Good and Coffee Connection networking events 

We look forward to connecting with more members and nonprofit organizations in 2020 as we continue to build on ACN’s 30 years of success!