Breakout sessions. Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

Our latest Block Party was June 7th in Chicago, and, as always, we’d like to say thank you to our amazing clients for making this event such a great success. 

“Our Chicago user community is one of our most engaged,” says Claudine Ting, Marketing Specialist, Client Success. “They were the first to create their own local user group, CHUG (Chicago User Group), and are always eager to share their thoughts and ideas with us.”

Watch the video below to see what some of the attendees had to say.

SmartSimple's Technical Account Advisor, Arjun Hiranandani leading a breakout session. Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

Our host this year was one of our family foundation clients, Crown Family Philanthropies. The Crown family came to Chicago at the end of the 19th century, and built one of the most successful corporations in America, Material Service Corporation. In 1947, they started their foundation, and currently provide granting opportunities to a range of areas, including arts and culture, education, health, and Jewish charities.

The Chicago River. Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

The day began with a networking breakfast, welcoming attendees to the event and providing an opportunity for everyone to meet the SmartSimple team. It was then followed by a Q&A session on the May upgrade features, a best practice exchange workshop about reporting and workflows, and in the afternoon some tips and tricks from Co-Founder and Director of Customer Experience, Eric Lauer, for getting the most out of the SmartSimple system.

SmartSimple's Co-Founder & Director, Customer Experience presenting system upgrades at the event. Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

SmartSimple's Marketing Specialist, Claudine Ting facilitating the event.  Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

Our featured system presentation was provided by our friends at The Clara Abbott Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to helping the families who work for  Abbott. For more than 75 years, the Foundation has provided financial assistance in the form of university scholarships, disaster relief funds, and financial assistance grants. To date, they’ve made a positive impact on more than 28,000 lives in 60 countries.

Creative minds in attendance at the event.  Photo by Todd Lapin, Director of Strategic Accounts

While our next Block Party isn’t until the fall, you can see us at upcoming events, including:

• International Grantmaking Symposium, June 6-7, Washington, DC

• Americans for the Arts 2018 Annual Convention, June 16-18, Denver, CO

• 2018 Rotary International Convention, June 23-27, Toronto, ON

We’ll be hosting our next Block Party in New York City on September 6, then heading to Nashville from October 17-19 for another Block Party and our Annual Elevate Conference. Keep an eye on the events page of our website for more information, coming soon!