Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Category: Apra Chapters
In celebration of National Entrepreneurship Month, Apra DC-MD, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapters (MARC) and Maryland Nonprofits co-present a dynamic panel discussion in November 2026 exploring the transformative power of entrepreneurial thinking in the non-profit sector.
Whether your nonprofit role is centered in prospect development or operations, frontline fundraising or communications, executive leadership or another functional area, the ability to innovate, adapt and drive impact is more vital than ever. Great change begins with a powerful idea – but true impact lies in execution from ideation to action.
Through the lens of founder origin stories, ideation processes and strategic risk-taking, this session connects the lessons learned through entrepreneurial grit to takeaways that will strengthen mission-driven work across roles and functions. Panelists will explore how curiosity, experimentation, resilience and the willingness to challenge conventional approaches can help organizations solve problems, seize opportunities and turn bold ideas into meaningful impact.
Our distinguished panelists – The Black Mill’s Chelsea Brown, WIZE’s Louis Diez, Donor Atlas’ Will Schrepferman and Maryland Nonprofits’ Wendy Wolff – will draw upon their diverse perspectives in articulating how startup principles can elevate your daily work and advance your institution’s mission:
Founder Origin Stories & Ideation: How innovative concepts move from napkin sketches to scalable, real-world solutions.
Navigating Challenge & Capitalizing on Opportunity: Practical approaches to pivoting when strategies shift and evaluating (and seizing) unexpected growth moments.
Strategic Thinking in Action: Bridging high-level visionary ideas with the disciplined execution required across fundraising, operations, programs, data, communications, leadership and other areas of nonprofit work.
The Non-Profit Throughline: Actionable takeaways on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of your role or organizational size.
Chelsea, Will, Wendy and Louis will share their personal journeys, practical frameworks and lessons learned on harnessing the power of ideas to create lasting change across the sector.
Key Takeaways for Attendees:
- Adopt an Entrepreneurial Lens: Learn how to identify untapped opportunities and test new approaches within your team, department or entire organization.
- Master the Art of Execution: Move beyond big-picture strategy into agile, structured execution that yields measurable fundraising results.
- Build Problem-Solving Resilience: Discover how entrepreneurs reframe obstacles into strategic advantages and apply those tactics to complex challenges in the nonprofit setting
LEARN MORE + REGISTER