Big Green Annual 2024 Created by the community, for the community.
Learn, share, and create tools to advance your nonprofit.
Book Now The Cambria
The Cambria RiNo has a locked rate group block. Click here to secure the group rate.
Read MoreTHE SCHEDULE
What to Expect The Annual is a multi-day event hosted in Denver, CO on September 30th-October 2nd, designed for your nonprofit's growth. Customize your experience, gain actionable tools, and connect with experts.
September 30, 2024
Kick off the event with the story slam on Monday night before you dive into two days of engaging sessions. Connect with the DAO community through an engaging storytelling experience hosted by Catherine Burns.
October 1-2, 2024
Tuesday and Wednesday will be jam-packed with sessions on earned revenue, the art and science of PR, growing a culture of resilience, cultivating collective impact, fundraising and more. Build your day by choosing the sessions that matter most to you and your growth!
Connect, Unwind, Repeat
Between sessions, relax and connect with a supportive community. Share experiences, grab a coffee, or join a yoga class all while you engage in meaningful conversations with peers who understand your journey.
The Perks!
- Engaging Core Sessions
This year's lineup will give you the tools and inspiration to take your work to the next level.
- Peer-Led Sessions for Your Growth
Join DAO Community members to learn about their knowledge and expertise.
- Sunrise Yoga Outside
Start Tuesday and Wednesday with Urban Sanctuary for relaxing and rejuvenating yoga in the park.
- Coffee All Day, Every Day
Our coffee bar at the Main Stage will have coffee, fresh juices, and light snacks all day.
- Redesign Your Website for FREE
Pop by Zing’s design station Tuesday and let their pros update your website live.
- Picture Perfect Professional Headshots
Perfect for updating your website, LinkedIn, or wherever you need to look your best.
2901 Blake St.
The Big Green Office
3601 Brighton Blvd.
Book the Locked Rate
The Cambria
The Cambria has a locked rate group block for the event.
Book the Locked Rate 2590 Walnut St.
Green Spaces
Main Stage
Green Spaces will host sessions Tuesday and Wednesday as the hub of the Annual.
Green Spaces 2601 Walnut St.
Community Stage
Sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday will be hosted here.
2944 Larimer St.
Two Moons
Join us Monday night from 7-9pm at Two Moons to kick off the 2024 Annual with old friends and new stories. Five incredible DAO members will take the stage to share their stories of "Unstoppable Growth" in a Story Slam produced by Catherine Burns, Peabody Award winning storyteller and former director of the Moth.
1900 35th St. RiNo Art Park
RiNo Art Park
The Art Park will host the sunrise yoga with Urban Sanctuary.
RiNo Art Park 3560 Chestnut Pl.
Number 38
Number Thirty Eight
Join us for a Tuesday night dinner and community social event from 6-7:30pm.
Number 38Where We'll Gather
The Annual will be hosted in Denver, Colorado on a walkable campus in the RiNo neighborhood. All event hubs are within walking distance of each other and the recommended hotels.
The event hubs are:
Two Moons, 2944 Larimer St.
Main Stage, 2590 Walnut St.
Community Stage, 2601 Walnut St.
Big Green Office, 2901 Blake St.
Rino Arts Park, 1900 35th St.
Number 38, 3560 Chestnut Pl.
JOIN FOR FREE
We’re committed to ensuring every nonprofit can attend. The Big Green Annual is completely free, and every food-growing nonprofit outside of Denver, CO, that requests a travel stipend will automatically receive $600 to help cover expenses.
Request a Travel StipendWhere to Stay
We recommend these nearby hotels.
TransportationGetting There
We recommend taking the Denver RTD A-line train, which runs to and from the Denver airport for $10 each way. Hop off at the 38th and Blake stop, which is within walking distance of the event hub and recommended hotels. Free street parking is available in the RiNo neighborhood, but please note that parking can be limited.
View the Train Schedule
Meet the Speakers
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Catherine Burns
Catherine E. Burns Productions
Catherine Burns is a Peabody Award–-winning director, storytelling midwife, consultant, and public speaker. From 2003 to 2023, she was the Artistic Director of The Moth, where she was a creator, host and producer of The Moth Radio Hour and co-author of the New York Times Best Seller How to Tell a Story. As one of the former artistic director of the moth, she has helped many hundreds of people craft their stories, including David Byrne, Elizabeth Gilbert, Padma Lakshmi, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, plus a New York City sanitation worker, a Nobel Laureate, the Tower of London’s Raven Master, a dental student, and an exonerated prisoner. She is the editor of the best-selling and critically acclaimed books The Moth: 50 True Stories, All These Wonders, Occasional Magic, and A Point of Beauty.
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Duron Chavis
The Happily Natural Day, DAO Collaborator
Leading Alternatives Land Access Models, Access to Capital & Community Land Trusts: During this session, attendees will learn how we have accessed land and $$.
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Katie Dillman
Make Our Day, DAO Collaborator
Leading Growing Together: Multi-Generational Impact through Project-Based Learning in Food and Community Development. Participants take away PBL curriculum.
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David Ellison
Watch Us Farm, DAO Collaborator
Leading How to Give Hope in your Community: Growing nutrient dense produce in food desert with adults with disabilities.
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Jennifer Muchison-Hudson
Fierce Consulting Group
Jennifer Muchison-Hudson, also known as The Nonprofit Cultivator is a passionate entrepreneur, believer, wife, and mother of five handsome boys. With over 2 decades of experience in the nonprofit sector,
Jennifer is a seasoned expert in helping small and start-up nonprofit organizations become impactful and sustainable. -
Laura Orland
Hi-Lo Agency
Laura Orland is the founder of Hi-Lo, a full-service communications agency based in Boulder. With a focus on media relations, marketing campaigns, and brand development, she partners with mission-driven organizations and individuals to help amplify their stories. Laura began her career at NBC News’ TODAY Show before transitioning into PR and marketing, building over 12 years of diverse experience in production, public relations, and strategic marketing. She holds an MBA from CU Boulder, where she learned to blend her passion for storytelling with effective business strategies. When she’s not working, you can find her traveling, hiking, trail running, teaching yoga, strolling through the farmers market, and cooking!
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Kishshana Palmer
Kishshana & Co.
Kishshana Palmer is an international speaker, trainer, and coach with a 20+ year background in fundraising, marketing, and talent management.
A keen strategist and driving force behind many wildly successful leadership initiatives, Kishshana has served as a fundraising consultant for dozens of nonprofits and organizations, raising in excess of $100 million dollars. Her foundational business skills include cultivating an internal talent pipeline, managing leadership and employee attrition, and meeting diversity goals.
She is also the founder of The Rooted Collaborative -- a global online community for nonwhite women in the social sector. She's the host of the podcast "Let's Take This Offline", an adjunct professor at Baruch College, a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer (CGT), A Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and an AFP Master Trainer. When an organization wants to grow, find and retain people on their team, raise money, and more she is the fairy godmother they have on speed dial. -
Chef Fresh Roberson, they/them & she/her
Born and raised in eastern North Carolina, Fresh is a transplant to the Midwest now calling Illinois home. An engineering and physics nerd turned farming chef, Fresh strives to make nutritious delicious food accessible to all while working to transform & expand racial equity in the Regional Grain Economy. Granddaughter to sharecroppers, Fresh is a farmer and the founder of Fresher Together, a collaborative food and farming project for healing, economic development, training and retreat as well as the Director of Chicago Bread Club. Fresh is dedicated to community well-being and creating restorative and nourishing food and spaces.
Fresh uses their background in Nonprofit management, community organizing, corporate food service, and tech to bring diversified organizational techniques, systems, and structures from funding to workplace operations and care. Fresh was a Stone Barns Center Regenerative Farming Fellow, currently serves on the Chicago Mayor’s Food Equity Council , and is a founding collaborator Chef of the Farm Food Familias Mutual Aid Project. Outside of food, Fresh was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as a 2021 Notable LGBTQ Executive, supports development for the Transformative Justice Law Project, and is a proud board member of Howard Brown Health. -
Falon Tabares
The Healthy Earth Organization, DAO Collaborator
Leading Strategic Planning & Partnerships: A Strategic Planning and Partnership Session. Gain tools to refine and develop strategic vision and set achievable goals for their org.
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Dianna Zeegers
Big Green
Dianna Zeegers is the Vice President of Program at Big Green. Over the past five years of service she led her team to bring forward a new program model that is centered on collaborations with local, grassroots organizations, pairing grants, gardens, and project management support to get more people growing food all across the nation.
Dianna also serves on the Big Green DAO Committee and has often noted that working alongside the DAO’s nonprofit leaders has been among the greatest experiences of her professional career.
Prior to working at Big Green, Dianna was a public educator for 20 years, serving as a teacher, curriculum specialist, and principal.
When she is away from work, Dianna will usually be found on a hiking trail, taking in a ball game, or just hanging out with her family, and Dewey the Dog.
The event was exactly what I needed to restore my commitment to my organization and my team members. My cup was overflowing, which gave me the capacity to once again pour back into my community.— 2023 Annual Attendee
SECURE YOUR SPOT
The Annual FAQs
The Annual is the second gathering of the nonprofit members of the Big Green DAO. The Big Green DAO believes fundamentally that growing food changes lives, and that the people and groups working on the frontlines of their community know where resources should go. Period.
This dynamic event will take place in Denver, Colorado, on October 1-2, 2024 bringing together approximately 200 people from as many as 100 small and grassroots nonprofits — all working to grow food in their communities. This unique gathering will further the collective work of the Big Green DAO and accelerate impact by equipping early-stage organizations with the knowledge, tools, and trusted networks they need to flourish in their mission.
The Annual will be hosted in Denver, Colorado and hosted on a walkable campus in the RiNo Arts District with Green Spaces as the hub.
The event will take place in the RiNo neighborhood of Denver, a convenient spot that puts you near various lodging options. We recommend these nearby hotels:
All organizations who have been awarded funds from the Big Green DAO are invited, as well as eligible organizations whose applications were advanced for voting but were not awarded funds by the community.
The Annual is open to all eligible organizations as described above, but it is designed for organizations who are in early stages of development and growth. If your organization is still young, has a budget under $1MM, a staff of less than 10 people, or you would self-assess your organization’s growth and capacity as being in an early stage, the Annual is especially for you!
The Annual is completely free to attend for all invited organizations. Furthermore, we have are offering a $600 travel stipend to guests outside of Denver to offset the cost of travel and lodging.
We recognize that the DAO is made up of organizations with varying degrees of flexibility in their budgets. If the cost of travel would be a barrier for you to attend the Annual, we will have a $600 travel stipend available to offset the cost. This opportunity is available to all invited organizations outside of Denver, CO and need is self-determined. Organizations may be eligible for more than one travel stipend if more members from your organization are attending. You can indicate your request for a stipend in the registration form, and they will be paid promptly after the event.
The ticket includes access to all the content and social events for the Annual, as well as lunch both days.
