Troy University’s IDEA Bank in downtown Troy opened its doors on Friday to organizers and communicators for its nonprofit summit.

Lynne George, the Director of the IDEA Bank, said that the all-day workshop was intended to provide education, resources and networking specific to nonprofit organizations.

“We’re going over a few specific topics,” George said. “Specifically, communication plans and storytelling. We’re also going to go over some strategies for your social media and fundraising, which is huge for nonprofit organizations.”

Alaina Burnham is the founder of Spreadlight, a nonprofit dedicated to childhood cancer awareness and research. She said that she learned a lot from the summit regarding how broad communications can be.

 “I learned about making a communication audit and looking at what you’re doing so far so you can figure out what you need to change and what you need to improve upon,” Burnham said.

According to George, communication is the key to everything and all nonprofits have a story to tell.

 Stephanie Baker, the Director of Market Development at KW Plastics and a member of the Troy City Council, was the keynote speaker for the event.

Baker has had experience working with nonprofits and communicates with them often. Due to her extensive experience, Baker said she brings a lot to the table regarding building relationships with other nonprofits, even the competition, and strategies for doing so.

“I believe there’s a lot of opportunity for partnerships and a lot of strength that can come from understanding what other nonprofits are doing,” Baker said. “We all have boundaries and limitations with our time and our resources.

“If we really want to help our communities and provide full-service to the clients that these various organizations are focused on, getting to know one another’s strengths and resources will be key.”