Learning Opportunities are workshops and other professional development opportunities for nonprofit staffs and board members.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Introduction to Foundation Directory Online
This free workshop by the Foundation Center provides a hands-on introduction to the Center's comprehensive Web subscription databases. Participants will learn how to create customized searches to develop lists of prospective donors.
Introduction to Corporate Giving
This free Foundation Center workshop provides an introduction to corporate support for nonprofits and effective use of the Center's print and electronic resources on corporate giving.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Before You Seek a Grant: A Checklist for New Nonprofits
This free Foundation Center course will teach representatives of community groups without nonprofit status, or new nonprofits with little grantseeking experience, the fundamentals of foundation fundraising.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Art of the Essay: Writing Proposals They 'll Read
Do your proposals need sprucing up? Participants in this Maryland Nonprofits course will learn how to create compelling, free-of-jargon proposals to help secure funding.
Basic Fundraising for Community Based Organizations
This Maryland Nonprofits course will examine strategies for finding funding sources appropriate for community-based organizations.
Riding Out the Economic Storm
The Center for Nonprofit Advancement and the Association of Fundraising Professionals/Washington DC Metro Area Chapter (AFP/DC) have partnered to present this workshop that will teach strategies for riding out the economic storm.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Arts Management Workshop Financial Series: Preparing for an Audit
Participants in this Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington workshop will be provided with a checklist of records and reports to help your organization prepare for a financial audit.
Essentials in Preparing for an Audit
The interactive Maryland Nonprofits class will teach financial managers how to prepare financial statements and recordkeeping for audits.
Grantseeking Basics
This free Foundation Center workshop will introduce participants to ways in which the center's resources can strengthen the grantmaking process.
Introduction to Foundation Directory Online
This free workshop by the Foundation Center provides a hands-on introduction to the Center's comprehensive Web subscription databases. Participants will learn how to create customized searches to develop lists of prospective donors.
Preparing for an Audit
Careful planning is essential to having a bump-free audit. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement class will teach you the ins and outs of planning for an audit and will provide participants with a checklist of records and reports that will be needed for the process.
Effective Tips and Techniques for First-Time Managers
Moving into a management position can be stressful. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach new managers how to gain credibility in their new role and how to foster positive relationships with employees.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Innovative Board Recruitment
This Maryland Nonprofits class will examine the tools and strategies that you should employ for successful board member engagement.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Long Term Care: Its Purpose, Need and Place in Personal Financial Planning
This free Center for Nonprofit Advancement discussion will cover the history, development, and differences between long term care, medical coverage, Medicare, and long term disability.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Your New Facility: Managing Its Design and Construction
You should proceed with caution in building out your new office space. Budget overruns, construction delays, and poor craftsmanship can spell disaster for your organization. In this Maryland Nonprofits class, learn how to plan for your new site and how to assemble the best team to meet your needs.
Prospect Research Basics: Researching Individual Donors
This free, hands-on session by the Foundation Center will show proposal writers, researchers, and fundraisers how to use Internet resources to help compile a list of potential donors, to devise a research strategy, to find relevant information online, and more.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Preparing for the New 990
This full-day Maryland Nonprofits course will have a special emphasis on what nonprofit organizations have to do now in order to ensure that the new Form 990 can be completed both accurately and efficiently.
Webinar: Nonprofits and the Economy - Coping Tools for Turbulent Times
This Philanthropy Journal webinar will provide practical tips and tools to help your organization build capacity, attract new donors, and strengthen your fundraising strategies during the economic downturn.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Your Board and Fundraising: An Introductory Class for Small Nonprofits
This free Foundation Center class offers answers to the most frequently asked questions about involving a board in fundraising. Topics include: the board's role, why board members may be reluctant to fundraise and how to overcome these concerns, and more.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Introduction to Corporate Giving
This free Foundation Center workshop provides an introduction to corporate support for nonprofits and effective use of the Center's print and electronic resources on corporate giving.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Proposal Writing Basics
This free Foundation Center course will teach new proposal writers and fundraisers the key components of a foundation proposal.
Proposal Budgeting Basics
This free Foundation Center course for the novice grantseeker will explore the fundamentals of budgeting for projects and proposals. Before you register: The Foundation Center strongly recommends prior attendance at Proposal Writing Basics.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Webinar: E-mail Newsletter Essentials for Nonprofits
This Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar will walk you through the essentials of producing an e-mail newsletter that gets read. You'll learn design tips, writing techniques, strategies for making sure your news doesn't end up in spam folders, and more.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
So, You're Planning a Conference?
While a conference can provide many opportunities for an organization, it can also spell disaster if its poorly planned. This interactive Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will provide participants with planning tools and checklists to make sure that your conference runs smoothly.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Moving Into Management
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will provide preparation to those who are transitioning for the first time into a management position.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Building Relationships with Donors
Participants in this Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will learn the steps of major gift fundraising including identifying major donors and communicating your needs effectively.
You are Stuck in the Elevator: Now What!?
Everyone should have an "elevator speech" for their organization. The elevator speech conveys your organization's mission with short, concise, and compelling language. This interactive Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach participants the art of crafting an effective elevator speech.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Board and Staff Partnership in Fundraising
Fundraising success requires a team effort between your organization's board and your staff members. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach you a framework for developing a partnership that works.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Rewarding Employees: How to Motivate and Energize Staff
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will cover the characteristics of high performing organizations. Participants will learn how to keep employees motivated with low and no-cost rewards.
Making a Business Case to Funders
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach you the ins and outs of making a compelling business case to potential funders.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Making Assumptions About Others: Climbing the Ladder of Inference
To be successful, it is important to understand about how we make assumptions about others without knowing all of the facts. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach participants to understand the Ladder of Inference.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
QuickBooks for Nonprofits
Many organizations use QuickBooks for their accounting needs. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will teach participants how to get the most information from the software.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Balanced Scorecards for Nonprofit Organizations
A Balanced Scorecard is a method for measuring results and impacts. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement course demonstrate how the Balanced Scorecard is being used in the nonprofit sector.
The First 30 Seconds: Making Impact and Impressions That Last
In this Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop, you'll learn to craft your 30 second elevator speech as well as other communication tricks that can help you to promote your organization's cause.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Writing Letters of Intent (LOI)
The letter of intent (LOI) is often the first impression you make to a potential funder. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will teach you the art of crafting an LOI using the method suggested by Washington Grantmakers.
Doing a Friendly Organizational Audit
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will go over the steps of conducting an organizational audit to help identify cost overruns, performance of your service delivery, and more.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Assessing the Effectiveness of Your Development Program
This interactive Center for Nonprofit Advancement course will teach you the best practices in fundraising and how your development program compares.
Community Conversations Forum: Children and Youth
This collaborative event between the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and The Washington Post will be an open meeting to allow for a discussion of the issues facing children and youth in the community.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Nonprofit Management and Board Responsibilities Related to Finance
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will provide participants with checklists for improving your organization's financial accountability. It will also go over the roles and responsibilities of your board members.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Resolving Controversial Issues
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will teach participants conflict resolution skills and is helpful for those in management.
Rolling Deadlines
24-Hour Marathon of Design for Good Causes
Are you, or do you know, a DC-area 501(c)3 nonprofit that urgently needs graphic design, web, or communications consultation but can't afford to pay for them? The Falls Church-based MediaStudio offers an annual 24-hour CreateAThon, which provides free design, creativity, and strategic services in support of good causes in Greater Washington.
A Scan of Leadership Development Efforts in the Greater Washington Region
This study examines Greater Washington's leadership needs and the strengths and limitations of local leadership and capacity-building efforts. The literature scan discusses what leaders need to sustain their leadership, how leadership can be expanded in communities and the nonprofit sector, how collaboration can be strengthened, and other topics.
Blue Avocado Online Magazine to Engage and Support Nonprofit Employees
Blue Avocado's aim is to engage and support the employees of community nonprofits, the ones who do the heavy lifting in building social justice and strong communities, and who create and drive the ideas that change our world for the better.
Guide to Proposal Writing Audiobook
The Foundation Center, in partnership with the New York unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, is offering its Guide to Proposal Writing in audio format. The audio book is available free of charge as a downloadable mp3 file and is divided into tracks corresponding to chapters in the print edition. The book can be downloaded as a whole or by chapters.
Advocacy Leaders Program
Maryland Nonprofits' Advocacy Leaders Program, the first statewide program of its kind, strengthens the knowledge and skills of nonprofit public policy advocates and fosters the development and growth of an actively networked community of nonprofit advocacy leaders.
Collect Donations Through Text Messages
A new program, mGive, allows organizations to collect $5 or $10 donations via text message. Donors send texts and confirm their intent. The donations are charged directly to their wireless bill. From there, the donations are passed from their carriers to the Mobile Giving Foundation, which then passes on 90 to 95% of the donation to the nonprofit.
Craigslist Foundation Offers Nonprofit Bootcamp Sessions Online
The Craigslist Foundation publishes regular presentations, handouts, podcasts, and session notes from its Nonprofit Boot Camp available free for download online.
DC Fiscal Policy Institute Publishes DC Budget Toolkit
DC Budget Toolkit explains the District of Columbia budget and annual budgeting process. Users can find out how much is being spent in different areas, compare spending to previous years, and obtain the tools necessary to get involved in the budget process.
Developing a Powerful Grant Proposal
Tracks to Success has published an 18-part series that covers the entire spectrum of grant proposal development. The series offers step-by-step tutorials, checklists, worksheets, and samples to help guide proposal development.
Free Training for Fathers and Heads-of-Household
CitiWide offers free computer training, life and employment skills, and job placement/retention to low-income fathers and head of households in the District. Training is held at the CitiWide Computer Training Center, located at 3636 16th Street, number BG-49, in northwest Washington, DC.
Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens
GrantCraft, a project of the Ford Foundation, has released "Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens," a report on how attention to racial equity in grantmaking can strengthen giving programs.
Informational Podcast on how to Prepare for the New Form 990
This free PricewaterhouseCoopers' podcast features Howard Schoenfeld and Laura Parillo of PWC's Washington/National Tax Services Exempt Organizations Practice Group. Highlighted are some of the key features of the redesigned form and outline of the important steps nonprofit organizations should be taking now to prepare for the new form.
Nonprofit Careers
Nonprofit Careers is a comprehensive employment resource center for nonprofit sector employers and job seekers in the Greater Washington area. Through Nonprofit Careers, employers can access quality candidates, quick and easy job postings, online reports with job activity statistics, and competitive pricing. Job seekers can post their resume, receive automated weekly e-mail notification of new job listings, and save jobs for later review.
Nonprofits Use Social Web During Giving Season
This blog from the nonprofit NetSquared reviews some of the ways nonprofits can use the social web to support fundraising programs.
Proposal Writing: The Comprehensive Course (online)
This comprehensive and convenient online course from the Foundation Center is a step-by-step exploration of the proposal writing process. The program includes 10 sessions, case studies, interactive exercises, and four exams. Sessions include lessons in topic areas such as the executive summary, statement of need, budget descriptions and budgeting, organizational information, the proposal conclusion, packaging the proposal, and more. Participants who register for 12 months of unlimited... Read more
Report Finds that Only Half of All Students In United States Graduate from High School
An America's Promise study finds that only half of all students graduate from high school. The study, Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation, concludes that one in three high school students drops out before graduating.
Shortchanging America's Health: A State by State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars are Spent
Trust for America's Health has relased the report, Shortchanging America's Health, which finds that Midwestern states receive less funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than other states. The report includes complete anaylsis and reviews of key health statistics and federal funding for public health on a state-by-state level. The full report is on the Trust for America's Health's website.
SPIN Project Offers Free Communications Resources to Nonprofits
The SPIN Project offers a broad range of resources for organizations to grow their communications capacity. These free resources include tutorials on how to develop a strategic communications plan, how to develop relationships with reporters, and a communications consultant directory.
Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity: Foundations Ask the Presidential Candidates What They'll Do for America
Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Eos Foundation created this initiative to build momentum for national action addressing poverty in 2009.
Start Smart: A Series for New Washington Area Executive Directors
This four-part series offered by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement is tailored specifically for new executive directors. Each session will focus on essential skills and strategies to successfully meet the challenges of executive leadership in today's nonprofit sector. Themes for each session are: leadership for success, working with a board of directors, working with staff, and working with the communitiy. Class activities will include case studies, small... Read more
StayExempt.org - Free Tax Resources for Nonprofit Organizations
The Internal Revenue Service offers free resources and information for nonprofits with 501(c)(3) tax status on its website. Nonprofit professionals can receive free online training in topic areas including: steps to retaining nonprofit status, managing unrelated business income, employment, filing error-free returns, and managing disclosures. The site's resource library also offers important forms and publications for download.
Study Finds that Arts-Related Businesses Employ Nearly Three Million
An Americans for the Arts study finds that employment in arts-related businesses has grown 11.6 percent in the past year, which is more than four times the increase in overall employment growth. The Creative Industries 2008: The 50 City Report, details this trend and provides an analysis of arts-related businesses, institutions, and organizations in the country's 50 most-populated cities.
Why Nonprofits Need Strong Taglines
This article from Nancy Schwartz and Company discusses how effective taglines can help strengthen the public identity of nonprofits.