Learning Opportunities are workshops and other professional development opportunities for nonprofit staffs and board members.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Managing Projects for Maximum Impact
The projects nonprofits are required to execute are growing in complexity and the external environment is constantly changing. But perhaps the most important factor relating to project-management success is gaining sufficient buy-in from key stakeholders. This Maryland Nonprofits course will go over the ´hard' skills of project management, such as defining outputs and outcomes, establishing a timeline, and formulating a project plan. It will also go over ´softer'... Read more
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Washington Post 2008 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management Best Practices: Workshop and Awards Presentation
This free event culminates with the presentation of the 2008 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. Prior to the awards presentation, the award finalists will present their ideas and success stories in a workshop format. Due to security requirements, registration is required and photo I.D. may be requested at the door. The event will take place at the Washington Post Building, 1150 15th St., NW Washington, DC.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Basic Tax and Reporting Considerations for Small Nonprofits
This Maryland Nonprofits class is for organizations with incomes of less than $25,000 per year. The workshop will provide an overview of how to comply with Maryland state taxes. It will also cover the basics of how to file the new IRS Form 990.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
EXCEL Award 2007 Winners Breakfast: Leading Your Board and Staff, and Other Nonprofit Challenges
The three winners of the 2007 Gelman, Rosenberg, & Freedman EXCEL Award, Rino Aldrighetti of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, Lynn Brantley of Capital Area Food Bank, and Mary Funke of N Street Village, will discuss their leadership styles at this Center for Nonprofit Management event. The winners will provide an overview of how they face the daily challenges of leading their nonprofit and how they keep moving their organizations forward.
Winning the Talent Wars with Telework
The Washington metropolitan area has one of the longest commute times in the nation and traffic congestion affects many of the region's employees on a daily basis. This can have a negative effect on an organization's ability to attract and retain employees. Teleworking may be the flexible workplace alternative that enables enhanced employee recruitment and retention; increased employee satisfaction; and reduced office space costs. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop... Read more
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Equipping Board Members to be Effective Fundraisers
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will provide tools for assessing and strengthening volunteer leadership to perform effective fundraising. It will provide strategies that address initial contact with a prospective board member to the last major gift solicitation that he or she makes.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Creating Sustainable Funding for Nonprofits
This free session is for development and executive level nonprofit staff members and will provide a discussion on how to create sustainable fund raising models. Presenters include Barbara Washington, vice president of the Philanthropic Consultant, Merrill Lynch Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management, and Terry Axelrod, Founder and CEO of Benevon.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Proposal Budgeting Basics
This free Foundation Center training session is geared to the novice grantseeker and will cover budgeting basics such as what kind of expenses are covered under "personnel", the level of detail needed for each type of employee, determining a budget amount, the relationship of a single project to the overall organization budget, and the types of expenses that should be included in "overhead".
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Basic Tax Considerations for Nonprofits
This Maryland Nonprofits session will provide participants with a basic understanding of tax issues and reporting requirements related to nonprofit financial management. Designed to help nonprofits protect their tax-exempt status by complying with applicable reporting and disclosure requirements, it will help you to avoid costly mistakes related to tax reporting. Forms 990 and 990 T will be discussed, including covering reporting and disclosure requirements.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Stop Boring Me! How to Maximize Your Live Presentations
Executive directors are the frontline storytellers for their organization and need to be prepared to be memorable presenters. This Center for Nonprofit Advancement class will feature Sally Romansky, a presentation skills coach, who will go through the structure of crafting an effective live presentation. The session will also focus on the use of storytelling for maximum impact.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What Makes an Effective Board?
This Maryland Nonprofits session will provide an overview of the characteristics and activities of well-functioning boards. Included in the discussion will be an overview of board and staff roles, financial and legal responsibilities, effective meetings, and strategies for successful board functioning.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Creative Ways to Reduce Costs for a Stronger Bottom Line
This Center for Nonprofit Advancement workshop will highlight strategies for reducing costs and improving the financial health of an organization.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Grantseeker Training Institute
This five-day Foundation Center training institute will instruct on how to develop fundraising strategies, communicate funding requests more powerfully, and will provide an opportunitiy for networking. The schedule for the week includes the following:
- Day One: Develop a fundraising plan
- Day Two: Mobilizing board members to maximize fundraising power
- Day Three: Interactive training on using Foundation Directory Online Professional
- Day... Read more
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.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 moreReport 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 moreStayExempt.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.