An organizational assessment provides your nonprofit with the framework and data to think thoughtfully about the organization’s current state, its trajectory, and its long-term stability. If done correctly, the assessment can help prioritize strategies and practices that your nonprofit may want to put in to place to further its effectiveness. 

This workshop will explore how to obtain valid information about the performance of their organization and its leadership.  We will discuss various tools, ways in which data is collected/utilized, and answer these questions:

• Who leads the charge for an Organizational Assessment?
• What is the role of the Executive Director and the Board in an Assessment? 
• What opportunities and challenges present themselves when conducting an Assessment?
• Who sees the results, how do you share the information, and most importantly what do you do with information?   

We will also discuss accountability and how information gathered can impact individual and organizational performance standards and what this means for your nonprofit.    

More nonprofits are turning to video to increase their brand recognition and marketing performance. Based on market studies, 82% of consumer web traffic will be video and by the year 2021, it is anticipated that digital ad spend will exceed $22.2 billion. Nonprofit marketers will benefit from understanding how to navigate video and video advertising and use it as an acquisition tool for donors and/or potential members.    

You will learn the components of a solid video strategy through an exercise on how to write a script, how to visualize the visual, and how to use video to tell your story in an inspiring and actionable way. In addition, you will learn about platforms to promote your video.

A donor stewardship plan ensures your time is spent where it’s most effective, deepening donors’ engagement and appreciation of your mission and outcomes. 

 Workshop topics will include:

• Activities, surveys, and board activities that connect donors with how they make the world a better place. 
• Identifying donors who would welcome a monthly giving program to make their giving easier. 
• A leadership giving program that expands the highest level of giving to your operations fund. 
• A simple bequest program campaign

By starting with these four simple ways to stretch your programs, one at a time, within months you’ll see increased productivity and donor giving. If you already have a beginning program in any of these 4 areas, join us for ideas to take your program to the next level.

We live in a time where the rich are getting richer, the working and middle classes are slipping behind, and the upper-middle class has growing concerns with funding their education, healthcare, and retirement. What are the implications for fundraising? In the last 25 years we’ve moved from talking about the 80/20 Rule (where 80% of the money comes from 20% of the donors) to the 90/10 Rule. But are we really closer to the 95/5 Rule, and on our way to 99/1? How do nonprofits cope with this significant socio-economic shift?   

In this interactive session, we will discuss strategies for raising major money from those who have it, while still maintaining broad community support. Participants will come away with an understanding, first, of how the country is changing, and second, how to develop fundraising strategies that make practical and philosophical sense for their organizations.

People are promoted because they’re good at their jobs. Being in a leadership position is a very different job, for which most are not trained. This presentation dispels myths associated with effective leadership and provides immediately applicable, common sense approaches that encourage high morale and increased productivity in the workplace. 

Attendees will learn what works and what doesn't and will be offered ways to enhance communication and increase motivation. They will be encouraged to assess and re-think commonly held beliefs about effective leadership and explore how to create a blame-free and gossip-free environment in their organizations. It promises to be a transforming experience.  

Whether your nonprofit has just hired its first employee or you have hundreds, confusion often occurs between the roles of staff and the board. There are boards that have responsibility for day-to-day operations and, on the other end of the spectrum, boards that only attend board and committee meetings – having no interaction with staff or the operations of the nonprofit. 

This workshop will delineate and discuss the roles of staff and the Board of a nonprofit, how those roles differ, and how those roles may change over time – based on factors like the size of the organization and/or the life-cycle stage.  The workshop will also cover the responsibilities and legal duties of the Board of Directors, the role of outside legal counsel, and how to work with a Board member who is a lawyer.

We know that having the right individuals on the Board is essential to the viability and sustainability of a nonprofit organization. Yet, in the study conducted by Boardsource; Leading with Intent 2015: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices, we learned that only 73% of chief executives believe that they have the right Board members to effectively govern their organization. The Leading with Intent 2017 study indicates that 52% of Board Chairs report that it is difficult to recruit new Board members.  

In this session we will take a systems approach look at the full circle of a nonprofit Board member life cycle.  Together, we will explore best practices for determining strategically who and what is missing from your Board “table”, cultivating and recruiting new Board members, orienting, engaging, and developing those new Board members, and transition or exit planning as terms of service end.

This interactive workshop is ideal for Governance Committee members, Board Chairs, and Executives.  Bring a team to the conversation and leave with an action plan for strengthening your practices and building a Board of the right individuals for your organization.

Developing an engaged, inspired and effective board takes some guts, commitment and a willingness to look some dysfunctional habits in the eye - and change!  The process doesn't have to be painful. In reality, once you begin ending some entrenched habits, you will find your board members thanking you.  

This workshop is designed to help nonprofit Executive Directors, board chairs and board members bring new energy into the board room and build the capacity of the board members to form a high-performing team that excels in strategy, fundraising and governance.

Participants will explore new thinking in how to develop effective board meetings, manage diverse personalities around the boardroom table, break down the fears board members hold about fundraising and tap into the unique talents of individual board members. Participants will leave with tools, templates and a draft plan of how to re-invigorate the board experience and cultivate board engagement.

A growing trend among nonprofits is to open retail stores and other "for profit" ventures as a way of driving revenue to support their mission. Using case studies of those who have done so successful (and not-so-successfully), this program will examine:

• When such activities should be operated through the nonprofit versus a for-profit subsidiary
• The fiduciary duties of using nonprofit resources to develop a for-profit activity versus the funding of service delivery
• The governance and operational challenges of a nonprofit board and staff operating a for-profit business line
• Dealing with unrelated business income taxes and understanding the legal limits of how much unrelated business income can be generated without jeopardizing the organization’s tax exempt status

Your back office is the brain of your business. Learn about the state of the back office today, challenges stemming from the mix of accounting and front desk operations, as well as how technology is helping to solve those problems and change the landscape. Which systems should you be thinking about?  How do you build them? Where do you start? 

After this workshop, attendees will be able to: 

• Better define and recognize the roles/responsibilities of your back office vs. front office 
• Have a proficient understanding of AI, and Bots  
• Outline where and how technology can fit into your organization
• Evaluate which tech solutions will work for your organization
• Save money, time, and personnel hours

With a focused brand strategy, nonprofits have an opportunity to connect with their mission, build strong relationships with key stakeholders and highlight their U.S.P. (unique selling proposition) for donors, sponsors and partners. Many nonprofits today say they have a need for “better branding” – but they are unsure what perceptions or misperceptions exist in the minds of their target audiences. Good branding is based on solid research, and therefore a key question to answer is:  are you known for what you want to stand for? This workshop will explore:

• The 4 steps to building a reputation
• Options for conducting “known for/stands for” research on a shoestring budget
• Techniques for defining and communicating your brand once you have established your U.S.P. and core messages