ON-DEMAND WEBINARS
Webinars are an increasingly popular, low-cost way to receive small-group training on targeted issues without the inconvenience of travelling. The following one-hour webinars have already taken place and can now be viewed in their entirety whenever you choose. Each includes a PowerPoint presentation and accompanying sound recording from the original event. To view any of these webinars, click on the title and you will be prompted through the payment process; afterward, you will be emailed a link.
STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING MAP WEBINARS
In October and November 2010, NEN mapped out-of-school learning resources in 12 communities in New England. Commissioned by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the mapping projects were meant to promote 'student-centered learning' by helping schools identify possibilities for collaboration in their communities. In spring of 2011, training webinars were conducted in each community explaining the mapping process and how to use the resulting tools. Mapped communities were: Pittsfield, NH; Sanford, ME; MSAD 60, ME; RSUs 2 and 18, ME; Portland, ME; Mt. Abraham School District, VT; Burlington and Winooski, VT; Fall River, MA; Brockton, MA; Randolph, MA; Central Falls, RI; and Danbury, CT. If you are from any of these cities or towns and wish to access the on-demand version of your area's webinar, click on the above link and select the relevant webinar. To register, however, you will need a complimentary password; to get it, please email Cindy Carraway-Wilson.
EXTREME GRANT PROPOSAL MAKEOVER: PRESENT YOUR PROGRAM IN A WHOLE NEW WAY
In this webinar, participants will learn how to:
- Use the letter of inquiry to more effectively connect with a grant maker's guidelines and priorities.
- Transform disorganized proposals into logical, sequential and persuasive arguments for funding.
- Incorporate data and statistics to support (and not bury) your needs statement.
- Overcome stylistic challenges (such as writing too much or too little, florid prose, "writing by committee," or prose that is too academic).
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
Cost: $35
Sharon Vardatira, NEN's Senior Fund Development Specialist since 1996, will facilitate this webinar. She has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and consultation, including as Development Director and Executive Director of several Boston-area nonprofits. Since 1995, she has provided nonprofit management consultation to NEN and its member organizations, as well as to other regional and national nonprofit agencies, educational institutions, and organizations working on a wide variety of issues. Her experience in community and coalition building ranges from organizing small-scale, grassroots initiatives to national, cross-issue movement-building. Vardatira is a member of the National Society of Fundraising Executives, Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts, and Foundation Center.
USING ASSET-MAPPING TO UNDERSTAND & DEVELOP YOUR COMMUNITY
Community asset-mapping is a process by which organizations or networks identify and make contact with other organizations, businesses, and institutions that offer any kind of program, service, or learning opportunity in the community. Information collected about each organization makes up the "asset map," which is a living and changing document, just as each community itself is a living and changing organism. Not only can asset-mapping help you identify key community resources, but it also can help you achieve broad community participation and community-driven collaboration, project development, and problem solving. This webinar will introduce participants to the basics of asset mapping, including:
- Advantages of Asset-Mapping
- Stages/Steps in Asset-Mapping
- Creatively engaging community partners
- Identifying opportunities for networking and support
Cost: $35
Sharon Vardatira, NEN's Senior Fund Development Specialist since 1996, will facilitate this webinar. She has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and consultation, including as Development Director and Executive Director of several Boston-area nonprofits. Since 1995, she has provided nonprofit management consultation to NEN and its member organizations, as well as to other regional and national nonprofit agencies, educational institutions, and organizations working on a wide variety of issues. Her experience in community and coalition building ranges from organizing small-scale, grassroots initiatives to national, cross-issue movement-building. Vardatira is a member of the National Society of Fundraising Executives, Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts, and Foundation Center.
FROM BORED TO BOARD: NON-PROFIT GOVERNANCE 101
This interactive webinar on the fundamentals of nonprofit boards is designed to provide volunteer board members with an overview of the major building blocks of an effective board. Participants will review and discuss issues such as:
- Board roles and responsibilities
- Identification, recruitment and orientation of board members
- Board meetings and the use of committees
- The board's role in fundraising
- Board member motivation, responsibilities and accountability
- Governance challenges and trends
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
BUILDING COLLABORATIONS THAT WORK
There's no way to work effectively in your community without building and maintaining positive collaborations with other organizations. Yet there's nothing automatic about these partnerships: they take careful planning and a lot of work. This webinar focuses on the many ways that agencies can build collaborations in their communities, and examines common problems and solutions.
Cost: $35
Trainer: Rebecca Muller
Rebecca Muller is an independent consultant for non-profit and government agencies that provide services to marginalized populations. Her expertise in housing, fund development and coalition building derives from her work with ServiceNet, a Massachusetts multi-service agency for special-needs populations. As director of the shelter and housing division at ServiceNet for several years beginning in the 1990s, Muller utilized partnerships and coalitions to develop a multitude of housing options for families, individuals and at-risk youth in the western part of the state. She has written scores of successful grants for a variety of public and private funders.
RESEARCHING DATA AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
It's not glamorous, but it's probably the most important part of any grant: the data-based justication of the need for local funding. This webinar focuses on the "how-to" of research at the micro level. Included is a tour of census websites and many useful suggestions about local sources of information. The webinar will be useful to staff involved in strategic planning, grant writing and program development.
Cost: $35
Trainer: Rebecca Muller
NO MORE HIT OR MISS: CREATING A FUND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Limit your "crisis fundraising" and increase your income through fund development planning. Ideal for managers, fund development staff, and board members, this one hour webinar will introduce the basic steps in fund development planning and present tools and examples for taking this process into your own organization. Topics include:
- The importance of a diversified funding base
- Assessment of fundraising preparedness
- Identifying fundraising opportunities
- Advantages/disadvantages of different fundraising methods
- Setting realistic goals
- Action steps: timeline, accountability and plan
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
WHEN YOUR PRINCE DOESN'T COME: DEVELOPING A MAJOR GIFTS PROGRAM (Part I, Major Gifts Series)
(This is part one of a two-part series. While you are not required to register for both parts, we strongly encourage you to do so.)
Every nonprofit organization dreams of finding that rich benefactor who willingly donates millions of dollars to its cause. And for many of our agencies, that's the extent of our major donor thinking. And that's a shame — although the One Big Gift is highly unlikely to come knocking, you can still develop a large group of donors who will regularly give donations in the multi-thousand dollar range. Such people exist and their numbers are growing as successful baby boomers continue to retire. But getting them on your side takes time, planning and work. Can you afford to overlook this key fund development strategy? In today's fundraising environment, a successful major gifts program can mean the difference between the thriving growth of your organization and a stalled development effort. In part one of this two-part webinar series on major gifts, participants will learn the basics of organizing a major gifts program, including:
- The importance of a major gifts program
- Elements of a major gifts program
- Identification and evaluation of prospects
- Why major donors give and inspiring their philanthropy
- Cultivating relationships with major donors
- Stewardship and ways to say thank you
- Organizing and managing development staff and volunteers for optimum results
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
ASK NOT? WHY NOT? THE ART OF ASKING FOR MONEY (Part II, Major Gifts Series)
(This is part two of a two-part series. While you are not required to register for both parts, we strongly encourage you to do so.)
By far the most effective means of solicitation — ten times as effective as mail and five times as effective as a personal phone call by most estimates — is the personal solicitation. However, for many people, the art of the ask is also one of the most difficult skills to master. In this workshop, you will learn how to "make the ask" by stating your case succinctly and persuasively. Building on the theory presented in part one of this two-part major donor series, this interactive webinar teaches participants to "make the ask" in a supportive setting.
Cost: $35
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
BEFORE YOU WRITE A SINGLE WORD: THE PRE-NUP CHECKLIST FOR GRANTWRITING
You've identified a prospect that seems like a match for your program, and now you are poised to begin writing your grant. But the difference between a winning and losing proposal may well hinge on what you do before you type that first word. In this webinar, participants will be introduced to screening grantmakers and organizing the grant, including steps to determine if the grantmaker is a strong match; researching the grantmaker's giving patterns; building relationships with potential funders; developing your project idea into a plan; forging partnerships and collaborations during the planning process; reviewing guidelines and requests for proposals; and organizing the grantwriting process.
Cost: $35
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
READY, SET, GRANTWRITE! THE NUTS & BOLTS OF GRANTWRITING
This webinar is designed as basic introduction to grantwriting. Ready, Set, GRANTWRITE! includes essential components of successful grant proposals; participants will come away with the basic "how-to's, including: writing a compelling need statement; defining clear goals and objectives; developing the methods, evaluation component, and budget; and putting the package together.
Cost: $35
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
DOWN ECONOMY, UP REVENUE: GETTING CREATIVE TO RAISE MONEY IN HARD TIMES
The nightly news is full of stories of people losing their jobs and their homes, and many fundraisers are hesitant to ask donors for contributions in these tough times. To make matters worse, foundations everywhere are curtailing funding, and analysts suggest that donations may not rebound until 2012. So what's a nonprofit to do? This webinar will provide specific how-to's and actionable steps to help you cope and even thrive in the current economic climate. Learn how to face the present with confidence by:
- Reassessing your approach to fundraising
- Staying close to donors and foundations
- Telling a good story (strengthening your case for giving)
- Coming up with innovative takes on traditional fundraising strategies
- Tapping into collaborative fundraising, giving circles and cause related marketing
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
BEY0ND THE BASICS: CREATING A STANDOUT PROPOSAL (Part I, Advanced Grantwriting Series)
Part one of the two-part our Advanced Grantwriting series, 'Beyond the Basics' emphasizes the following learning objectives:
- Understanding the important components of a grant proposal
- Understanding of financial data
- Increased ability to present financial data
- Learn how to edit proposals for flow and content
Cost: $35
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
PRECIOUS TIME WELL-SPENT: PROSPECTING FOR GRANTS THAT FIT
In 'Precious Time Well Spent,' participants will:
- Learn introductory techniques for researching foundations
- Learn techniques for researching corporate grants
- Learn techniques for researching government grants
- Identify sources of grant information including print and electronic sources
- Learn how to determine which grant makers are real prospects for your organization
Cost: $35
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
SUSTAINABILITY: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE GRANT RUNS OUT
"How do you plan to fund the work after the grant period?" Grantmakers just love to ask this question, and grantwriters just love to find ways around it. Instinctively, we know the truth — that we have no idea — is not going to win us any fans. So some of us gaze at this question and freeze. Others of us simply cut and paste a stock answer about proving our worth and move on. And others of us skip it altogether. But what if we really did have a plan? What would a strong response look like? And how can we get there? This webinar will focus on:
- Why grantmakers ask about sustainability and what they are looking for in a response
- Meaningful strategies for continuing work after a grant period is ended
- The elements of a sustainability plan
Trainer: Sharon Vardatira
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING: REVITALIZING THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP (Part I, Practice Series)
From our 2008-2009 Child Care and Youth Work Practice Series, 'Motivational Interviewing: Revitalizing the Therapeutic Relationship' (Part I) helps participants:
- Understand the theory of Motivational Interviewing
- Learn how Motivational Interviewing supports behavior change in clients
- Understand how to implement the Motivational Interviewing technique in their work
Cost: $35
Trainer: Hector Sapien
Hector Sapien, a clinical social worker (LCSW), began his career as a childcare worker in residential treatment and psychiatric hospital settings. He later moved into supervisory, management, and administrative positions, working in a variety of areas, including therapeutic recreation, therapeutic foster care, community mental health centers, and national social service advocacy. He has consulted in risk management, quality assurance, and new program start-ups, including designing, implementing, monitoring, and maintaining programs for diverse populations and recruiting, training, and retaining competent staff.
MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING: REVITALIZING THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP (Part II, Practice Series)
Part II of 'Motivational Interviewing' gives particiants the opportunity to:
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in the application of Motivational Interviewing skills in various scenarios
- Practice Motivational Interviewing skills with support and feedback from the facilitator and other participants
Trainer: Hector Sapien
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*NOTE
There are no special technical requirements for viewing these webinars. If you do experience any problems, however, please contact Cindy Carraway-Wilson at cwilson@nenetwork.org or (207) 319-6009.