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Education for Nonprofits

Links to:
Governance & Management Training Sessions
Computer Program Training Sessions
Learning Circles--The Story Project

Governance and Management Training Sessions

A combined strong management team and nonprofit board of directors is an essential component to maintaining organizational effectiveness. Governance and Management Training Sessions for nonprofit board members and agency staff provide educational opportunities regarding governance issues, nonprofit trends and best practices. In addition, these sessions also provide a basic overview of nonprofit board service, training designed for new board members and prospective board members. Nonprofit Partnership member organizations are encouraged to use the Governance and Management Training Sessions as ongoing training for board and staff members. Pre-registration required.

For more information regarding registration, call the Nonprofit Partnership at (814) 454-8800 or e-mail TNP@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Governance and Management Training topics:

The Art and Science of Financial Oversight
Presented by Vincent F. Halupczynski, CPA, Malin, Bergquist & Co.
Tuesday, May 13 from 8:30 to 11:00 am
Gertrude Barber National Institute
100 Barber Drive, Erie, PA

Join us for the latest look at the changing landscape regarding principles for good governance and financial oversight, including:
Essentials for responsible financial oversight of the organization
Responsible fundraising practices
New auditing standards that affect nonprofit organizations
The new 990 - what's changed with respect to the annual IRS filing.

Part 2 of the Endowment Toolkit Planning series covering the legal and contractual aspects of setting up an endowment will presented by Karen Jackson, Esq. of Results In Giving, Ltd. and will be held on Tuesday, May 20 from 1:00 to 3:30 pm at the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies at 40 Holland St.

Join us for the 2008 Nonprofit Leadership Forum:

Conversations in the Boardroom: From Divisions to Distinctions to Decisions
Presented by the Public Conversations Project
Tuesday, June 3 from 9:00 to 11:00 am
Yehl Ballroom in the Waldron Campus Center
Gannon University, Erie, PA

This experiential workshop utilizes structured exercises, group discussion, and presentation to acquaint participants with the Public Conversation Project's approach to constructive conversations that lead to robust discussion. All too often, differences in life experiences, core values, and worldviews can lead board members to withdraw or avoid engaging in key discussions. The PCP approach aims to foster deeper connections between participants and present a set of tools that can revolutionize board meetings and re-energize the board.

RSVP to 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Computer Program Training Sessions

Have you been looking for the right opportunity to upgrade your computer skills or learn a new application? Are you trying to increase the productivity of your management team? Are you looking for new and affordable employee benefits and professional development opportunities? We may have the answer.

Through a new training partnership with Point, Click, and Learn, The Nonprofit Partnership will be offering two-hour computer program training classes in the most popular office applications: Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and other programs like Publisher and Quickbooks. The trainings are free to members of The Nonprofit Partnership and will be offered in intimate classes of twelve participants at Point, Click, and Learn’s Learning Lab training facility at 3823 West 12th St. (at Powell). Two hour training sessions will be offered from 9:00 to 11:00 am and 12:30 to 2:30 pm as follows:

Tuesday, January 22 Excel Basic and Beyond Basic

Tuesday, January 29 Excel Intermediate

Tuesday, February 5 Excel Basic and Beyond

Tuesday, February 12 Excel Intermediate

Wednesday, February 20 Word Intermediate

Wednesday, February 27 Word Advanced

Thursday, March 13 File Management

Tuesday, April 8 Outlook Basic

Wednesday, April 30 Publisher Basic

Thursday, May 15 PowerPoint Basic

Tuesday, June 10 Access Basic

If you would like to reserve of place in one of the trainings for yourself or a staff member, please contact The Nonprofit Partnership at 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

Learning Circles—Real World Answers to Real World Problems

  • Network with colleagues who face similar challenges and opportunities
  • Get support and coaching from peers
  • Take actions and learn from them
  • Experiment with new ideas “before taking them public”
  • Achieve personal goals

Learning Circles are based on an internationally known process called action learning. People learn best when they actually apply new information and materials to real world, current challenges. The same principle indicates people learn best when they share ongoing feedback about their experiences. Learning Circles are comprised of seven peers who meet monthly to discuss current projects, share insights and materials, support and challenge each other and develop action plans. The program includes an orientation session for participants followed by six monthly meetings. Learning Circles are offered in peer coaching and training formats.

New Learning Circles now forming:

The Story Project

To tell their stories effectively, the leaders of today’s nonprofit organizations need to build or re-discover the essential skills and elements that are involved in compelling stories that engage listeners and readers – stories that will communicate our essential message to the general public. These stories must have simple and direct language and contain the essential elements of a classic story – a beginning, middle, and end, a sense of building suspense, a memorable character or protagonist, and a message that resonates loudly at the end. These are the critical story elements that have probably atrophied over the years – a natural consequence of writing too many high-language funding proposals. The Story Project will utilize Learning Circles in the training format to build or re-build these skills for Erie organizations.

Components of the Story Project Learning Circles:

  1. A general workshop or educational forum for leaders of organizations that introduces the nuts and bolts of good storytelling with concrete examples of how stories can be used to transform organizations in the eyes of funders and the general public through a wide array of products: new website homepages, podcasts and audio downloads on websites, mainstream media applications, story cards, stories played on your telephone hold systems, in-person presentations, and more.
  2. A full day single-session “learning circle” format that takes a small group of nonprofit leaders step by step through the process of developing compelling stories about their organizations, stories that can be told about the organization itself and its transforming qualities, and stories that clients who have been transformed can tell about their experience through audio recording and editing.
  3. A published guide on the use of story to transform organizations and the way they present themselves to their stakeholders.

As we look to build these skills for nonprofit leaders, The Nonprofit Partnership has enlisted Kelly Armor a rostered storyteller from the Erie Art Museum to partner with us to build the skill base and the creative orientation of local nonprofit leaders. As the project moves forward through its training and implementation phases, our evaluation strategies will include tracking increases in donations, increases in website traffic, increases in volunteerism, and anecdotes that demonstrate new levels of connection and breakthrough with stakeholders and the general public. Combining these results with the compelling products of The Story Project, we hope to elevate this strategy as a promising new model for marketing and community renewal.

To reserve your spot for a training date in 2008, contact The Nonprofit Partnership at 454-8800 or e-mail at TNP@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

The Story Project is part of a national pilot project of the Independent Sector. The focus of the pilot project revolves around recent research regarding the perception of the nonprofit sector by the general public.