Workshops
Let’s make your nonprofit stronger, together.
Our workshops are a great way to ‘dip your toe in the water’ in areas of interest to you and your organization. Offered regularly via Zoom, workshops run anywhere from 90 minutes – 3 hours, and can be customized for you as needed.
Quick & easy way to learn more about the topic
Cost effective – low investment of time and money
Great starting point – paves the way to a deeper understanding
Whether your attention is with onboarding new board members, developing a social enterprise, or making friends with your financial statements, we’ve got you covered.
Upcoming Workshops
Via Zoom. Everyone is welcome!
Click on a session below to learn more and register. Links open in a new window.
Workshop Descriptions
Guiding Principles Support Your Mission And Vision Statements
An organization’s guiding principles are about its DNA. Not about what it does, but about what guides what it does, and how it goes about doing it. Guiding principles, sometimes referred to as core values, work alongside mission and vision statements to better characterize the values and essence of the organization and what it is working to accomplish.
Join us for this two hour overview of what guiding principles are and how to create yours.
Learning objectives include:
• How do guiding principles, mission and vision statements interrelate
• ‘Humanizing’ your organizations to create a character description of it
• Turning that description into organizational identity
Nonprofit organizations need effective boards to help them achieve all that they can.
Boards provide strategic direction ensuring that objectives are achieved, risks are managed appropriately and verifying that the organization’s resources are used responsibly. And the board chair has the pivotal role to help the board be the best that it can be — at its meetings & beyond.
Learning objectives include:
- Clarifying the job of the board chair
- Understanding the role of facilitation at your board meetings
- Do you need to use Robert’s Rules of Order, or not?
- Learning about board meeting packages & agendas, and who should create them
Steps To A Highly Effective And Collaborative Board
Challenges at the board level often can be tied to the organization’s ambiguous vision and mandate, as well as confusion around the roles and responsibilities of board members, and the relationship between the board and organization leader. Further, the frequent lack of succession planning creates an unsure future for all involved. Improving clarity can eliminate general dysfunction, director conflict, issues around succession planning and improve director/board relationship and organizational performance.
Learning objectives include:
- Explore board, ED & staff relationships
- Examine the use and creation of committees
- Recognize the need for and components of a board member manual
- Learn about onboarding new board members
- Understand the need for having difficult conversations
- Review critical components of mission success
Learn About Board Styles And Help Your Nonprofit Thrive
Working Board. Governance Board. Executive or Management Board. What does it all mean?
Boards need to govern and support the organization to accomplish its work. Better understanding of Board Governance basics and options open to you will help your organization move forward with renewed energy and engagement.
Consensual outcomes, clear lines of authority and better understanding of roles and responsibilities are critical to smoother operations and successful projects.
Learning objectives include:
- Defining Board Governance
- Describing various different models
- Recognizing that all Boards must govern, regardless of the Board model
- Clarifying lines of authority for each model
This Is One Of The Most Challenging Times Of Growth Opportunities
”Many boards of charitable organizations are working boards. However, if the board only addresses projects that repeat year after year, then the function of the board is more like being a volunteer staff…. Governing is where the strategic thought process lives.” (Modern Board – Capacity Canada)
This transition is one of the toughest areas of growth that many organizations face.
We will look at the difference between a working/operations board and a governing board and how to move forward from one to the other as effectively as possible.
Learning objectives include:
- Knowing the characteristics different board styles
- Understanding why some board members may resist change
- Tips on how to keep the board satisfied and engaged
Learn How To Create This Important Resource
Research shows that two particular characteristics matter most to Board of Director performance:
- the board’s understanding of its roles and responsibilities, and…
- the board’s ability to work as a collaborative team toward shared goals.
(Modern Board – Capacity Canada)
The easiest way to assure board members understand their roles and responsibilities, and work together, is with a strong on-boarding process including a comprehensive Board Member Manual.
We will use a Board Member Manual template to review and discuss the needed contents – and you may be very surprised at how much you already have on hand!
Learning objectives include:
- Understanding what goes into a comprehensive board manual
- Learning to seek progress not perfection
- Managing this important document
Tips and Tricks For Onboarding New Members And Creating Better Boards
Nonprofit board members need smarts and a willingness to work hard. Their blood, sweat and (yes, sometimes) tears are what keeps your organization moving forward, but they can’t steer the ship if you don’t point them in the right direction.
Successful onboarding gives your board members the context they need to put their full set of skills to work for your organization. The better your organization is at doing this, the more effective your board will be.
This will be an overview of the roadmap every organization needs to follow to help their board thrive.
Learning objectives include:
- Ability to create a roadmap to effective onboarding of new board members
- Awareness of what is working within your organization and where there are challenges or gaps
- How to use the customizable sample templates (provided)
5 Simple Elements You Need To Tend To
We will all need to manage succession planning – whether in board members, ED’s, CEO’s or staff. This is a fact of life. Succession planning can be done as a thoughtful process or by reacting to an emergency.
At the very least, there are 5 simple elements you need to tend to, to assure the process is as planned and painless as possible.
This session offers discussion and direction to make your succession transitions easier.
Learning objectives include:
- Knowing the 5 key elements of planned successions
- Understanding the transitional cycle
- Awareness of gaps
- Includes a free template / checklist that outlines the 5 key elements and more
Financial Management And Informative Reporting For The Non-Accountant
Learn what those pesky documents really mean and how to use them to better plan and manage your organization.
The financial statements that the auditor prepares for tax purposes are not the best day-to-day financial management tool. Working with your bookkeeper, you can actually have meaningful and easy to understand financial management reports that you welcome, not ones that make you want to go running.
Join us for this overview to better understand the story your financial reports can tell you.
Learning objectives include:
- How to use your financial statements and financial management reports as great management tools
- How to better communicate with your accountants, funders, senior management and board
- Understanding some of the common accounting terminology and what it means in your day to day operations
How To Make Your Nonprofit More Financially Stable
Social enterprise is another tool to help your organization succeed. Whether subsidized or self-funding, these initiatives combine business methods with a drive to better the world. Blending financial goals with your mission for social, cultural or environmental impact is one of the most effective ways your organization can work towards financial stability while still feeling connected to your larger purpose.
This session looks at what social enterprise is and how it can help your organization achieve financial stability, and how to get one off the ground.
Learning objectives include:
- Understanding what social enterprise is, and isn’t
- Awareness of various social enterprise models
- Exploring your organization’s readiness
Alliances And Partnerships In The Nonprofit World
Today’s lean organizations can’t survive without strong alliances to help them grow. No matter who you’re talking to—donors, potential sponsors, partners—figuring out how you can help them reach their own goals is the first step towards building long-term relationships. When ‘you and them’ becomes ‘us’, everyone wins.
We’ll uncover where your stakeholders’ needs and your organization’s goals meet.
Learning objectives include:
- How to communicate your nonprofit’s message in a more impactful way
- A better approach to uncover your stakeholder’s true needs
- Ten rules for working together while still creating social impact
Save Money, Time and Heartache Through Strategic Prospecting
Prioritizing which funders, potential partners and other stakeholders to engage with is one of the hardest parts of maintaining an organization…and one of the most crucial to get right.
Prospecting, done right, helps you focus your energy on the right people. Knowing who to connect with and key strategies to approach them increases your chance of understanding their needs and gaining their interest. Organizations that are thoughtful in their connections are far more effective—in terms of their time, energy and resources—in achieving their goals.
Learn how to reach the right people.
Learning objectives include:
- Knowing how to find demographic, psychographic and firmographic information
- How to successfully market your organization without using traditional advertising
- How to create a sustainable 12-month action plan – including a free template
RACI Charting For Board And Organizational Clarity
Borrowed from the Project Management world, RACI (ray-see) charting offers an easy and clear system for organizations to use to help reduce cross-purpose work, clarify roles and responsibilities, and improve ownership of project tasks.
This system is valuable for the Board of Directors, staff and management of the organization.
RACI helps us clarify the difference between who is: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed
Learn the basics of RACI Charting and how you might use it in your organization.
Learning objectives include:
- Who needs to know, do, or know about what?
- What is ‘cross-purpose’ work? (and how to avoid it)
- Where RACI charting may help you
- A functional template
Transforming the way Boards engage in EDI Practices
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are the buzzwords nowadays; but understanding that these concepts and practices are critical for organizations and, particularly non-profit Boards is of the essence to build accountability, increase effectiveness, and reflect the demographics of the community the organization serves.
But, do Board Members know how to engage in EDI? This work goes beyond inviting ‘diversity’ into the room. In fact, this approach might not work at all.
Join us for this 90 minute overview of practices that will help your Board recruit, maintain, and build capacity while becoming aware of the need to operate through an equity lens.
Learning objectives include:
- Understanding how to operate through an equity lens
- Explore EDI strategies and practices
- Awareness of gaps, commitments, and next steps