NONPROFIT TRAINING
Our programs are designed to provide hands-on training and instruction in key subjects that are critical to nonprofit effectiveness. We have chosen “hot topics” in which nonprofit organizations face ongoing challenges. Our goal is to provide information, education, and tools that equip participants in implementing systemic changes that provide for sustainable, effective, and accountable operations. We want to support an organization’s quest toward, “mission accomplishment” through its incorporation of the most appropriate Best Practices within its organization.
All of our courses are presented utilizing a combination of lecture, facilitated discussion, case study, small group exercise, individual exercise, and/or role-plays. We want your experience to be meaningful, effective, and fun!
Course Level Descriptions
How it Works
All courses can be presented to a single nonprofit organization, a group of organizations, or at a conference, board retreat or other gathering. Most individual topics can be customized to fit into one of the three levels described below. Organizations can create their own series of trainings by choosing a topic and progressing through Levels 1, 2, and 3 (if applicable) on that single topic before advancing to another topic. Or an organization may choose a topic at a specific level and receive that one training, then advance to another topic.
Topics
Seminar instructs participants on best practices for managing the grant process including application, service delivery, reporting, and compliance. Request Training
Understanding Nonprofit Finances
Seminar teaches participants how to understand the basic tenets of nonprofit finances as a board member and a staff member. Board members often struggle to understand nonprofit financial information while staff members struggle to prepare and present what board members want to see. This workshop unravels the mysteries of nonprofit finances to help both stakeholders understand what matters most from each other’s perspective and how to maintain and present the information in a timely, accurate and user-friendly way . Request Training
Maximizing the Audit Process
Whether you are new to the audit process, experienced with several years, or somewhere in between, this workshop will benefit you. Come learn the purpose of an audit, how to select a firm, what documents are necessary, and what reports are produced. Participants will gain an understanding of the limitations of an audit, what funders look for in the audit reports, and how the entire process can strengthen your nonprofit organization¹s accuracy, compliance, and transparency to third parties. If you thought the audit process was just a necessary evil, you have been missing the boat! Request Training
Cost Allocation Methods
Workshop is designed to describe the importance of developing a plan for allocating costs, to define direct costs and indirect costs, to understand applicable requirements of Uniform Guidance, and to take away suggestions for implementing and/or improving the organization’s current allocation system. Request Training
Using QuickBooks for Nonprofit Accounting
Provide training on using QuickBooks accounting software to maintain nonprofit financial activity. Request Training
Creating a Strong Internal Control Environment
Workshop is designed to educate the participants on what the internal control environment is, why it is critical to the integrity of the organization, and how to implement a control system within the organization, particularly when the accounting “department” consists of 1 staff member. Request Training
Board Recruitment and Retention
Do you want an exceptional board that works cohesively and functions effectively? Perhaps you are not spending the appropriate time recruiting and training your board. Board building is not an activity that occurs only once someone leaves the board. This is an ongoing process that should occur throughout the year and be spearheaded by a committee that is focused on your board’s needs. Your board should have a continuous supply of qualified members who are engaged and effective for your organization’s success. This training will guide participants through the nine step process for building an effective board from identification to celebration! Request Training
A High Performing Board, By Design
Do your meetings run effectively? Do you find they last several hours and you revisit the same issues over and over again? Do you feel you have complete information before voting on matters facing the board? If your answers were No, Yes, and No, respectively, then perhaps your board is not effectively using its committees, is following a routine agenda or is not employing proper meeting methods. This training will address the variety of ways to best organize board committees and run board meetings for effective governance. Information on common committees and structures will be presented as well as best practices for engaging board members and leading them to exceptional performance. Request Training
Let’s Dance: Understanding the Board – Staff Partnership
Does your board work well with your Executive Director/CEO? Do they support one another? Do they understand the roles and responsibilities of each partner? Do they feel they are working on the same team? Does the board have a succession plan in place? Many boards struggle to strike an appropriate balance in the relationship between the board of directors (as lead by the Chair) and the senior staff person (Executive Director/CEO). This training will present roles and responsibilities of each party, describing who leads and when in this delicate dance. We will also discuss sharing the leadership function, address two “hot topics” of compensation and assessment and discuss succession planning. Request Training
Getting Your Board to Fundraise
Did you know that fundraising is one of the primary responsibilities of a board member? Does your organization have 100% participation from its board members in fundraising? Is each board member comfortable with the idea of fundraising? Many board members do not have a clear understanding of their responsibility in this area and consequently are both uncomfortable doing it and/or unsuccessful in doing it. This training will present the fundraising responsibilities of board members as both a group (concerning policy development and monitoring) and as individuals, the stages and types of fundraising, and strategies and techniques for helping members do as much as they can to help raise money. Request Training
Board Roles and Responsibilities: Understand, Accept, Perform
People are asked to serve on boards of nonprofit organizations every day. Of those who accept the invitation, many have no idea what they have signed on for. Some have served on boards before but have never been formally trained in what their roles and responsibilities are. If you have served on one board, then you have served on one board….meaning no two boards are alike. This means that if a board member does not have a foundation for what is expected of them in the area of roles and responsibilities, they will not be as effective for that board as they could be and they will not be as fulfilled in serving as they should be. This training will address the three overarching roles of nonprofit boards and the 10 specific roles that fit within these 3 main roles. Participants will learn what is required of them legally and expected from them by each organization. If you have never served on a nonprofit board and if you have ever served on a nonprofit board, this training is for you. Request Training
Triple D: Driving Your Discussions with Dashboards
Many times boards are overwhelmed with information. Individual members resort to either not reading the information at all, trying to read it at the last minute, or reading it in its entirety and not understanding what was presented. One way to focus your board’s discussions on the most critical matters it faces is to present necessary information in a Dashboard format, like the dashboard of one’s car. This will help members analyze, discuss, and make decisions based on key indicators and their trends and how these align with goals and objectives. This training will discuss the benefits of using dashboards, various types of dashboard presentations, and how your organization can implement this strategic planning tool. Request Training
Governance and Risk Management
This session will introduce foundational principles behind risk management. A basic template will be presented that can be used to begin risk assessment within a nonprofit organization. Examples of risk situations encountered by real nonprofit organizations will be presented. The focus will then concentrate on the governance aspect of risk management by discussing a selection of key responsibilities of board members (such as determination of mission, selection and assessment of CEO, ensuring adequate resources, and recruitment and orientation of board members) and the risks associated with each responsibility, including discussion of approaches to identifying and managing such risks at the board level. Request Training