Keys to Effective Grantwriting (Introduction to Grantwriting)
Date: Thursday April 9, 2020 - CANCELLED
Time: 1:00-4:00 PM
Presenter: Dodi Swope
Audience: Those new to grantwriting and those who want to assure they are up to the minute in their approach
Location: Greater Worcester Community Foundation Conference Room 370 Main St. 6th floor
Workshop Description: Writing successful grant proposals doesn’t have to be a mysterious process. Whatever your funding target may be – a particular foundation, corporation, or government funder – there are certain steps that are generally the same and key areas that deserve special attention.
In this session you will focus on:
- Asking good questions up front – “Are we the right organization to do this and why?” and “What is the amount of change we can promise?”
- Clarity of goals and objectives
- The roles of needs assessment, logic models, theory of change, and partnerships
- How to stay “in the know” about grantwriting trends
If you have a project in mind, or an idea that you’d like to develop, bring it with you. If you don’t, come anyway! You’ll leave with a solid understanding of what goes into a competitive proposal that, combined with research on funders likely to have an interest in your project, will position you for success.
About the Presenter: Presenter Dodi Swope is a senior trainer at the Educational Development Center’s National Center for Applied Prevention Technology. She teaches a graduate level course in grantwriting at Clark University through the International Development Community and Environment department. Dodi is also an independent coach, facilitator, and trainer.
Bylaws with Lawyers Clearing House
Date: Wednesday, April 29 - CANCELLED
Time: 12:00PM-2:00PM
Presenter: Russell Paul, Lawyers Clearinghouse
Audience: Nonprofit leadership staff, Board members responsible for governance
Location: Greater Worcester Community Foundation Conference Room 370 Main St. 6th floor
Workshop Description: When did your organization last formally review its bylaws to ensure that they remain in accordance with your Articles of Organization, other corporate documents, and that they are reflective of the organization’s actual practices? Does your organization have any concerns about how your bylaws are being or can be interpreted to ensure that decisions and resolutions are legally binding? Is your Conflict of Interest Policy current and useful to address your possible and likely scenarios?
About the Presenter: Russell is the Nonprofit Assistance Manager at Lawyers Clearinghouse where he matches pro bono attorneys with nonprofit agencies in need of legal services. Prior to joining Lawyers Clearinghouse, he started and ran his own business focused in data analytics and graphic design. He is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Connecticut.
Succeeding as a Board Member from Day One
Date: Wednesday May 20, 2020
Time: 8:30AM-11:30AM
Presenter: Gayle Gifford, MA, ACFRE, Cause & Effect
Audience: Those who are new to board service or looking for a refresher
Location: Greater Worcester Community Foundation Conference Room 370 Main St. 6th floor
Register today!
Workshop Description: Is this your first time on a nonprofit board of directors? Or new to this board? Your service can be one of the most rewarding experiences you have ever signed up for… if you’ve got the tools to make it so. This engaging crash course on board service will help you feel worthwhile from day one. Discover how to contribute your special talents to the board and organization you are serving. Explore how nonprofits are the same as and also very different from for-profit businesses. Learn how to be part of the inclusion solution and recruit diverse new advocates for your organization. Design your own learning plan with a toolkit of questions that will help you fully participate even as a new trustee.
About the Presenter: Gayle Gifford is a nationally known consultant, author and trainer with more than 30 years of experience in organization development, public engagement and fund development for the nonprofit and public sectors. Prior to co-founding Cause & Effect in 1996, she held leadership roles at Plan International USA, Save the Bay and City Year RI. Gayle earned her M.S. from Antioch University New England and a B.A. from Clark University. She is an instructor at Brown University.
Data to Action: Strategies to Ensure Data Utilization
Date: Wednesday May 27, 2020
Time: 9:00AM-12:00PM
Presenter: Kara Bixby
Audience: Managers and senior staff responsible for evaluation and thinking about strategic evaluation, evaluation specialist staff
Location: Greater Worcester Community Foundation Conference Room 370 Main St. 6th floor
Register today!
Workshop Description: Organizations and programs are often drowning in data. They spend all their time collecting and pulling together their data; yet, they often lack the systems, processes or culture to put it into action. Is your organization feeling the evaluation fatigue? Do you ever wonder how you can better leverage all of the information you are collecting? Grounded in the concept of continuous improvement, this workshop will share a framework for building a system of data use within your organization.
During the session, we will provide strategies to ensure your data is actionable and aligned to your goals. In addition, we will discuss how organizational culture and mindsets influence data utilization. The session will introduce practices that increase staff buy-in and ownership. Finally, we will discuss how to build organizational systems and processes that are embedded into your organizational structure and leverage your existing data. Participants will leave with tools and ideas to energize their teams and lead data-driven decision making within their organizations.
About the Presenter: Kara is co-owner and evaluation director at Withinsight, bringing expertise in program evaluation, data analytics and research. Kara has trained hundreds of nonprofit organizations to strategically use data for continuous improvement. She brings with her almost a decade of research and evaluation experience ni the public school sector and has a Masters of Public Policy in Education Policy Analysis from the University of Minnesota and completed a Fulbright research fellowship on education policy in Germany
Communicating About Evaluation Efforts & Results
Date: Thursday June 11, 2020
Time: 9:00AM-12:00PM
Presenter: Kara Bixby
Audience: Managers and senior staff responsible for evaluation and thinking about strategic evaluation, evaluation specialist staff
Location: Greater Worcester Community Foundation Conference Room 370 Main St. 6th floor
Register today!
Workshop Description: An important part of the evaluation process is communicating your results. Organizations need to think about how they share results both internally (e.g., with their staff, board, participants) and externally (e.g., with funders, donors, partners, community members). This workshop provides a framework for explaining your evaluation efforts and presents strategies to help you communicate your evaluation results to a variety of audiences.
The session starts with an examination of the different types of evaluation and how the different types align with where your organization is in its life cycle. Using Dr. Susan Kenny Stevens’ nonprofit lifecycle model, we will explore how an organization’s lifecycle stage influences its approach to evaluation. This process allows you to articulate the purpose behind your evaluation efforts, set expectations for the anticipated results and demonstrate the value of evaluation in achieving your mission.
In the workshop, we also introduce a powerful tool called an evaluation philosophy, which communicates your values and principles around data and evaluation. Participants will learn how traditional evaluation tools like logic models and evaluation plans can help them identify results to share. Additionally, we will discuss some practical ways to use evaluation methods to capture stories. The session will be grounded in the concept of a growth mindset, helping you communicate about all of your results – good and bad.
About the Presenter: Kara is co-owner and evaluation director at Withinsight, bringing expertise in program evaluation, data analytics and research. Kara has trained hundreds of nonprofit organizations to strategically use data for continuous improvement. She brings with her almost a decade of research and evaluation experience in the public school sector and has a Masters of Public Policy in Education Policy Analysis from the University of Minnesota and completed a Fulbright research fellowship on education policy in Germany.