Please note our new class location!  Public policy advocacy is a powerful tool to help nonprofits fully realize their missions. Every day nonprofits and their clients, volunteers, and communities interact with and are shaped by public policy. Leveraging influence on these decisions can realize changes and benefits that reach beyond the scope of direct services. In this course, we will explore a values-based advocacy model; understand advocacy tools; learn the basics of advocacy campaign planning and messaging; and develop an initial plan for creating or strengthening your organization’s infrastructure and decision-making to effectively engage in public policy advocacy. This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this class. Use course id 0811-007 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

How does a nonprofit move beyond social media as a communication tool to social media as a way of work? Topics include discussing management perspectives on social media platforms, developing a social media strategy and policy, and evolving the nonprofit to embrace social media in all functional areas. In this class, you will explore trending best practices for networked nonprofits and actions needed to build a social culture. This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0817-025 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

*For Burke County only

As nonprofits work with multiple cultures within the US and throughout the world, understanding how to foster optimal interaction among staff and boards is critical to developing high-performing and high-functioning teams. In this workshop, you will explore why these concepts are important for nonprofit organizations, their teams, their boards, and themselves. We’ll explore the different ways in which Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials communicate. And we’ll begin developing action plans for use within your organizations to create high performing teams in a multi-cultural and multi-generational workplace. This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0584-006 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

Please note our new class location!  In order to be successful, nonprofit organizations require strong leadership from their Board of Directors. The Board’s responsibility is to oversee the effectiveness of management policies and decisions, including the execution of its strategies. Learn the key roles and responsibilities of the board and the essential areas of Board oversight.  Discuss strategies to increase board members’ commitment to the mission and purpose of your organization, and how boards must be active and engaged to fulfill their legal and governance duties. This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0818-048 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

People support nonprofits and the causes they champion because of an emotional connection. Hope, compassion, guilt, fear, and other emotions drive people to tackle the world’s problems — or support others who are working on the front lines. That’s where stories come in. Facts and figures can be mind-numbing, but a story opens ears, eyes, minds and hearts. In this interactive course, you will learn how to: find compelling stories about people your nonprofit is helping; tell great stories; create a story bank to pull in stories from clients and volunteers; use your stories for maximum effect.  You will leave with tools to build stories that will not only spearhead your fundraising and advocacy efforts, but also strengthen your organization’s culture and reinforce its values. This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0805-018 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

The North Carolina Network of Grantmakers’ annual Foundation Fair aims to give nonprofits in all areas of the state access to the funding community. Akin to a “college fair,” the Foundation Fair is intended to help nonprofits find foundations that have missions and values similar to those of their own organizations.

When attending the Foundation Fair, nonprofit organizations will have a limited time to interact with funders. Come prepared by researching what foundations are the best fit based on issue areas and organizational needs. Bring a business card and a one-page informational sheet about your organization.

For more info and to register, click here.

Please note our new class location!  Nonprofits have an obligation to follow federal and state employment and labor laws.  This course is designed to provide a practical overview of the main employment law issues that arise in nonprofit organizations. You will learn about state and federal laws that govern employment policies and practices as well as recommended guidelines for minimizing risk.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 2274-003 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

Please note our new class location!  This course provides an understanding of financial management for nonprofits and focuses on topics integral to nonprofit fiscal management. Learn finance terms as they relate to the effective operation of a nonprofit organization. Discuss how to track income and expenses to specific programs to fulfill expectations of funders, donors and the IRS. The role of the board, staff and committees are covered. Become familiar with the standards of excellence for nonprofit organizations and gain an understanding of financial statements, budgeting, and surviving an audit. Participants will gain an understanding of the broader financial realm of nonprofit organizations – where they work or volunteer.

 Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0816-046 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

Most funders today think of themselves as “investors” who want to get the most community impact “payoff” they can for the resources they have. In recent years, these resources have been more limited and more organizations are competing for less money. This course will help you understand the factors that underlie which projects and organizations get grant funding, and will teach you tools to plan and prepare winning foundation grant proposals and letters of intent/inquiry. We will use the Western North Carolina Common Grant as a guide to understand the information that will be requested in grant applications and actual funded proposals as examples.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0810-007 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

Do you dread the financial responsibilities of nonprofit management? Understanding transactions, financial reports, and statements are essential, often-neglected aspects of operating a successful nonprofit. This course will offer participants the level of accounting expertise appropriate for an executive director of a nonprofit organization. Develop skills in recording transactions, preparing reports, and analyzing financial statements. You may be surprised at how much fun accounting can be!

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0080-014 when registering

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.

Please note our new class location!  Change is constant.  Successful nonprofits must evolve, respond, and adapt to changing community needs and a rapidly changing world while maintaining strategic focus. Responsive and adaptive nonprofits approach planning as an ongoing, dynamic process driven by evaluation and data and inclusive of a wide variety of community perspectives.  During this interactive session, you will gain an understanding of organizational change, practice using key tools for participatory planning and strategic decision-making, learn how to gather and incorporate community data to inform planning, and build skills to create the plans that every nonprofit needs to have in place to succeed. You will leave with an outline of next steps to become more adaptable and strategic in your organization’s work.  ​ This course is appropriate for representatives from organizations of any size or developmental stage, whether you are new or experienced in the nonprofit field. We encourage multiple representatives from an organization to attend together.

Click here to register for this course.  Use course id 0574-039

*Please be sure to use an active email address when registering.  We will be sending important class information that you will need.