Turning Your Ideas into Learning Opportunities

Earlier in the year, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence asked for your ideas through a survey and an in-person focus group.  We got great ideas, including some that are very different than what we’ve done in the past.

While we received many suggestions, some trends include:

• Looking for other ways to support nonprofits, beyond workshops. (See our new program for organizations who rely heavily on volunteers, below)
• More ways for specific types of nonprofit staff to network (ED’s, finance staff, etc.)
• Access to occasional consultations with experts on everything from IT to risk management to retreat design

We’ll be trying some new things for the rest of this year, many through stronger local partnerships.” – Kaki Rusmore, Director, Center for Nonprofit Excellence

Here’s a partial preview:

• Kim Klein will share the results of her new study, “Bright Spots in Fundraising” which highlights innovative ways nonprofits can raise money and advance their cause.

• Alumni of the LEAD Institute will be cosponsoring a couple of events with CNE, bringing topics that will take their leadership to the next level and sharing them with the larger nonprofit community.

• Our social media learning group will be looking at ways to use social media in an election year.  What activities are good for motivating your constituency, and what are you not supposed to do?

• We are partnering with the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center and the Points of Light to host an in-depth program for Monterey County nonprofits that that rely heavily on volunteers, building their strengths in many ways. This evidence-based national training aims to improve an organization’s return on volunteer investment.

The application deadline is June 24, 2016 and training dates are Fridays, August 12 & 26, September 9 & 30, 2016 (in Monterey). There are eight full scholarships available for organizational teams for this training, valued at $5,000.

Of course, we will continue to offer what you said works well for you: organizational development grants, confidential consulting and coaching, in-person workshops and lots of webinars posted on our calendar, and online resources specifically for nonprofit management and leadership.

There are many more good ideas, so we’ll be testing them as we go along. Let us know what other ideas you have, and we’ll keep trying new things.

Kaki Rusmore is the Director for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence of the Community Foundation for Monterey County where she helps nonprofits strengthen their leadership and management abilities to advance their missions. She has worked at the CFMC for more than a decade.