Nonprofit Capacity Building Workshops
Native Action Network is pleased to offer a series of workshops for staff and board members working with Native organizations. These courses are intended for anyone interested in serving their community and supporting the growth of Native organizations. Courses are taught by instructors well-immersed in the nonprofit world. In addition, NAN is working to strengthen community capacity by training a group of participants to be instructors in future years. This is a great opportunity to engage staff, as well as to expand the pool of community members who want to serve on nonprofit boards.
All workshops are free, and held online.
The Accidental Grant Writer: Writing Proposals with Purpose
May 6-May 7, 2021, 9am-12:30pm each day
Instructor: Katie Howard
If you’re working or volunteering in the nonprofit sector, odds are you’ll find yourself writing or helping with a grant proposal someday. You might even inherit the responsibility of writing all of your organization’s grants – a prospect that can feel overwhelming, risky, or uncertain.
This workshop will teach you about the proposal lifecycle, from research to submission, and how to develop a strong grant writing plan. You’ll learn to describe the need for and strengths of your program, techniques for writing compelling proposals, how budgets tell a story, and how logic models can support effective program implementation and monitoring. Participants will also have a chance to get into the mind of a grant reviewer by reading a brief grant proposal to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. You’ll leave with a toolkit of helpful worksheets and templates to get you started, and there will be an optional pre-class assignment to help you prepare.
Generosity & Gratitude: Essentials for Fundraising
April 1, 2021, 4:00-7:00pm
Instructor: Katie Howard
The prospect of raising friends and funds to fuel your nonprofit organization can be a daunting one. But it doesn’t have to be! This training helps participants master the skills essential to building relationships to raise money for your mission.
Participants will leave with new confidence, skills, and tools to:
design a fundraising plan that fits your organization’s age, budget, and goals;
learn the three crucial elements of storytelling;
develop and practice telling your story; and
put gratitude into action.
Communications and Uncovering Your Brand
March 4, 2021, 2:00-5:00pm
Instructors: Allison Carney, Jill Neumeister (Pawnee/Choctaw)
Branding is a buzzword that sounds fancy but is actually quite simple. Your brand is the promise you make about who you are. Defining it is the first step to great marketing, fundraising, and grantwriting. Uncovering your brand is key to your communications strategy.
We know that there is one question that strikes fear into a nonprofit person’s heart: “What does your nonprofit do?”
We all know, of course, what we do. The problem is that the question often leads to a 5-minute long response as we attempt to explain every program and initiative we've ever undertaken. And who can blame us? This happens because we're doing great work. You, the expert in your organization, know all of it and are trying to get across as much information as possible. However, your message gets lost without one concise sentence about who you are.
By the end of this training, you will be able to clearly answer the question, “What does your nonprofit do?” You will have a story that represents your brand. With these cornerstones, you will be ready to communicate your way to raising more money and building your movement.
Budgeting and How to Build a Financial Plan
January 21, 2021, 2:00-5:00pm
Instructors: Nancy Bacon
Your budget is your financial plan. It represents your organizational values. It communicates your priorities to audiences inside and outside of your organization. An effective budget allows you to make good decisions for your organization and community. It gives important information to funders.
In this interactive session, we will build together a strong budget for your organization. We will talk about how your values and core beliefs are reflected in your budget. We will show you where they show up and how you can shape your budget to stand for your mission.
We will cover the core elements of a budget: chart of accounts, cost allocation, and the budgeting process. Our goal is to expand your confidence in talking about money with others on your team. You will learn how the audience of your budget—board member, foundation funder, donor, or government contractor— might change how you present it. Different people need different information, and we’ll show you what that means when it comes to your budget. You will leave this session able to plan your budget before sitting in front of a computer, write a budget that represents the trust cost of your work, craft the right budget for your audience, and talk about your budget with someone outside of your organization.
HR Practices in Times of Uncertainty
November 19, 2020, 9:00am-12:00pm
Instructors: Nancy Bacon, Skye Mercer, and Melanie Montgomery (Quinault)
COVID-19 has presented one of the most complex and difficult circumstances in the modern workplace. Leading and supporting employees and serving clients amidst changing legislation, funding uncertainty, and the threat of illness in the workplace, is uniquely challenging. No leader should go it alone. Getting support for managing in times of uncertainty is critical for any leader. If you are looking for support, tools, and strategies for leading your employees through a global pandemic, then this workshop is for you.
HR Consultant and leadership coach Skye Mercer, alongside Melanie Montgomery (Quinault), Executive Director of Hospitality at the Quinault Beach Resort & Casino, will lead us through an interactive session that will leave you able to:
Describe how fear and uncertainty are manifesting in the workplace and name ways to simultaneously support your employees and keep moving forward with the work to be done.
Identify key strategies for building personal strength, a critical foundation for managing in challenging times.
Put systems in place to keep employees safe, engaged, and productive.
Respond to the challenges and opportunities of Work From Home (WFH), with practical tools to help get good policies and practices in place.
We know you have a lot of questions, so we will set aside plenty of time for you to get answers to the most frequently asked HR COVID-19 questions, such as how to handle it if an employee is sick, and how volunteers fit into your HR planning.
Learn anytime by watching our workshop recordings, in parts 1 and 2:
Online Leading and Learning: How to engage people in the virtual space
October 29, 2020, 9:00am-12:00pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
Do you find yourself leading meetings or trainings online? Are you wondering how to make the most of Zoom tools and engage people in the lesson or conversation? “Online Leading and Learning” is designed to give you the knowledge, tools, and actual practice you need to deliver online events that are productive and engaging.
During this three-hour interactive session, you will learn how to lead an online meeting that engages people using Zoom (or any online platform) or train people in an interactive way. We will cover the what, who, and how of online engagement including:
Online meeting/training design
Engagement tools using Zoom (other platforms have similar tools.)
Tools outside of Zoom to increase participation while online
Production logistics
Tips and tricks for when technology doesn’t cooperate
This session is designed to be experiential. You will practice online skills in real time with peers. You’ll get feedback from others and hear from colleagues about what works for them.
By the end of our time together, you will know how to use a range of engagement tools on and beyond Zoom. You will feel more confident in how to implement these tools in your own facilitation or training. You will be connected with others who are similarly expanding their online learning and leading practice.
Learn anytime by watching our workshop recordings, in parts 1 and 2:
The Accidental Grant Writer
June 12 & 13, 2020, 9:00am-11:00am both days
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
If you’re working or volunteering in the nonprofit sector, odds are you’ll find yourself writing or helping with a grant proposal someday. You might even inherit the responsibility of writing all of your organization’s grants – a prospect that can feel overwhelming, risky, or uncertain. This workshop will teach you about the proposal lifecycle, from research to submission, and how to develop a strong grant writing plan. You’ll also have a chance to practice writing the key components of a grant proposal with a toolkit of helpful worksheets to get you started.
Generosity & Gratitude: Essentials for Fundraising
May 6, 2020, 4:00pm-6:30pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
The prospect of raising friends and funds to fuel your nonprofit organization can be a daunting one. But it doesn’t have to be! This training helps participants master the skills essential to building relationships to raise money for your mission. Participants will leave with new confidence, skills, and tools to:
design a fundraising plan that fits your organization’s age, budget, and goals;
learn the three crucial elements of storytelling;
develop and practice telling your story; and
put gratitude into action.
Tools for Running an Effective Nonprofit
April 25, 2020, 9:00am-12:00pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
During this workshop, we cover the basics of running a nonprofit. We will draw on tested tips and tools, including Washington Nonprofits’ four learning toolkits on boards, finance, law, and planning. You will leave with concrete next steps on how to strengthen your organization to better achieve your mission. Join us on this road trip to a strong nonprofit!
Topics include:
The right size for your organization to be sustainable
Legal and finance information to compliance and protection
Budgeting
Program design
Volunteer management
Fundraising
Grant readiness
Let’s Go Legal
March 26, 2020, 4:00-8:00pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
Let’s Go Legal covers the five main topics board members need to know: State Law, Federal Law, Fundraising, Employment, and Intellectual Property. Let’s Go Legal shows how your organization is like a car. You need to register it with the state, driving on federal roads involves an additional set of rules, you need fuel to move your car forward (that’s the money part), the people in the car matter, and the look and feel of your car make it special. It covers what you need to know about each of these topics and provides an easy checklist to make sure your organization covers it all.
Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits
February 24, 2020, 4:00-8:00pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
This interactive, hands-on workshop covers the why, what, who, and how of nonprofit finance. We will dig deeper into two key reports – Balance Sheets and Income Statements – and then cover what board members need to know about IRS Form 990, the intersection of finance and fundraising, and oversight. Healthy finance practice can be habit-forming when people are working within their comfort zones, so we will discuss how to get your organization there.
Boards in Gear
January 27, 2020, 4:00-8:00pm
Instructor: Nancy Bacon
Boards play an important role in the success of any organization. Strengthening the practice of nonprofit boards within a community will lead to more effective and sustainable results as that community addresses poverty, education, the environment and other critical issues. This interactive, hands-on workshop covers board responsibilities, operations, development, fundraising, and advocacy. You will leave with concrete action steps, tools, and connections.