Upcoming Webinars & Workshops
We are dedicated to connecting grantees with relevant, affordable, and diverse resources to help their organization's growth and development. Check out the upcoming webinar and workshop opportunities below. This page is updated weekly, so check back regularly for added opportunities. Click the accordion menu to expand additional information for each session.
January 2025
1/22 | Designing Inclusive Surveys for Effective Fundraising
This workshop is designed for nonprofit professionals eager to enhance their survey design skills with an inclusive, practical approach. Together, we’ll dive into techniques for crafting questions that invite honest responses from a broad audience. From identifying biases to ensuring accessibility, this session will show how even small adjustments can make a big impact on the quality and representativeness of your data. We’ll look at real examples, share effective strategies, and tackle common pitfalls in survey question design. You’ll walk away with a clearer sense of how to frame questions that not only respect but empower all voices in your community.
Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
1/23 | Get your board fundraising
Join us to learn practical strategies for better engaging your board in fundraising. In this course, we’ll cover boards’ typical fundraising responsibilities, why some board members may be reluctant to fundraise, and how to overcome these concerns. We will also brainstorm new ways your board members can participate in fundraising activities and will share tips for strengthening your board and aligning on fundraising priorities. Whether you’re an executive director, board member, or development professional, this course will help you plan for your organization to fundraise better as one team.
Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the board’s role in fundraising
- Integrate fundraising into your board’s roles and responsibilities
- Plan how you will use your GuideStar profile for board development and fundraising
- Identify a range of fundraising activities that can engage your board members
Intended audience
- Beginner
- Board members
- CEOs, executive directors, upper management
- Fundraising & development staff
- Nonprofit startups
- Program directors and staff
Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
1/27 | An Equation to Unleash Collective Impact and Foster Meaningful Collaboration
Often, in our community work, our efforts do not add up to the change we seek. We keep working on the problem with increasing frustration, wondering if a solution is possible. Join us to learn about an equation that cultivates a collaboration that unleashes a community. In our session, we will address the nature of relationships that lead to a collaborative atmosphere, how best to utilize technology to serve the work of collaboration, why collaboration unleashes a community, and how to faithfully foster the journey of a shared community vision.
Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, January 27, 2025
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
1/30 | Nonprofit leaders speak on founding a nonprofit as a Black leader
Research has shown that Black nonprofit leaders face unique challenges, particularly in securing adequate funding for their organizations. A study by Candid found that nonprofits with Black CEOs are more likely to have smaller revenues than those with white CEOs, and Black leaders didn’t really need that study to know this was the case. Despite the challenges Black nonprofit leaders face, they are still working to meet the needs in their communities. These leaders use knowledge, partnerships, and ingenuity to get the work done because they are passionate about the role they play in the world. As part of Candid’s "Nonprofit leaders speak on..." series, join us to discuss founding a nonprofit. Attendees will gain valuable insights and leave with actionable strategies for building a nonprofit from the ground up.
Outcomes
- Meet three Black-led nonprofits and learn about their work.
- Describe the steps founding executive directors take from securing start-up funds through getting paid as a full-time employee for their work.
- Discover pro-tips on starting, then growing, a nonprofit including how to generate a variety of revenue streams.
- Recognize the gaps in philanthropy, how these leaders fill them, and what we can do as champions of good work to help close gapsIntended audience.
Intended Audience
- All levels of experience
- Board members
- CEOs, executive directors, upper management
- Fundraising & development staff
- Grant writers
- Grantmaker/funder
- Nonprofit startups
Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
1/30 | Coffee and Conversations with Center for Immersive Leadership
Looking for proven approaches to support workplace well-being, retention, and employee satisfaction? If so, we invite you to join us on January 30, 7:30am-9:00am for Coffee & Conversations with an expert panel of HR professionals. We will gain valuable insights from these top industry leaders:
- Loretta McKinley, Chief Human Resources Officer at KYOCERA SGS Precision Tools
- Cathryn O’Malley, Chief Operating Officer at United Way of Summit & Medina
- Michelle Vectirelis, Vice President of People & Culture at the Akron Zoo
Our Guest Panelists will discuss critical topics around Workplace Well-Being, Increasing Employee Retention, Buy-In, Engagement, & Productivity. Key discussion points include:
- Lessons learned from their experiences over the last year and a half
- Challenges/successes they are encountering now
- Emerging trends in the workplace landscape
Light snacks and coffee will be available.
Host Provider: Center for Immersive Leadership
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2025
Time: 7:30-9:00 am
Location: United Way of Summit & Medina Knight Center for Truth - 37 N. High Street, Akron, Ohio 44308
Cost: Free
February 2025
2/3-6 | Ask the Expert
Hosted four times per year, Ask the Expert connects nonprofits with BVU’s network of skills-based volunteers to help you make a bigger difference! Choose from over 20 hour-long virtual sessions where you will connect one-on-one with a subject matter expert in marketing, fundraising, HR, technology, or another specialty. Get advice, answers and recommendations that you can implement right away.
Ask the Expert is FREE to attend for all nonprofit organizations. Once live, sessions can be found at the registration link below.
Host Provider: BVU
Date: February 3-6, 2025
Time: Various
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/3 | How to Get Your Board to Invest in Fundraising Tech
As fundraisers, we have more technology at our disposal than ever before. From digital platforms to CRMs, from data appends to fundraising intelligence, the tools and resources can make our work faster, more efficient, and yield higher fundraising results. But it often requires an investment – and convincing a board or leadership team can be a challenge. After all, if fundraising is about relationships, why do you need all this tech stuff?
Join T. Clay Buck, CFRE, Founder of Next River Fundraising Strategies and Lead Fundraising Coach at Kindsight, for an in-depth look at the impact of technology and data on fundraising results, how to measure the return on investment, and ways to make informed decisions about technology for you and your leadership.
Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, February 3, 2025
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/6 | Introduction to fundraising planning
Does your organization need help directing its fundraising efforts? Planning focuses your organization by setting fundraising priorities and helps give staff and board members a roadmap to success. This introductory class will provide you the basic steps for developing a fundraising plan, including tips on:
- Making your case for support
- Diversifying your organization's fundraising base
- Creating a plan of action
Intended audience
- Beginner
- Board members
- CEOs, executive directors, upper management
- Fundraising & development staff
- Grant writers
Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/6 | Unlocking Corporate Grants and Partnerships
Charitable giving by corporations totaled $36.55 billion in 2023, which is 7 percent of total giving. But giving varies by industry and the corporate-giving landscape is complex. Join us for a 75-minute webinar to learn ways to attract grants and create win-win partnerships with corporations. We’ll explore what motivates businesses to give grants, what they look for in successful partnerships, and how to work with companies to expand your revenue and reach.
Host Provider: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:15 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: $69 (early bird) / $89
2/11 | Introduction to measuring your impact
Your nonprofit does great work, but what is most important is the impact of that work. How do you demonstrate that your programs get results? An outcome-centric approach will lead to stronger program design and increased funding opportunities for your organization. In this introductory course for beginners, learn the basics of shifting focus from your nonprofit’s activities to its outcomes. We will demystify the language of outcomes measurement and guide you through the process of creating logic models for programs.
This course will prepare you to:
- Draft SMART objectives for a program
- Identify the parts of a logic model
- Report the impact on your Candid profile
Intended audience
- Beginner
- Fundraising & development staff
- Program directors and staff
Host Provider: Candid
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/19 | Strategic Financial Planning: Turning Your Board Goals and Budget into an Action Plan
During the time together, we dive into your organization's vision for the next three years and develop an outline for what systems need to be in place to reach the financial goals that have been identified. We'll also put together a timeline for addressing their priorities.
Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/19 | Nonprofit Seminar: Navigating Upcoming Political Changes
It’s 2025, and governmental budgets, players, and priorities are shifting at every level. This February, join BVU and Emily Campbell, public policy expert and President & CEO of the Center for Community Solutions, for insight on:
- Upcoming political changes that could impact your nonprofit and the communities you serve.
- Practical steps your organization can take as the political winds change.
- Cutting through the noise to focus on issues with the highest stakes.
The session will also include a worksheet to help you determine what “advocacy” means for your organization, empowering you to make a mission-aligned difference in this politically charged environment.
Host Provider: BVU
Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Time: 8:30-10:00 am (doors open at 8:00 am for networking)
Location: MAGNET (1800 E. 63rd St, Cleveland, OH 44103)
Cost: Members $30 | Nonmembers $60
2/20 | Introduction to proposal writing
Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher? If so, you don't want to miss one of our most popular classes! This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation. It will include:
- The basic elements of a proposal
- The "do's" and "don'ts" of writing and submitting a proposal
- How to follow up whether the answer is yes or no
- 30-minute hands-on exercise to develop a proposal outline (in-person classes only)
Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:
- Understand how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation.
- Know how and when to follow up with funders after submitting a proposal.
Intended audience
- Beginner
- Grant writers
Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
2/27 | The Psychology of Thanking Donors Well
Crafting donor thank-yous that deepen ties with supporters requires more than strong writing skills; it takes an understanding of donor motivations. Join us to learn about new research into what makes donors feel valued. Our speakers will explain how to analyze your donor communications, use language that resonates with donors, and take your thank-yous to the next level, so you can strengthen donor relationships and increase giving to your cause.
Host Provider: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:15 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: $69 (early bird) / $89
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