Serving Nonprofits. Strengthening West Virginia

What's Next West Virginia: Eastern Panhandle Regional Workshop
2014-08-19 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Blue Ridge Community & Technical College – Technology Center, 5550 Winchester Avenue, Martinsburg, WV, United States
What is What’s Next, West Virginia?
The time is right for deep conversations about our state’s future-ones that connect the good work that is underway, bring new voices into the mix, and encourage innovative thinking.
What’s Next, West Virginia? is a statewide series of community conversations about strengthening local economies. These nonpartisan conversations are designed to encourage thinking, talking, and actions based on West Virginians’ own ideas for helping their communities–and the state–move forward.
Bring What’s Next to Your Community
If you’d like to help organize local What’s Next, WV? discussions, attend a regional workshop. You’ll learn ways to-

Connect what’s happening in your area
Reach out to involve new people
Develop local coalitions
Facilitate productive conversations
Move from dialogue to action

Workshop participants will receive discussion guides
and other support materials they can use in their own communities.
Join Us at a Regional Workshop
and bring some others from your community with you.

Buckhannon- August 14
Martinsburg- August 19
Beckley- August 21
Charleston- September 3

Workshops are free, but registration is required.
Register Here!

What's Next West Virginia: North Central Regional Workshop
2014-08-14 10:00 - 16:00 | West Virginia Wesleyan College, 59 College Avenue, Buckhannon, WV, United States

Marietta College: The Five Stages of Volunteer Management
2014-08-06 09:30 - 11:00 | Marietta College, 215 Fifth Street, Marietta, OH, 45750, United States
Presented by Marietta College’s ​Office of Civic Engagement.
Committed volunteers are amazing assets to any organization that is lucky enough to have them. They should be seen as valuable in-kind donors worthy of our thoughts and our time. To ensure that volunteers are used effectively, it is important to develop a structure for their use. In this workshop, we will review the five stages of successful volunteer management, including:

Recruitment
Orientation
​Involvement
Recognition
Retention

​Please register by noon on Monday, August 4th if you plan like to attend. ​​
REGISTER HERE

Idealware: The Donor Management Systems Toolkit
2014-08-05 13:00 - 14:30 | Webinar
Two Live 90-Minute Sessions & Six One-Hour System Demos.
[WVNPA Members receive a $25 discount. Email lauralee@dev.wvnpa.org for details.]
Most nonprofits have donors they rely on. Most nonprofits care a lot about their donors. But do you have the right donor management system to help you keep track of them? No, an Excel spreadsheet is not a donor management system.A donor management system is built to handle relationships between data—for example, your donors and gifts—to allow you to more easily track the people who make your work possible.Navigating the choices you have when choosing a donor management system can be daunting. That’s why Idealware has created the online “Donor Management Systems Toolkit” course: to help you navigate the choices.
Through participation in the course, you will:

Learn about the features and considerations when choosing a donor management system.
Analyze your organization’s needs and the constituent data that you want to track.
Take a deep look at highly-rated donor management systems from Idealware’s Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems.
Review a method of system evaluation and implementation.

Course Sessions Include:
July 15: Thinking Through Your Donor Management Needs, 1 pm – 2:30 pm, Eastern
In this class, we will walk through the ins and outs of donor management systems. We’ll discuss the common features of systems, key considerations for choosing one that’s right for your organization, and how to compare different systems. We’ll help you evaluate what you actually need from a system and ask the all-important question, “Do you really need a new system at all?”

Do you need a new system?
Features and considerations
How to evaluate a system
Metrics and reports – what data do you need to get out?

July 22-24 and July 29-31: Donor Management System Demos, 1 pm – 2 pm, Eastern
The deal might look good on paper, but you need to take a test drive to truly evaluate the product. We’ll take a deep look at some of the highly rated donor management systems reviewed for Idealware’s Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems report, including a mix of low-cost, mid-range, and full-featured systems.
August 5: Best Practices for Implementing and Using Your Database, 1 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern
Now that you have an idea of what system you need, how do you make the transition? This session will walk you through the process of implementing your new database. We’ll explore the system migration process, how you get your data from your old database to the new one, and close with an overview of data management best practices.

The system migration process
Good data management
Closing

About the Presenter
Elizabeth Pope, Director of Research and Operations
Elizabeth Pope directs Idealware’s software research projects, conducting interviews and product demos, writing articles and reports, and helping to design project methodology. Additionally, she led the update to Idealware’s A Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems in late 2013. She earned an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she honed her research, instruction, and tech skills. Before moving to Maine, Elizabeth worked in archives and libraries in New York City for several years. Her background also includes fundraising and content development for nonprofit organizations.
Please register with the email address where you would like to receive the access and dial-in information for the online seminar.
All registered participants are granted access to the recordings of each session. If a participant cannot attend any of the sessions due to a scheduling conflict, they will still have access to all the content of the Toolkit.
Questions? Email Idealware at info@idealware.org.

Faces of Leadership Conference: Dream Up!
2014-07-29 - 2014-07-31 | Charleston Civic Center, 200 Civic Center Drive, Charleston, WV, 25301, United States
[WVNPA members receive a $50 registration discount. Download registration form below for details.]
Join us July 29-31 at the Charleston Civic Center for the state’s annual gathering of people strengthening communities through volunteerism and service.
This year’s theme stresses the importance of: dreaming up to create the future, looking in to see possibilities in ourselves and in our communities, and reaching out to usual and unusual partners to make those possibilities a reality.
Come Dream Up with those who share your passion for improving communities. You will leave refreshed, recharged and with a greater sense that what you do is a part of something much bigger.
2014 Conference Features
If you want to hear inspiring, practical keynote speakers and leave with new skills and
connections, then this conference is for you!
Keynote Speakers – Erika Oliver, Positive Communication Expert and Swamp Gravy, Georgia’s Official Folk Life Play.
Networking Opportunities – The nearly 350 people who attend the conference have the opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones from among the government officials, business and community leaders, nonprofit and national service staff/volunteers, and members of faith-based organizations who attend the conference.
Exhibits – Take this opportunity to spotlight your organization, program or products with an exhibit table at this year’s conference. Tell other participants about new initiatives, innovative thinking or collaboration. Each display area will have a six-foot skirted table. There is a nominal fee of $25 per table for nonprofit organizations and $50 for private sector exhibitors. To register for an exhibit complete Exhibit Registration Form here Exhibit Registration Form here and send it to Moya Doneghy, moya.doneghy@wv.gov by July 14, 2014.
WVU School of Social Work Certificate in Nonprofit Management – Many workshops at the conference are approved for credit towards the WVU Continuing Education Certificate in Nonprofit Management. To see which sessions count or to enroll in the program click here (http://socialwork.wvu.edu/continuing-education/continuing-education-certificate-in-nonprofit-management ) or contact Jacki Englehard at 304-293-3280, jacki.englehardt@mail.wvu.edu or Andrew Summers at asummer6@mix.wvu.edu.
Nonprofit Leadership Track – New in 2014! Recently the West Virginia Nonprofit Association (WVNPA) asked nonprofit leaders, “What are our most pressing professional development needs?” The top two issues were (1) leadership development and succession and (2) how to take fundraising to the next level.
Nonprofit Leaders will have the opportunity to address these advanced level topics from 9am-noon on Wednesday, July 30th, 2014. To learn more about the Nonprofit Leadership Track view the conference brochure.
2014 Governor’s Service Awards – West Virginia’s most prestigious volunteer awards will be given during the 2014 banquet held on Wednesday, July 30, at the Civic Center as part of the conference.
DOWNLOAD:
2014 Conference Brochure
2014 Conference Registration

Webinar: Budgeting Process Best Practices for the Small Nonprofit
2014-07-23 11:00 - 12:30 | Webinar
Presented by Michelle Jarvais, CFO and Elizabeth Mathews, Sr. Accountant, NYCON
A good budgeting process engages everyone who is responsible for that budget and implementing its priorities. Even in a small nonprofit this process can get complicated. As budgeting decisions are, of course, driven both by mission and by financial need, both fiscal; and senior program staff participation is a necessity. The process should include enough time for review of the strategic priorities and goals of the organization and also allow for review, feedback, revisions, etc. Managing this process is a serious responsibility across different “teams” within your organization – or for a small nonprofit – may include everyone on staff! Then – once a budget is in place – how do you manage this “living, breathing” document? Because as we all know, things change frequently in the world of a nonprofit.
Participants in this workshop will learn practical tips to start, manage and stay on task during this critical process and throughout the year.
This is a special “Shared Webinar” offered by NYCON to Members of the National Council of Nonprofits.
An 8.5% convenience fee is added to online registrations to cover the processing cost of providing this service to you. We still accept mail-in registrations by check: Download the mail-in registration form.

Sign Language Interpretation For The Stage
2014-07-20 10:00 | Hermann Fine Arts Center, 500 Butler Street, Marietta, OH, United States
Theatre de Jeunesse, a local young adult theatre arts organization, invites Mid-Ohio Valley sign language interpreters to attend a free workshop entitled “Sign Language Interpretation For The Stage”. The workshop will be held on Sunday, July 20, at 10:00 AM at the Hermann Fine Arts Center, 500 Butler Street (corner of 4th and Butler Streets) in Marietta, Ohio.
The subject matter covered will be the differences between interpretation for the stage versus other types of events, and ASL Theatre Certification information. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for RID members who attend. Workshop presenters will be Janelle St.Martin and Brianna Butler who have a combined total of over 30 years experience in interpreting for stage productions. There is no charge for the workshop and light snacks will be provided. Workshop attendees will be offered a complimentary ticket to attend the performance of the musical classic Camelot later in the day to observe stage interpretation.

Registrations accepted through Wednesday, July 16, 2014. Please contact Linda Buchanan by phone at 304-354-7506 or by email to lindabn2art@yahoo.com, and please provide the following information:

Name
Address
Phone
Email, and
Number of Years Experience in sign language interpretation

This workshop is presented with financial assistance from the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation.

Idealware: The Donor Management Systems Toolkit
2014-07-15 13:00 - 14:30 | Webinar
Two Live 90-Minute Sessions & Six One-Hour System Demos.
[WVNPA Members receive a $25 discount. Email lauralee@dev.wvnpa.org for details.]
Most nonprofits have donors they rely on. Most nonprofits care a lot about their donors. But do you have the right donor management system to help you keep track of them? No, an Excel spreadsheet is not a donor management system.A donor management system is built to handle relationships between data—for example, your donors and gifts—to allow you to more easily track the people who make your work possible.Navigating the choices you have when choosing a donor management system can be daunting. That’s why Idealware has created the online “Donor Management Systems Toolkit” course: to help you navigate the choices.
Through participation in the course, you will:

Learn about the features and considerations when choosing a donor management system.
Analyze your organization’s needs and the constituent data that you want to track.
Take a deep look at highly-rated donor management systems from Idealware’s Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems.
Review a method of system evaluation and implementation.

Course Sessions Include:
July 15: Thinking Through Your Donor Management Needs, 1 pm – 2:30 pm, Eastern
In this class, we will walk through the ins and outs of donor management systems. We’ll discuss the common features of systems, key considerations for choosing one that’s right for your organization, and how to compare different systems. We’ll help you evaluate what you actually need from a system and ask the all-important question, “Do you really need a new system at all?”

Do you need a new system?
Features and considerations
How to evaluate a system
Metrics and reports – what data do you need to get out?

July 22-24 and July 29-31: Donor Management System Demos, 1 pm – 2 pm, Eastern
The deal might look good on paper, but you need to take a test drive to truly evaluate the product. We’ll take a deep look at some of the highly rated donor management systems reviewed for Idealware’s Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems report, including a mix of low-cost, mid-range, and full-featured systems.
August 5: Best Practices for Implementing and Using Your Database, 1 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern
Now that you have an idea of what system you need, how do you make the transition? This session will walk you through the process of implementing your new database. We’ll explore the system migration process, how you get your data from your old database to the new one, and close with an overview of data management best practices.

The system migration process
Good data management
Closing

About the Presenter
Elizabeth Pope, Director of Research and Operations
Elizabeth Pope directs Idealware’s software research projects, conducting interviews and product demos, writing articles and reports, and helping to design project methodology. Additionally, she led the update to Idealware’s A Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems in late 2013. She earned an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she honed her research, instruction, and tech skills. Before moving to Maine, Elizabeth worked in archives and libraries in New York City for several years. Her background also includes fundraising and content development for nonprofit organizations.
Please register with the email address where you would like to receive the access and dial-in information for the online seminar.
All registered participants are granted access to the recordings of each session. If a participant cannot attend any of the sessions due to a scheduling conflict, they will still have access to all the content of the Toolkit.
Questions? Email Idealware at info@idealware.org.
REGISTER HERE

Focus Group Webinar: The Institute for Coaching and Leadership
2014-07-15 13:00 - 14:00 | Webinar
The West Virginia Nonprofit Association is conducting a feasibility study that will assess the need, viability and cost effectiveness of creating a robust training and coaching center for nonprofit organizations in West Virginia, The Institute for Coaching and Leadership. The study will assess the needs of more than 1,000 nonprofits statewide—including the nonprofit organization members of WVNPA.
As part of this study, a series of focus groups will be facilitated by Lydotta Taylor of the EdVenture Group. The first will be an on-site focus group July 8, 4-6 p.m. (to accommodate volunteer schedules) at the Randolph County Development Authority, 10 Eleventh Street, in Elkins, WV 26241. A second focus group will be a webinar July 15, 1-2 p.m. Registration is encouraged.

Independent Sector: The Fundamentals of Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying
2014-07-09 14:00 - 15:00 | Webinar
Cost:

Single Sessions: $38 (IS Member) / $75 (Non IS Member)
Full Sesssion: $86 (IS Member) / $169 (Non IS Member)

Advocacy and lobbying are powerful tools that your organization can use to advance its mission. Don’t let misconceptions or a fear of rule-breaking hold you back.
Join Independent Sector online for The Fundamentals of Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying, a new three-part interactive training series. Over the course of the series, experts will share their knowledge about advocacy and lobbying, answer your questions about permissible activities, and discuss the importance of successfully engaging in public policy debates.
The Importance of Advocacy and 5 Essential Ingredients
of Success
Wednesday, July 9, 2:00-3:00 pm
How advocacy can contribute to your mission
How policy can work for you at the federal, state, and local levels
The five essential approaches to successful advocacy
How to Build Strong Relationships with Public Officials
and Their Staff
Wednesday, July 16, 2:00-3:00 pm
How to understand and connect your work to policymakers’ priorities
How to engage elected officials in their home districts
How to Execute an Effective Advocacy Meeting
Wednesday, July 23, 2:00-3:00 pm
The difference between lobbying and advocacy
How to craft effective messages
When to invite an elected official to visit your organization
How to create effective meeting materials
REGISTER HERE

On-site Focus Group: The Institute for Coaching and Leadership
2014-07-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Randolph County Development Authority, 10 Eleventh Street, Elkins, WV, 26241, United States
The West Virginia Nonprofit Association is conducting a feasibility study that will assess the need, viability and cost effectiveness of creating a robust training and coaching center for nonprofit organizations in West Virginia, The Institute for Coaching and Leadership. The study will assess the needs of more than 1,000 nonprofits statewide—including the nonprofit organization members of WVNPA.
As part of this study, a series of focus groups will be facilitated by Lydotta Taylor of the EdVenture Group. The first will be an on-site focus group July 8, 4-6 p.m. (to accommodate volunteer schedules) at the Randolph County Development Authority, 10 Eleventh Street, in Elkins, WV 26241. The second focus group will be a webinar July 15, 1-2 p.m. Registration is encouraged.

Leadership and Learning for Nonprofit Executives and Board Members
2014-06-26 08:00 - 09:30 | Zando’s Catering Unlimited, 241 Capitol Steet, Charleston, WV, 25301, United States
McKinley Carter is pleased to host
Conversations for Nonprofits:
A Dialogue Around Leadership and Learning
Thursday, June 26, 2014
8:00am – 9:30am
Zando’s Catering Unlimited
241 Capitol Steet – Charleston

Meet and hear from accomplished nonprofit executives, including the author of Being the Best
Discuss effective strategies and tactics to advance the ambitions of nonprofit leaders
Network with other nonprofit executives and board members
Enjoy breakfast
Receive a complimentary copy of Being the Best

If you haven’t already, please RSVP to McKinley Carter by June 20, 2014
304.346.3700 or email kmcdermott@mc-ws.com
About Being the Best
Written by nonprofit management executive, Frederick A. Lambert, “Being the Best: The Nonprofit Organization’s Guide to Total Quality” examines the very real challenges facing 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The book addresses ways to build a foundation that promotes success; craft and pursue a strategic plan; create and sustain a culture of quality; put the customer first no matter what; and develop leaders who will create and sustain organizational growth and success.
About McKinley Carter
McKinley Carter Wealth Services, Inc. (“McKinley Carter”) is an SEC registered investment adviser that provides Wealth Management and Trust Services for individuals and families; Retirement Plan Services for businesses; and Nonprofit Advisory Services for organizations. Our Nonprofit Advisory Services unit works with nonprofit organizations by taking a strategic approach to endowment development. We assess how institutional considerations such as investments, finance, fundraising, strategic planning, governance and leadership development evolve over time and how these factors should be integrated into the total financial picture of an organization to accomplish mission, achieve results and ultimately develop and sustain endowment funds.
www.mckinleycarter.com/nonprofits

Idealware: The Program Data for Information and Transformation Toolkit
2014-06-04 13:00 - 14:30 | Webinar
The Program Data for Information and Transformation Toolkit
Five 90-minute webinars, Wednesdays between June 4 – July 2
$200.00 (WVNPA Members $175. For discount code, email WVNPA)
Register Online
In our increasingly data-driven world, nonprofits need to be able to measure and monitor the effectiveness of their programs more than ever. It’s difficult to improve program services or reach without first understanding what’s working and what isn’t. Gathering the right data is key. From how many meals served at your soup kitchen or the number of students in a mentoring program who graduate high school to the percent of your target population without access to affordable housing, being able to track such numbers can help you identify the improvement or impact of your programs or organization.
Unfortunately, while more funders and constituents expect you to be evaluating your programs, it can be challenging to ask the right questions, gather the data, and analyze the results. But that doesn’t mean it’s out of reach for small and medium-sized nonprofits to do so. Having a solid understanding of the process is an essential first step.
That’s where Idealware can help. In The Program Data for Information and Transformation Toolkit, we will start presenting this complete look at how data can inform your organization by showing you where you can find important organizational data, and where you should store it. We’ll continue with a discussion around how you should think about, measure, and present data to others. Finally, we’ll share how data can inform your decision-making process.
Throughout the course, we’ll explore how real organizations are using their data, and provide ample opportunities—both during class and our weekly office hours—to talk through how this applies to your own organization.
Through participation in this course, you will:
· Learn how to ask the right questions of your data.
· Explore the many places where data can live.
· Understand various analysis techniques and tools.
· Evaluate multiple strategies for presenting your data.
· Dive into case studies of real organizations using data to make decisions.
June 4: Asking the Right Questions
Simply collecting data is not enough. Deciding early on what you will do with that data—and why you want it in the first place—will help you to define goals and approaches. We’ll talk through how to define your organization’s own data-based metrics strategy from the ground up, and importantly, how to ask the right questions.
June 11: Hunting Down the Data
More often than not, the most useful data won’t be found already neatly laid out in a spreadsheet. You might find extremely valuable data in handwritten staff notes, in software you haven’t looked at in six months, or public repositories. We’ll discuss where different data can live, which sources of data might be useful, and where and how you can collect it to be ready for analysis.
June 18: Analyzing Your Data
What do you do with all that newly harvested data? How do you take those piles of raw data and make sense of it all? In this class, we’ll break down the strategies you can use to analyze data, and what it can teach your organization.
June 25: Presenting Your Data
Even if you work at a one-person organization, you’ll likely need to share that data with other colleagues, board members, and the community at large in order to bring about change. Presenting your findings in the form of infographics, charts, and graphs can lend a fresh perspective on how your data stacks up.
July 2: Making Use of Your Data
In the final course, we will discuss the various ways you can go about using the data now that it has been collected and analyzed. We’ll examine case studies of several nonprofits that have used their metrics strategies to improve the strength and capacity of their organizations, and look at best practices for moving forward in your own office.
This course is targeted at program staff, leadership staff, and fundraising staff—really anyone who is responsible for measuring outcomes or results for their organization. This is a beginner-to-intermediate course for the everyday staffer (or board member) who is tasked with evaluation but doesn’t know where to start or has started, but wants to revise or improve their current program. We will walk through the process of data evaluation from start to finish—you don’t need a PhD in program evaluation to follow along, you just need to show and take part in our conversation.
All participants will have access to online office hours every Friday between classes at 1 PM Eastern, as well as weekly homework assignments to help apply data best practices to your own organization.
Please register with the email address where you would like to receive the access and dial-in information for the online seminar.
All registered participants are granted access to the recordings of each session. If a participant cannot attend any of the sessions due to a scheduling conflict, they will still have access to all the content of the Toolkit.
About the Presenters:
Laura Quinn
As the Executive Director of Idealware, Laura oversees Idealware’s research, writing, and training, including substantial research into data best practices. Prior to directing Idealware’s research, writing, and training, Laura founded Alder Consulting, a firm that specialized in strategizing, designing, and building powerful internet strategies for affordable budgets. Laura has worked with a number of nonprofits on creating metrics strategies tactics, is a frequent speaker on nonprofit technology topics, and has conducted literally dozens of online and offline seminars. She was also an author on Idealware’s Getting Started With Data-Driven Decision Making: A Workbook, Understanding Software for Program Evaluation, and the forthcoming report on how small nonprofits are evaluating their programs.
Elizabeth Pope
Elizabeth Pope directs Idealware’s software research projects, conducting interviews and product demos, writing articles and reports, and helping to design project methodology. She was lead author on Understanding Software for Program Evaluation. She earned an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she honed her research, instruction, and tech skills. Before moving to Maine, Elizabeth worked in archives and libraries in New York City for several years. Her background also includes fundraising and content development for nonprofit organizations.

18th Annual Civic Life Institute
2014-06-04 - 2014-06-05 | University of Charleston, 2300 Maccorkle Ave SE, Charleston, WV, 25304, United States
2014 Civic Life Institute
Connecting People to Public Issues
June 4-5 at the University of Charleston
Why should I attend?
The 2014 Civic Life Institute will focus on effective, inclusive ways to help people talk and work together on issues that affect the quality of life in West Virginia. What you learn at the Institute can apply to a wide range of public issues facing your community.
What will I learn?
You’ll explore effective public practices for:
organizing community discussions
facilitating productive discussions of public issues
moving from community dialogue to action
networking with others who are building connected communities
We’ll explore some of West Virginia’s current dialogue-to-action initiatives, including:
What’s Next, WV?
Many West Virginians believe the time is right for deep conversations about our state’s future, ones that bring people together who don’t normally talk to one another—ones that allow fresh, innovative thinking to emerge. What’s Next, WV? is a nonpartisan, statewide initiative designed to support these community-based conversations and to help communities move from dialogue to action planning—based on their own ideas for building stronger local economies.
You’ll also learn about dialogue initiatives on mental health, dropout prevention, early childhood needs, prescription drug abuse, safe neighborhoods, fitness and nutrition.
Sounds good. How can I register?
You can register online here. The $95 registration fee includes all materials and meals. A limited number of scholarships are available based on need. Contact us for more information.
Questions?
Contact Betty Knighton at 304-344-3430 or knighton@wvciviclife.org
