Monthly Archives: April 2010

Free Grant Opportunity Forum: May 20, Mankato

Posted on April 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Wow! There is no shortage of free trainings for nonprofits lately and here’s another:  “Grant Opportunity Forum”, Thursday May 20, 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Intergovernmental Center, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Mankato. This forum, hosted by Region Nine Development Commission, is designed for local units of government and nonprofit organizations and will provide information and direct access to potential funding resources for various community projects. Speakers include: U.S. Census Bureau (how to  use their information); MN Office of Energy Security; Small Cities Development Program and grants.gov. USDA information will also be available. RSVP by May 14 to Sarah at sarah@rndc.org or call 507-389-8880.

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Posted in Free Stuff

Free community training in nonprofit management: May 12-13

Posted on April 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

The Minnesota Valley Action Council, in partnership with the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches and Fairview Health Systems is offering four free workshops in nonprofit management on Wednesday and Thursday, May 12-13 in Mankato. Topics include “Enhancing Governance Leadership”, “Strengthening Strategic Leadership”, “Fundamentals of Budgeting” and “Fundamentals of Nonprofit Finance”.  Free, but registration is required. This is a wonderful opportunity, especially since it’s free and you can pick one or all four of the sessions! Spread the word!

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Posted in Free Stuff

Virtual Fundraising Conference May 20: Free!

Posted on April 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

A shout-out to Marcia in Redwood Falls who seems to always have her pulse on the latest online trainings! She passed on this fundraising web-conference, called the “FundRaising Success Virtual Conference & Expo”, to share with others. The free training is Thursday, May 20 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 (ET) and can be done at your desk.  I’ll be in meetings that day, but if I wasn’t, I’d love to see how a “fully staffed exhibit hall” works online!

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Posted in Free Stuff

Mankato Networking Lunch Recap: April 16

Posted on April 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

Of course, right after a group of 20 nonprofits met last Friday at Mankato’s nonprofit networking lunch to discuss Facebook for nonprofits, Facebook went and tweaked things yet again. Now, instead of having “fans”, many nonprofits will be “liked”. I don’t really know what the change means (if anything), but was a good reminder of how quickly things are changing — and why many nonprofits are wondering to what extent they should get on board (and who’s going to do it…)

Our wonderful guest Mandy H., the assistant director and Facebook “updater” of member org LEEP in Mankato was amazing and incredibly helpful. It was great to hear about how one nonprofit really uses Facebook, as compared to hearing all the things nonprofits “should do”.  Throughout the discussion, we tried to focus on how to maximize Facebook for nonprofit use (rather than “if” nonprofits should do it) and also tried to steer away from the technical side of things, simply due to time and varying degrees of abilities.  I thought it was interesting that of the 20 people there, 19 had a personal Facebook page and most had one for their nonprofit (with a few just being created in the past week!). The issue of finding time did come up, with several nonprofits saying they spend 5-15 minutes a day. Another issue that came up was that of privacy issues and HIPAA, a topic that impacts many nonprofits. It was suggested that we bring in someone to specifically address HIPAA and I’ll be working on that for a future networking lunch. Stay tuned. Our next lunch will be Friday, May 21 with the topic TBD.

More about Facebook and social media for nonprofits

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Posted in Uncategorized

The Twins and Nonprofits

Posted on April 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Through a wonderful (and rare) opportunity, many staff at MCN had the chance to attend a Minnesota Twins game in the new stadium yesterday. We had a great time and I must admit it was one of the first times I’ve talked to many of my coworkers about something NOT related to the database, scheduling, the website and the like. The day, atmosphere and conversation was refreshing all the way around! Being there also made me recall this blog post by the Nonprofits Assistance Fund, written after a Twins game last fall. It’s a great reminder that inspiration for your organization can be found in unlikely places and that sometimes the best work time is time away…

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Posted in Nonprofit Networking

Free workshop in Marshall – April 29

Posted on April 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

A shout-out to  Nancy at the Southwest Initiative Foundation for bringing this to my attention: a free workshop called “Attracting and Building Support for Your Mission” is coming up Thursday, April 29 in Marshall. The workshop goes from 1:00-4:30 and will be at SW State University. Get all the details, including a link to RSVP, here.

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Posted in Free Stuff

Workshop Recap: Sustainable Fundraising Strategies

Posted on April 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Just over 30 nonprofits from across South Central and Southwest Minnesota joined us today for a Sustainable Fundraising Strategies workshop, presented by Lori Jacobwith.  Lori covered an amazing amount of material in just three hours and did a great job of giving nonprofits practical tools that can be implemented now. One of my favorite things she pointed out was that we need to remember that our missions are not in a recession: there is still a need for our services, sometimes more than ever. If you missed it (or were there and want to send a board member to the training), Lori will be presenting this workshop one more time, coming up May 5 in St. Cloud. She also has a ton of resources on her website. A special shout-out to Michelle from MCN member org Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota who volunteered to share an organizational story in front of the group and to everyone for their energetic participation — it was a great morning!

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Posted in Fundraising Events, Uncategorized

Fairmont Networking Recap: Facebook

Posted on April 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

A big shout-out to Wilbur with the ARC of Minnesota Southwest who took time out of her busy day to share her Facebook insights with a group of nonprofits in Fairmont during the networking lunch. She called herself a “technology immigrant”, learning as she goes, which I think we can all appreciate! She also said Facebook has been a plus for her organization, creating additional awareness at no cost.  Thanks to the Red Rock Center’s great technology (and technology expert Barb) and Wilbur’s experience, the group was able to walk through setting up a Facebook page for nonprofits on their big screen. If you’re still thinking about getting your nonprofit on Facebook, here is some information about building a Facebook page for your organization – from the very beginning.  And if you do create a page, I’d love to know about it — it’s a great way to hear about all the great things happening in Southwest and South Central Minnesota.  Also, MCN South Central/Southwest has a small Facebook page — we’re testing it out for now. Our next meeting in Fairmont will be Wednesday, June 2.

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Posted in Fairmont Networking Lunches