Berkshire Taconic is proud to partner with community foundations across the region to deliver tailored support and assistance to nonprofits who are helping our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the needs identified by nearly 1,500 nonprofit professionals across our four-county region, we are offering a series of technical assistance and capacity-building programs for nonprofit staff and board leaders that will expand in the months ahead. While there is no denying the challenges ahead for the sector, we are united with our partners in a mission to help stabilize, re-envision and rebuild the nonprofit sector.
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
The Massachusetts Community Foundations Partnership—a coalition of 14 community foundations, Philanthropy Massachusetts and Massachusetts Nonprofit Network—is offering free programs for nonprofits across the state.
As a member of this partnership, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation encourages Berkshire County nonprofits to register for these virtual Zoom sessions. All recordings will be made available following each program.
Engaging Donors Virtually (Two-Part Series)
Tuesdays, Nov. 10 and 17, at 10 a.m.
In this constantly changing world, you need to stay nimble and creative in your approach to reaching out to your donors. Join Jenn Hayslett, highly rated fundraising trainer and coach, for two interactive workshops on how to engage your donors and encourage them to keep giving to your organization during this complex time.
Part 1: What Should You Say to Your Donors? How to Effectively Communicate and Ask Donors for Support During COVID-19
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10-11:15 a.m.
The pandemic has changed how we communicate—but most of your donors still want to support your important work.
During this session, you will explore how to:
- Craft intentional and clear messages that speak directly to your donors.
- Gather and share your clients’ stories in a respectful and inclusive way that explains your impact to your donors.
- Segment your messages to communicate the importance of your nonprofit’s work and ask your donors for support using print appeals, e-appeals, social media and website.
- Build a diverse and inclusive communications advisory team to review your messages and materials so that you are speaking to your multiple audiences with a voice that supports racial, gender and economic justice.
Watch the recording
Part 2: The Time is Now: How to Have Successful Donor Fundraising Meetings on Zoom
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
In this interactive online workshop, you will learn how to confidently reach out to your donors using Zoom or other video-conferencing platforms.
During this workshop, you will:
- Receive a customizable training manual that gives you the tools and scripts you need to invite your donors to meetings and ask them to support your organization.
- Learn the Connecting Conversations Model to help you ground yourself in meetings with donors.
- Have a chance to practice participating in meaningful, goal-directed conversations with your donors.
- Increase your skills and confidence to make your online donor meetings successful.
Watch the recording
Making Strategy in Uncertain Times
Thursday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
How can you even think about strategic planning when you don’t know what the next quarter will bring, let alone the next three years?
Many organizations are nimbly adapting to the pressing needs of their communities, temporarily putting a pause on their long-term plans. But how long is “temporarily"? For example, how will you know when (if ever) you are able to shift back to your traditional service model? Or will your service model have to fundamentally change?
Facing questions like this can be understandably unsettling. Part of the purpose of developing a strategy—defined as a framework for decision-making—is to help manage that stress. In this interactive session presented by Impact Catalysts, you will learn the essential components of strategy-making in uncertainty, explore how you can get started, and consider how your organization might need to adapt.
For background, Impact Catalysts recommends reading these two short blog posts about contingency planning:
Watch the recording
How to Update Your Digital Fundraising Strategy in the Age of COVID-19
Thursday, Nov. 19, 1:30-3 p.m.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the election and racial justice protests have upended the entire nonprofit landscape. It is no longer business as usual for nonprofit fundraisers.
With all the noise on social media, along with serious ethical considerations clouding the platforms, how can we continue to reach our audiences and spread our messages online?
In this webinar, digital fundraising expert Julia Campbell will review important shifts in the digital fundraising landscape that nonprofits need to understand; discuss ways to stay relevant on social media in times of uncertainty; and provide a framework for your 2021 digital fundraising strategy.
Watch the recording
How to Build, Launch, and Promote a Digital Fundraising Campaign
Thursday, Dec. 3, 10-11:30 a.m.
The research is in: 60% of people in North America prefer to give online. Revenue from individual online gifts grew by 19% over the past year. But are you making it easy for your donors to give on digital platforms?
During this virtual workshop, digital fundraising expert Julia Campbell will show you, step-by-step, how to build, launch and promote a digital fundraising campaign, including the best ways to use the variety of channels at your disposal (website, email, blog, social media). We will also cover how to use offline methods to augment your digital fundraising, and how to evaluate your success and measure results.
Skills, knowledge and attitudes to be addressed:
- How to navigate the latest changes and trends in the social media landscape—what fundraisers need to know
- How to use digital channels to build and deepen relationships with current donors and prospects
- How to manage digital fundraising tasks at a small nonprofit with limited capacity
- Free and low-cost tools you can use to enhance your digital fundraising on a shoestring budget
- Real-world examples from small and mid-size nonprofits
Register for Dec. 3
More Than Money: Identifying Organizational Strengths and Needs
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
The nonprofit sector is under-resourced. As a result, many executive directors and boards are constantly searching for ways to increase revenue to meet day-to-day needs. Too often organizations define their success by the robustness of their business model and the strength of their balance sheet. However, there is more than one kind of strength, just as there is more than one type of need.
This session, presented by Sandi McKinley of SectorWind, will offer an effective and time-efficient organizational assessment designed as a starting point for leaders and boards to identify their organization’s financial and nonfinancial strengths. In doing so, organizations will be able to understand the underlying areas of strength and areas that need investment. As a result, leaders and boards will be better positioned to advocate for the resources—financial and otherwise—needed to support their mission and strategy.
Register for Dec. 8
COLUMBIA & NORTHEAST DUTCHESS COUNTIES
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hudson Valley Funders Network partnered with New York Council of Nonprofits to assess the capacity needs of nonprofits in nine New York counties and develop collaborative strategies on how to best support the region’s nonprofit sector. A priority finding in the study was the critical need for nonprofits to quickly transform to digital fundraising strategies that need to be implemented in a remote workplace environment. In response, this partnership is offering a new five-part training series for Hudson Valley nonprofits.
As a member of the Hudson Valley Funders Network, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation encourages nonprofits in Columbia and northeast Dutchess counties to register for these free virtual training sessions.
DIGITAL FUNDRAISING (THREE-PART SERIES)
Dec. 3, 8 and 17, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
In these three sessions, you will learn best practices for using social media, email and additional communication tools to conduct digital fundraising for your nonprofit. Through participation in this course, you will:
- Learn the key elements of creating an online donation form
- Learn how to incorporate fundraising into your communications calendar
- Learn email and social media fundraising best practices
- Understand how to analyze and utilize metrics from your campaigns
- Discover software to support your fundraising efforts
Optimizing Your Website
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
Is your website sending capturing potential donors? Learn how to set up your website for success by including elements such as prominent "donate" buttons, tiered fundraising asks, and more.
Email Fundraising
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
Email requests are common practice in fundraising campaigns, but how can you make sure they're reaching your audience? Learn about best practices in crafting, targeting and scheduling an email fundraising campaign.
Social Media Fundraising
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
To complete your digital fundraising strategy, it's important to have your social media aligned with your efforts. Learn how to harness social media platforms to encourage fundraising, and how to incorporate your posts with your overall campaign.
SELECTING A DONOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Thursday, Jan. 14, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
For most nonprofits, their donor management system is the glue that holds their organization together. Having one means being able to track donors, learn about how they interact with your organization, and take steps to strengthen those relationships. Unfortunately, many organizations struggle to find the right system. (And no, spreadsheets are not a donor management system!) Whether you’re actively shopping for a new donor management system or considering whether it’s time to change, this course can help you learn about your options, the features, and functionality you need within a budget you can afford. During this session, you will:
- Learn what to consider when evaluating donor management systems
- Think through your organization's needs and the data you want to track
- Review how to evaluate a system so that all of your questions get answered
- Understand the security risks that DMS platforms (and consequently an organization’s donor data) frequently face
- Understand the basics of fundraising databases (aka donor management systems and DMS) and security features that leading DMS platforms provide that may better protect donor data
Register for Jan. 14
CYBERSECURITY BASICS
Thursday, Jan. 28, 2:45-4:15 p.m.
Nonprofit staff may recognize that cyber attacks are frequent and damaging to both their finances and their reputation, but consider the task to protect themselves, even minimally, to be daunting and complex. In this session, attendees will learn about the types of threats they unknowingly face, how to recognize them, and simple steps they can take to improve protection of their own devices and their organization. During this session you will learn:
- The state of nonprofit security and examples
- Pieces of security landscape
- What do you have, who wants it, and how will they get it
- Assessing risk
- Best practices for cybersecurity basics
- Office365 licensing overview
- IT policies that help protect the organization
- Configuration and support
Register for Jan. 28