Learning

I keep a creased and faded flip chart page on my wall. At the top it says, “What Could We Do? What Would It Take?” It comes from a November 2017 event at which we invited consultants and those who train to tell us how Washington can become a leader in nonprofit learning. This is what these participants shared: Require conference speakers to demonstrate best practice Provide a pipeline of learning experiences that teach best practice Empower and equip staff to deliver training  Homegrow (support local people to deliver local trainings) Offer peer circles or affinity groups to get at […]

Hot off the press: “Conferences That Make a Difference,” co-authored by Washington Nonprofits Associate Director, Nancy Bacon! Do you organize an annual conference? Are you looking to deepen the learning that happens at your conference? Want ideas on how to organize activities that help people take action on what they learn?  You are warmly invited to download this free e-book for ideas on how to design a conference that makes a difference. It was written for membership organizations or association staff interested in expanding the learning aspects of your annual conference. The e-book covers four elements of conference design: Strategy […]

There are 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States. Washington typically sees 4,000 new nonprofits formed each year. How do we make sure people have what they need to think about the difference they want to make and the structure best suited to moving forward?  With support from the Office of the Secretary of State, Washington Nonprofits worked with 501 Commons and Wayfind to produce a new toolkit for people wanting to turn an idea into an organization. To download the free toolkit, visit Starting a Nonprofit on the Washington Nonprofit Institute. There’s also an interactive graphic to find what you need […]

“Thank you! These workshops gave me so much useful information, tangible information to use!” You need to know a lot to run a nonprofit organization. You need a well-honed set of skills and tools designed to help you take action. You need to know that every training you go to will be excellent and action-focused. In three sessions between April and May, 68 consultants and in-house trainers from both nonprofits and government agencies participated in the inaugural “Train the Trainer” series offered by Washington Nonprofits in partnership with Guila Muir and Tracy Flynn. They learned how to construct an effective workshop, […]

We nonprofit people face the ebb and flow of good and bad fortune. Our ability to achieve our mission is not always up to us. The stars align—or don’t – and things happen that we need to respond to. The Washington Nonprofits Learning team, in partnership with Three Choices Communications, has developed a new game designed to encourage conversations about risk and strategy. “Now What?” came out of conversations about the positive and negative things that can happen while starting a nonprofit. It evolved into a set of cards suitable for play at any stage of an organization. How do […]