If you are interested in any of the following workshops, please reach out. We’re always happy to answer questions and discuss your organization’s specific areas of need. Consultations are always offered at no charge and with no obligation.
Contact UsThere are a multitude of underlying flaws with traditional school fundraising strategies. By traditional, we mean candy sales, catalog drives, etc. The problems stem from the limited amount of funds that schools can raise to the nature of these types of fundraisers, the large amount of time and effort required to be minimally successful, and the fact that most students and parents are just not motivated (or do not have the time) to participate. Our philosophy on traditional school fundraising programs is… “Out with the old – in with the new.” Questions we will explore during this workshop include:
Answers to these and all of your other questions are discussed during our “FUNtabulous Fundraising!” training. Working in teams, participants will develop a detailed fundraising plan for their classrooms; they will learn how to set and monitor their fundraising goals; and they will learn tons of fresh, new ideas on how to effectively raise funds for their classrooms while also raising student achievement and parent involvement.
For this topic, we encourage our clients to pick a course that either involves an introduction to grant writing or intermediate or advanced level grant writing. Depending on the topic, your course may include the discussion of various types of grants, grant research, understanding basic terminology and acronyms, how to read a governmental RFP and understand eligibility, current methods of submitting grant applications, how to develop an annual grant planning chart, finding partners to enhance your proposals, typical required components of any grant proposal or application, tips and strategies used by professional grant writers, practice writing grant sections that fit your organization, and dissecting award winning grant proposals.
$2,500 per day plus travel and material cost reimbursement
This course will assist you in making sure that your organization has ample resources, knowledge, and skills to be accountable to your funders for utilization of grant dollars. This session will explore various ways to set up grant and program budget reporting (and tracking) tools. You will also learn how to utilize in-house staff for grant activities; how to select a third-party evaluator; the frequency of checking/reporting and lines of authority/streams of information; how to set up a grant and funding expenditure report; how to determine program costs and contributions; cash vs. in-kind matching; direct vs. indirect costs; allowable uses of indirect cost funds; and budget adjustment processes.
Volunteers are often the back-bone of an educational agency. This course will cover the benefits and cost-savings of volunteers, effective recruiting methods, reducing volunteer access barriers, volunteer screening and background checks, potential utilization for various ongoing unpaid staff positions and one-time assistance, training and development of job descriptions, supervision, volunteer performance policies, adaptable forms, and methods of showing appreciation.
This course will explore the many strategies one can use to identify and engage partners in grant and other school initiatives. Forging collaborative relationships with various types of for profit and nonprofit industries, such as colleges, media, and essential services, is the key focus of this workshop. Other topics covered include: how to prevent misunderstandings and develop trust among partners; when and how to develop an MOU; importance of a needs assessment; specific benefits of collaboration if approached correctly; buy-in and participation of leadership; selling your organization to a potential collaborator; communication among partners; utilizing individual and creative talents for the good of the group and initiatives; and looking at collaboration from “other’s” perspective – what is in it for them.
This session will convey knowledge and an understanding about the benefits and common approaches to organizational strategic planning, including basic methods, key terms, and special topics; use of consultants vs. internal facilitation (including skill sets needed); when, why, and how to conduct strategic planning; and the close examination of various models and examples of strategic plans. In addition, the presenter will discuss ways to create a strategic planning committee – who to involve; how to obtain buy-in; how to facilitate the meetings and follow-up; assigning duties and responsibilities; and how to develop an action plan that is implemented, monitored, and adjusted.
This important session explores the concepts of programs vs. projects as well as the justification of when, why, and how to start a new initiative. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: how to conduct a feasibility study for a new program or project, understanding the importance of the target population and cultural relevancy in program/project design and implementation, common guidelines and tools for planning and managing new programs and projects, guidelines for designing new initiatives, staffing a new program or project, how to market the initiative, strategies for translating promotional or other materials and delivery mediums into target audience languages, the basics on how to identify grants and other resources for financing new initiatives, defining and tracking performance standards and expectations, when and how to evaluate the effectiveness of the program or project, and strategies for making improvements.
The purpose of most capital campaigns is to raise funds to build, purchase, or improve a physical asset. For education agencies, this asset is usually a gymnasium, a school library, or a new building. There are very specific rules, steps, and strategies that are common to successful campaigning. If you can get it right the first time, there should never be a need to repeat a capital campaign or drag the campaign on for years at a time. During Resource Associates’ Capital Campaign training event, you will be led, step-by-step, through the do’s and don’ts of an education-focused capital campaign. You will learn how to conduct donor prospect research as well as set campaign goals. You will be introduced to the concept of the “large-giver strategy” as well as a plethora of easy-to-implement fundraising secrets that are sure-fire ways to swiftly push your campaign towards meeting its financial goals.
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