Archived Webinars

A profile that stands out is the first step in using LinkedIn to build your nonprofit's visibility and revenue. If used to its full extent, LinkedIn can source donors, prospective board members, and volunteers; showcase your organization; and take you into donor markets not otherwise tapped. 
 

• daily use and maintenance much like exercise or other habits; 
• joining affinity groups for news and exposure; 
• understanding and using apps." 

Results-based strategic plans start with the results you want. Strategies, goals, and objectives are then developed so your organization can achieve those results.

Outcomes, with indicators and targets, determine the strategies adopted when using this technique. A results-based strategic plan will give your board the information it needs to monitor performance and manage the organization, as well as -- and this is important! -- produce a compelling message for donors and funders.

Stop telling donors just what you do. Demonstrate impact with key, measurable strategic results!

This webinar will give you a format for developing a results-based plan. We will focus on:

• Writing strong, measurable and meaningful strategic results;
• Learning about outcomes, indicators, and targets for defining and measuring your strategic results;
• Providing an outline, examples, and sample tools for creating your organizations plan; 
• Showing funders how much your customers benefit from what you do. 

Participants will learn to craft measures of results and build results-based plans for their organizations. 
 

Google has built a $200 billion online ad business. For years, marketers and entrepreneurs have griped that there is no online marketing alternative to Google Adwords. 

But now there is.

In this online seminar, you'll learn how to effectively use Facebook ads, a completely different, less expensive, and very effective alternative to Google ads.

Ads on these two platforms are not compatible: Successful Google Adwords will not generate results on Facebook. Facebook is a different animal. It's much more targeted than Google. Should it be part of your advertising budget?

In this free webinar, we will explore how to create Facebook ads, how to make them effective, and how to measure the results.

A business plan is roadmap, describing your vision and how you expect to accomplish it. As with any other journey, things go smoother when you’re prepared and have planned out your trip. A business plan provides the directions, but it’s not set in stone. If an opportunity or challenge presents itself, you’ll need to analyze the situation and recalibrate.

• Whether your plan can be simple or needs to be more detailed.
• Business plan basics:
  • Essential plan elements.
  • Document organization.
  • Where to find the information you need.
• The importance of researching company feasibility.
• Comparing your startup to the competition to achieve competitive advantage.
• Do the benefits of your business idea outweigh the risks. 

Managing money wisely is the foundation of a strong, healthy organization. Because asset management is fundamental to long-term stability, it's always a good time to take another look at your nonprofit's investment strategy and asset management. When you take control of investments, you take control of your organization's future.

In this 60-minute free online seminar, we will review the key financial concepts you need to understand in order to:  

• Effectively manage and increase your organization's assets;
• Understand the importance of reserves and liquidity for long-term organizational stability;
• Manage and invest assets; 
• Build and maintain liquidity;
• Assess the changes needed to ensure long-term financial stability.

During the class, you'll learn the keys to investing and managing assets and go through sample asset-management scenarios that will give you the opportunity to solve real-life problems. The instructor will answer your questions in this convenient, affordable update on asset management.

Re-evaluate and re-assess your nonprofit's investment strategy. With the right investment plan, you can continue to serve your community's needs for a long time to come.  

Feedback has been described as the “breakfast of champions,” but does the thought of receiving it make you lose your appetite? Join us to learn how to give and receive feedback effectively.

When you're the head honcho such as a small business owner or nonprofit executive director, you may know how to give feedback, but do you know how ask for and listen to feedback from your clients? From your staff? From consultants you hired to do just that? And are you sure that the feedback you give to employees is constructive? In this webinar, you'll learn:

• What feedback is
• How good you are at giving it
• The perils of criticism
• Receiving feedback
• Common emotional responses to feedback
• How to avoid defensive inner speech

Confused about cloud computing? Not surprising when one expert praises its low cost and ease of implementation while another condemns its lack of reliability and security.

Unwilling to participate in something that sounds so ... airy? It may sound airy but it's solid technology that you may already be using without realizing it. Do you have a Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account? Then you're in the cloud ... and you already know some of the benefits of cloud computing.

Working in the cloud has some very practical benefits for small businesses and nonprofits. In this free, one-hour webinar, you'll find out: 

• What cloud computing is;
• Benefits of cloud computing for small businesses and nonprofits;
• Drawbacks to working "in the cloud;"
• How you can use the cloud for everything from document storage to managing customer relationships, from email to finance;
• Who provides cloud services (from start-ups to the big boys);
• Costs (free to hidden).

In plain talk, you'll learn how to determine if the rewards of the cloud are worth the risks.

You keep hearing about social media (should I blog or use Facebook – no, Twitter, right?), but what you hear just doesn’t add up or make sense. It works. It doesn’t. Do this, but don’t do that. You’re not concerned with what other people are doing – you just want to know where social media fits into your plan, and, more important, what advice you can safely ignore and what really works. 

• Why you have to not only create and write great blog content, but get out there and promote it so you reach your audience
• Why it’s crucial to select the right social medium to have a chance of success
• How and when to apply The Reciprocity Rule
• Why you need to have something to say and be willing to step into the spotlight
• And much more

By the end of the webinar you will have an understanding of what social media are available, when and how to use them effectively, what kind of content to create for different media and what tools to use.  

Now that you have a website, do you know how to attract visitors and keep them coming back? Your content is why people visit your website.

Are you reaping the benefits of blogs, social media, and RSS? Tell the truth now, do you know what RSS is or how it can generate traffic to your website?

You say you don't want to blog? Do you want to let people know what your organization is doing, what it needs, and how successful it is? Then you want to reconsider that blogging decision.

If you are a techno-phobic entrepreneur, manager, or nonprofit leader, this is the webinar for you. You'll learn how to keep your website up to date, without spending a lot of money or making your head ache with techno-babble.

This free webinar will give you an overview of some popular free or low cost, open-source Content Management Systems (CMS) and show you how they can work for you. (Your first lesson: Open source doesn't mean that just anyone can come in and play with your system).

The webinar will cover:

• Word Press, a popular blogging tool for websites.
• Drupal: A powerful and versatile CMS for web development and design.
• Integrated Social Media: Twitter and RSS (we'll tell you what this means) as tools for keeping users interested and your site relevant.

By the end of the webinar you’ll have a good understanding of why, how. and which tools you need to attract visitors to your website and bring them back again and again. And if you don't plan to use these tools yourself, you'll be able to talk to the staff who does.

Cause marketing helps nonprofits increase their revenue and businesses broaden their customer base. But it's a partnership between different cultures. Both sides need to be clear about the ground rules and implementation of the marketing campaign.

Crafting the Ask will guide you in the steps you need to take after you decide on a cause-marketing strategy.

This webinar provides a tactical approach to building strong cause marketing partnerships – from the initial approach through campaign execution and stewardship.

The best practices of cause marketing -- the ones that work for both nonprofits and their business partners -- will be clearly explained.

If you’ve ever wondered how to build and implement a cause-marketing program, this is the webinar for you.

The strength of your brand is your greatest asset during good times and most especially during tough times. That's when a strong brand can elevate your business above the competitive fray. A great brand is familiar; it speaks of integrity, character, quality, effectiveness, and reliability. It doesn’t matter if you’re a large corporation or a solo-preneur.  But how do you get your customers or clients to connect to your brand.  Much has been said on this topic, yet nothing can beat the impact and appeal of a good story to convey what YOU stand for.  In this webinar, Alan will

• Explore the power of stories by looking at how they have inspired so many to transform ideas, attitudes, and even beliefs.
• Describe how a few companies are using stories to recruit, retain and train staff and employees
• Tell you why YOU should invest in stories
• Give you ways as managers and leaders to start using stories right away
• Present part of an exercise to demonstrate how stories can work for your business

Storytelling’s power is timeless.  But it’s timely, too. The wild and woolly marketplace is demanding that we burn the policy manuals and knock off the incessant memo writing; there’s just no time for it.  It’s also demanding that we empower people – everyone – to constantly take initiatives.  And it turns out that stories are a – if not the – leadership answer to both questions. - Tom Peters

Wouldn’t it be great if you knew today with certainty that the value of your business in three years had grown by 10 times today’s value?

• The know-how to design their own personal 3-Year OoM Business Snapshot of their future centered around creating a unique and sustainable OoM Identity explicitly showing an increase in the value of their business by 1 OoM they believe can happen
• A first CUT on understanding the power of creating their own unique 3 OoM Personal Keys based on the value driver(s) of their business shaping their tactical decisions and resources in making their 3 Year OoM Business Snapshot a reality
• An innovative and iterative CUT process to solve their sales problems leading to revenue growth

Brandraising weaves together best practices from for-profit strategic communications and the nonprofit sector to create a new model for effective nonprofit communications. It integrates vision and mission, brand development, new and old channels, the staff and board's role in communications, and more. This free webinar, led by Sarah Durham Principal and Founder of Big Duck, will explain the principles of brandraising and how people who work with nonprofit organizations can apply them to make their work more effective and a better use of organizational resources. 

A business plan is roadmap, describing your vision and how you expect to accomplish it. As with any other journey, things go smoother when you’re prepared and have planned out your trip. A business plan provides the directions, but it’s not set in stone. If an opportunity or challenge presents itself, you’ll need to analyze the situation and recalibrate.

• Whether your plan can be simple or needs to be more detailed.
• Business plan basics:
  • Essential plan elements.
  • Document organization.
  • Where to find the information you need.
• The importance of researching company feasibility.
• Comparing your startup to the competition to achieve competitive advantage.
• Do the benefits of your business idea outweigh the risks.

Some businesses are like wishing wells.  Money and time gets tossed in with vague wishes for success.  By first clarifying what your want and defining your mission you will be well positioned to make intelligent financial decisions to use all your money and energy to fulfill that mission.  This free webinar will teach you how to make each dollar and minute count. 

The strength of your brand is your greatest asset during good times and most especially during tough times. That's when a strong brand can elevate your business above the competitive fray. A great brand is familiar, it speaks of integrity, character, quality, effectiveness, and reliability. It doesn’t matter if you’re a large corporation or a solo-preneur. 

Cause marketing has grown from virtually nothing in 1983 to an estimated $1.55 billion in 2009,  according to IEG Inc., a Chicago-based firm that tracks cause-related spending in the United States. It may be one of the only fundraising bright spots for 2010.
 

Cause marketing helps non profits raise money and increase their visibility; corporations improve their reputations and increase profits; and consumers feel like they’re making a difference. The FREE webinar Cause Marketing Basics will help you decide if cause marketing is right for your organization. 

• What buy-in is needed within an organization to pursue cause marketing and how do I get it?
• What motivates corporations to partner with a non profit?
• How do I determine what value my proposition is to a corporation?
• How do I price packages?
• How do I insure that both the non profit and the corporation are satisfied at the end of the program?

Many would-be entrepreneurs are at a loss about what kind of business to start. You’ve dreamt about becoming your own boss and controlling your financial destiny, but what kind of venture is the right fit?

Developing an Idea for a Startup Businessis a FREE– one-hour webinar that will help you with your decision-making. You’ll discover that inspiration can come from many sources and learn about a wide array of catalysts.

Nothing is so inspiring to aspiring entrepreneurs as the enthusiasm and insight of a successful entrepreneur. Serial entrepreneur, David Hauser, is just such an inspiration. He will offer his insights about success and entrepreneurial daring-do in a free half-hour webinar interview with Geri Stengel, Ventureneer’s founder. 

This hands-on session is a FREE Webinar designed specifically for small and mid-sized social service nonprofit organizations. Facing increased pressures from all sides, it is more important than ever for organizations to distinguish themselves and to have a compelling message that appeals to members and donors. This seminar will help you to:

• Understand what branding is all about
• Learn how to review your brand
• Differentiate your organization from ones with similar missions
• Tell your organization’s story to appeal to donors
• Use emotion, authenticity and credibility to build your brand   
  

   

You will also learn:

• The elements of an effective organizational name
• The role that logos and icons play
• How effective taglines can help your organization 
   

In this FREE webinar, you will see examples of branding campaigns, participate in a hands-on activities to clarify your  organization’s brand, and get to “Ask the Expert” your branding questions. 
 

A business plan is roadmap, describing your vision and how you expect to accomplish it. As with any other journey, things go smoother when you’re prepared and have planned out your trip. A business plan provides the directions, but it’s not set in stone. If an opportunity or challenge presents itself, you’ll need to analyze the situation and recalibrate.

• Whether your plan can be simple or needs to be more detailed.
• Business plan basics:
  • Essential plan elements.
  • Document organization.
  • Where to find the information you need.
• The importance of researching company feasibility.
• Comparing your startup to the competition to achieve competitive advantage.
• Do the benefits of your business idea outweigh the risks.

If you're busy and don't think you have time to "do" social media - then this webinar is for you. It is - quite simply - the busy business person's answer to social media. There is a special concentration on how and where you can find the time to use social media tools like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Lena will share her "flexible structure" system that will show you a simple way to use social media without wasting your valuable time. She'll show you how to select the right social media tool(s) based on your overall business goals. Social media tips and short cuts will also be revealed in this FREE webinar.

Through this FREE webinar small business owners will learn how social media marketing is different from other forms of mass communications and how these differences drive the social media marketing strategies and tactics adopted by today’s success stories. The webinar will focus on developing and implementing brand-aligned marketing strategies on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Are you earning as much as you could? Are you spending time chasing down clients to get your bills paid? Having trouble meeting your own cash flow needs because of outstanding invoices? Do you realize the maximum amount of profit on each sale or client you service? If not, is difficulty getting your clients to pay you part of the problem?

• Ways to screen and choose clients wisely
• How to set expectations for what and when you will be paid
• Developing a collections system to prevent long-term payment problems

Are you afraid to write a letter (or e-mail or memo) for fear of saying it badly?  Learn the basics so you get your points across in ways that demand attention and get action.  For many people writing is just below public speaking in terms of the fear it generates, yet being able to communicate clearly and effectively is absolutely essential skill.  Within good writing, there are several forms that are particularly important in business.  These are e-mails, memos and reports.  In this FREE webinar, I will discuss how to use each of them to their best effect with an emphasis on ensuring that the message you need to give and the action you want the recipient to take, is clear and well presented.  I will analyze each approach and give examples where, when done well, there is little or no ambiguity.  I will also provide examples that the participants can take with them as “take-aways” that provide added value.

Self reflection does not come easily to most people or most organizations. Yet, we know that to be at the top of our game, we need to be clear and rigorous about our goals, analyze our process and our achievements and go back and do it over and over again. Further, we recognize that for an organization to be a winner, everyone must share the same expectations and be committed to the same outcomes.  This now becomes even more important when we face a serious economic crisis that affects how we operate and what we can afford to do. 

• Who are the right people and how do you involve them?
• What is truly your core mission?
• What are essential programs and services and how do you know they are effective?
• Are all staff created equal?
• How can you stretch your dollar?

What exactly caused the current Financial Crisis that has engulfed the U.S. and World economy? Most of us know there was a real estate bubble that popped, but how exactly did things get this bad?  This hour long FREE webinar takes a fact-based approach, explaining the confluence of greed, regulatory oversights and poor governance that have contributed to the worst Financial Crisis the U.S. has experienced since the Great Depression.