Webinars & Workshops

Evaluation is shifting away from an emphasis on accountability to building a culture of equity and learning. A thoughtful evaluation process can: keep your focus on your mission; help make decisions about allocating resources; tell you if your work is making a difference; and motivate your funders and donors. This session will review the key steps of an evaluation that can help make your evaluations more interactive and equitable.

Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, November 3, 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Does your nonprofit need help developing more organized, intentional fundraising efforts? Planning focuses your organization by setting specific fundraising priorities and helps give staff and board members a roadmap to success.

Reasons to take this course
This introductory class will provide you with the basic steps for developing a fundraising plan, including tips on:

• Making your case for support
• Diversifying your organization's fundraising base
• Creating a plan connecting your goals to the funding required to get there 

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Your nonprofit does great work, but what is most important is the impact of that work. How do you demonstrate that your programs get results? An outcome-centric approach will lead to stronger program design and increased funding opportunities for your organization. In this introductory course for beginners, learn the basics of shifting focus from your nonprofit’s activities to its outcomes. We will demystify the language of outcomes measurement and guide you through the process of creating logic models for programs.

Reasons to take this course
This course will prepare you to:

• Draft SMART objectives for a program
• Identify the parts of a logic model
• Report the impact on your Candid profile 

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Join us for an engaging session on how nonprofits can harness AI tools to make their advocacy more strategic and efficient, to boost small teams with big missions. You’ll learn how AI can automatically summarize complex bills, detect legislative changes, and surface related policy trends. We’ll also explore how AI-driven audience segmentation and personalization can amplify your supporter outreach, helping constituents take action that truly matters. Walk away with practical tips and live tools demos to integrate AI into your advocacy workflow.

Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, November 10, 2025
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Save the date! Information coming soon

Host Provider: Dot Org Solutions
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: $124 / $149

Registration Info. Coming Soon

Building strong connections between emerging talent and nonprofit organizations is a win-win for everyone. BVU’s Linking New Leaders is a dynamic event bringing the best and the brightest together in a unique “speed-dating” format.

How It Works

• Registration - Young professionals and nonprofits sign up for the event, sharing their interests and expectations.
• Matching - BVU uses this information to create optimal matches, pairing nonprofits with professionals who are most likely to thrive together.
• Event - Attendees meet in a rotating “speed-dating” format, allowing for quick, meaningful conversations.
• Follow-Up - After the event, you’ll receive a match and have the chance to follow up with the organizations or professionals that caught your eye.

Host Provider: Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU)
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Time: 5:30-8:00 pm
Location: Bop Stop - 2920 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

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As nonprofits gear up for the busiest giving season of the year, there’s an incredible opportunity not only to raise funds but to build deeper, longer-lasting connections with your supporters. In this session, we’ll explore how to transform year-end donors into lifelong supporters through intentional stewardship and meaningful engagement strategies.  

You’ll learn:

• How to identify and nurture your most engaged supporters.
• How to use your year-end campaign as a launchpad for donor retention in the new year.
• Practical ways to move donors from one-time gifts to recurring giving.
• The importance of implementing drip campaigns and thoughtful engagement.
• Ways to balance donor fatigue and meaningful touchpoints in order maintain trust. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to make your year-end efforts count long after the holidays!

Host Provider: Bonterra
Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Too many nonprofits spend hours sending cold grant proposals that go nowhere. The truth? The strongest funder relationships are built before the grant is written through genuine connection, alignment, and meaningful conversations that set you up for long-term success.

Join Caitlin McBride, CFRE, for a practical, results-focused session that will shift how you approach funding from pitching to partnering.

What you’ll learn:

• Start relationships the right way: Find the right contact, craft intro emails that get responses, and have conversations that open doors.
• Assess true alignment: Determine whether a funder is the right fit for your mission because funding is a two-way street.
• Strengthen partnerships before you apply: Use insights from early conversations to frame your proposal for maximum impact.
• Turn rejections into opportunities: Discover how a “$10K no” became an “$80K yes” through active listening and relationship-building.
• Steward funders for long-term success: Go beyond reports and thank-you notes to create partnerships that lead to renewed funding.
• You’ll walk away with a clear framework for starting confident funder conversations, uncovering true alignment, and turning every interaction (whether it ends in a “yes” or a “not yet”) into lasting opportunity.

Save your spot today and start building better funder relationships.

Host Provider: Bonterra
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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When fundraising teams consist of professionals dedicated to major gifts and to annual gifts, donors who fall in the middle can be overlooked. Yet these supporters are often committed and loyal, with the potential to become big donors someday. Join us to learn smart ways to strengthen ties with midlevel supporters, whether you have fundraisers dedicated to this level of giving or not.

Host Provider: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:15 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: $69/$89

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It won’t surprise anyone that nowadays every nonprofit must have an online presence. What’s less clear is how to keep audiences engaged online with minimal time and resources. This webinar offers simple digital communications guidance to help you maintain your online presence without breaking the bank or spending all your time creating content. You’ll leave with best practices and time-saving tips for websites, social media, and email.

Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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As nonprofit professionals grow in their careers, the transition from managing programs to leading organizations demands new perspectives and skills. Join us to explore what it takes to lead with confidence and make a lasting impact.
In this session, we’ll look at what sets strong nonprofit executives apart and how emerging leaders can prepare for greater responsibilities.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Distinguish between functional and executive leadership roles
• Identify and strengthen the key skills that make leaders effective
• Use the 70/20/10 framework to create a personal development plan
• Prepare for future leadership opportunities with greater confidence and clarity

Can’t join live? Sign up anyway! We will send you a video and resources after the session.

Host Provider: The Bridgespan Group
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Save the date! Information coming soon

Host Provider: Dot Org Solutions
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 1:00-2:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: $124 / $149

Registration Info. Coming Soon

The program will feature an overview of the current fundraising environment, an introduction to current fundraising planning, and an overview of Candid resources.

Reasons to take this course

Nonprofits are being severely impacted by the loss of government grants; these dollars will not easily be replaced. In this moment, the philanthropic landscape is evolving:  How will we adapt? How will we find resilience and sustainability in service to our missions? How can we plan for the future?

This class is designed to give you practical suggestions for sustained fundraising in the current environment. You will:

• Distinguish the differences between accessing government grants and alternative funding streams
• Identify practical steps to pursue foundation, corporate, and individual giving
• Begin to create a tailored action plan to diversify revenue

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Time: 10:00-11:30 am
Location: Westlake Porter Public Library (27333 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, OH 44145)
Cost: Free, but registration is required

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Discover how adaptive management helps nonprofits thrive amid uncertainty. Learn practical approaches to creating feedback loops, fostering a "test and learn" mindset, and making smart adjustments while staying mission-focused. Walk away with simple tools to make your organization more agile and effective right away.

Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, December 1, 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Lost federal support and/or grants and need emergency funding? Curious how to create and implement an emergency fundraising plan? You're not alone. There has never been a more important time to learn individual major gifts prospecting.

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Join ArtsNow’s quarterly lunches, a series of networking and learning events designed for the entire arts and culture sector in Summit County. These lunches provide an opportunity to connect with fellow artists, cultural leaders, and arts and culture enthusiasts, share insights, and collaborate on initiatives that enrich our community. Each event will feature a guest speaker and ample time for networking.

Host Provider: ArtsNow
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 12:00-1:30 pm
Location: Mustard Seed (867 West Market Street, Floor #2, Akron 44303)
Cost: $0-$15.71 (a free option is available for anyone who would like to attend but may be unable to afford the cost of admission. No questions asked.)

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We invite nonprofit leaders to join the GAC and BVU for a new quarterly roundtable experience.  Throughout this series, you will experience the power of coming together to gain expert insights, build connections, and explore shared pain points, experiences, and solutions.  Each session will provide expert content alongside an opportunity for structured discussions and open networking.

In response to the heightened pressures and uncertainties faced by many Akron-area nonprofit chief executives, we are hosting a year-end conversation designed for candid peer exchange, mutual support, and collaborative problem-solving.

Attendees will:

• Reflect on experiences and challenges unique to Greater Akron nonprofits
• Build opportunities for camaraderie, partnerships, and collaboration
• Surface ways BVU and funders can more effectively support the sector

We look forward to hearing your perspective!

This event is specifcially for Nonprofit CEOs.

Schedule:
8:00 - Networking, Registration, Light Breakfast
8:30 - Program Begins

Host Provider: Greater Akron Chamber & BVU
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Time: 8:00-10:00 am
Location: Greater Akron Chamber - Event Space (388 S Main St., Ste. 205, Akron, OH 44311)
Cost: TBA

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Hosted four times per year, Ask the Expert connects nonprofits with BVU’s network of skills-based volunteers to help you make a bigger difference! Choose from over 20 hour-long virtual sessions where you will connect one-on-one with a subject matter expert in marketing, fundraising, HR, technology, or another specialty. Get advice, answers and recommendations that you can implement right away.

Ask the Expert is FREE to attend for all nonprofit organizations. Once live, sessions can be found at the registration link below.

Host Provider: Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU)
Date: December 8-11, 2025
Time: Various
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Historically, in the United States, individual giving has been the biggest source of private giving, far outpacing foundation or corporate giving.  According toGiving USA, “American individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations gave an estimated $592.5 billion to U.S. charities in 2024,” and, of that, individual giving “totaled an estimated $392.45 billion,” representing 66% of total giving.  

A sustainable nonprofit organization has diversified funding streams, and individual donors can play an important role. If you or your organization is new to individual giving, this course is for you. We’ll provide you with an overview of the fundraising landscape and walk you through the key components of an individual giving program.

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Are you new to the field of grantseeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this introductory course. 

Reasons to take this course
You will learn the 10 most important things you need to know about finding grants, including:

• Who funds nonprofits and what are their motivations.
• What do funders really want to know about the organizations they are interested in funding.
• How do you identify potential funders and make the first approach. 

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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As grant professionals, we are constantly searching for ways to streamline processes while enhancing the quality of our work. This session will focus on how grantseekers can use AI to find and critically evaluate grant search results for alignment, feasibility, and potential impact. We'll help you leverage AI to build efficiencies that free up time for the essential work of building relationships and crafting compelling proposals.

Host Provider: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Date: Monday, December 15, 2025
Time: 11:00 am
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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Are you ready to write a grant proposal, but not sure how to create an effective budget?  Worried that you’ll need specialized skills or accounting expertise?  Come learn the basic elements of how anyone can draft a project budget for a grant proposal with confidence.   

Reasons to take this course
This class will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to generate a standard project budget for a foundation proposal. We will discuss:

• The basic components of a project budget including income and expenses
• Common terminology, including direct costs, indirect costs, and in-kind.
• How to estimate the realistic cost of a project for both personnel and non-personnel expenses
• Financial documents you may also need to submit with your proposal  

Host Provider: Candid
Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free

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