Roundup Of And Registration For Upcoming East-Coast Nonprofit Workshops
For today’s posting, we wanted to inform our readers about a few workshops, seminars, and opportunities that are coming up over the next few weeks in New York and Washington DC. As our regular readers know, we occasionally pool some of the registration information, links, and tweets for such events both to help spread the word and to encourage our constituents to participate.
The first two are in NYC and are being sponsored by the Foundation Center, from whose materials the MKCREATIVE blog has often culled. A Proposal Writing Seminar will be held there on Wednesday 2 June from 8:30am. Topics include:
• Cover letter, executive summary; your message to the grantmaker
• Statement of need; choosing data to support your case
• Comprehensive project descriptions; your proof of project planning
• Organizational overview, conclusion, appendices
• Researching the funder to position your proposal
• The grantmaker’s proposal review process
Information and registration can be done online here.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
E-Seminar “Freelance Writing for Nonprofits” Filling Fast – Sign Up Now!
Today’s topic is just too topical, and critical, to pass by or put in with other materials. Kivi Leroux Miller (whose work and whose guidance MKCREATIVE have often referred to) is hosting a four-week seminar on “Freelance Writing for Nonprofits,” which is limited to but ten quick registrants (actually, SEVEN as of last count!). If you are writing for nonprofits or want to do so, or if you want to sharpen your game for your nonprofit, get to the registration page quickly.
Why?
Popularity: unranked | Category Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Marketing, Nonprofit | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Baltimore Hosting A Number of Homeownership & Greening Events
The approach of Tax Day can cloud memories of other opportunities, so we wanted to post reminders of a number of upcoming events for the greening of Our Fair City. First off, please do not forget the fun we will have at Druid Hill Park this Saturday, 17 April, from 12:pm to 6:pm. EcoFest hosted by the Baltimore GreenWorks and a myriad of local vendors and greening organizations. The weather prognosis looks good for the weekend, and what a great way to wash away memories of sweating over your 1040?
Popularity: 1% | Category Affordable Housing, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Politics | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
The Weight of Long-Term Unemployment According to Pew Trust
Many of us are fortunate enough to read (or write) these tweets and blog postings from work, yet the topic of this Monday’s post concerns the ongoing effects of longer-term unemployment. We noted in late January an article in The Atlantic magazine on the fundamental and difficult-to-realign economic and social ramifications of long-term unemployment. The dangers go beyond the people looking for work, as families and neighbors can get pulled into downward social and psychological struggles. The Pew Economic Policy Group have just published a white paper entitled “A YEAR OR MORE: The high Cost of Long-Term Unemployment,” which puts some hard numbers on the kinds of trends discussed in the Atlantic article.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Nonprofit, Revitalization | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Upcoming Greening Events in Baltimore To Highlight Sustainability Successes
On our entry for 25 March we touted some notable greening projects in New York City, including Annie Novak’s rooftop farm. We also noted opportunities for Baltimore’s citizens to get involved in similar projects. Today we follow on with that call-to-action to draw your attention to a couple of festivals and conferences meant to inspire and educate the Baltimore community to strive for environmental and economic sustainability. We also want to offer kudos to Towson University’s students, staff, and faculty who recycled 140 tons of materials in the fourth annual “RecycleMania” competition held among Maryland’s institutions of higher learning. They far exceeded their goal of 120 tons, itself an expansion over the 114 tons recycled last year. And they did so despite those crippling blizzards in February smack dab in the middle of the competition. (Cue sappy music) Of course, Maryland’s citizenry and environment are the big winners, as schools across the state competed in the 10-week competition.
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Nonprofit, Politics, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
A (Giga)Bit More on Net Neutrality Debate In Wake of Appeals Court Ruling
The decision from the Federal Appeals Court continues to reverberate within the news cycle, as debate continues about the viability (or mythology) of neutrality in the marketplace and how sternly the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should oversee the industry. For those of you wanting to hear a lively discussion of the issue, a bit of its history, and proponents from both sides of the decision, may we recommend today’s one-hour discussion on The Diane Rhem Show?
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Marketing, National/International, Opinion, Politics, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
“Cultivating Grantmaker Relationships” Conference in Washington DC on 5 May
A recent blog post and extended commentary section on The Chronicle of Philanthropy discusses what might be the ‘Fund Raiser of the Future.’ The Chronicle is working on a full story on the topic and is now soliciting input and ideas. Certainly, as the MKCREATIVE blog has noted more than once in recent months, economic bad times can be good times to expand and enrich networks. Down time at the nonprofit’s office should be time spent keeping up with educational and promotional opportunities. We encourage you to participate in the Comments section and get your thoughts out there as they work on the story. We also want you to get out of the offices as well, so consider a conference.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Nonprofit | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
New York Seems To Be The New Green – Is Baltimore Next?
Image via Wikipedia
We spotted a tweet that nicely builds on our own report and interview with Steve Frillmann at Green Guerillas. Annie Novak, noted vegetarian and urban-eco farmer, posted a blog at “The Atlantic Monthly” this week, discussing her work with ‘Growing Chefs’ and with reclaiming rooftops for agriculture (a reclamation that lowers the energy demands of the building as soil insulates it from the sun’s heat and the winter’s snows). The entry is part autobiography – part call-to-action. Her work is certainly inspirational, if only for her ability to grow good food on top of a storage warehouse!
Popularity: unranked | Category Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Saving Money, Reducing CO2, and Getting Profitable IS That Easy
Shut down your machine!
The Ford Motor Company did not require the same sorts of bailouts that the General Motors conglomerate did last year. Its family-run structure likely kept its owners, managers, and designers on their toes because they had their own ‘skins-in-the-game.’ Now TreeHugger.com posts a story about how the company went ahead and saved another cool $1.2 million by, uh, turning off the computers at its headquarters at night and on weekends. The decision is rewarded thusly, according to TreeHugger: “By centrally controlling the power settings on the company’s computers, they are saving an estimated $1.2 million annually and keeping between 16,000 and 25,000 metric tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.”
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Greening, News and Current Affairs, Site Administration, Sustainability, Technology, Urban Farming | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
More Seminars Coming Our Way
- Image by new economics foundation via Flickr
We have gotten still more notices about various seminars in the region pertinent to the greening and mission-based sectors of the economy, so we wanted to continue to share the details on some of the news. The Big Picture remains the opportunity to build networks and gain new skills while the economy might be slowing your daily internal projects.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Local/Maryland, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Politics, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Educating Ourselves To Expand Opportunities
Optimists often argue that a recession might move many out of work, but that time can be used advantageously by investing in some education and training in new skills. Certainly the present economic environment offers (too) many the opportunity to get trained for new work or to expand networks within their chosen fields. So let’s get a head start on the recovery by looking at a couple of seminars and networking events that have come to our attention. If folks get involved in similar such events in their own localities, we might find that we have all given the economy a decent push to start the recovery we’re training for…
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, News and Current Affairs | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Nonprofits Looking for Ways to Bridge Gaps in Funding
More grim news about the economic situation we find ourselves in: The stock market rose by some 28 points on the news that ONLY 20,000 jobs were shed in February (as opposed to 60,000 in January). Our readers are well aware of the situation, of course. And all economics, like politics, are local as we each work through our situations from where we find ourselves right now. Which goes for the nonprofit sector as well, although that sector tends to be a ‘lagging indicator,’ as private benefactions and government support are planned and divvied in advance. Thus most nonprofits probably do not feel the greatest strain until the allocated funds run out, which could be months into the economic trough.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Marketing, National/International, Politics | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Nonprofits To Expand In 2010 If They Communicate Clearly
March is upon us, although the madness for many of us thus far still comes from lingering snows and icepacks along sides of road – not our college hoops teams falling out of our office pool. With the turning of the month’s calendar, we find some reports about the previous year’s nonprofit community, as well as predictions as to what the rest of this year might look like for it. Spring means a chance to clean house, or at least update some features and fixtures, as well. It is never to early to start the processes (Indeed, what have you been doing these last two months to get the year off right?), so let’s consider some ways forward in 2010.
Popularity: unranked | Category Conference/Congress, Marketing, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
2010 Non-Profit Technology Conference
Following up on yesterday’s theme of making 2010 a great year for outreach and communications: the 2010 Non-Profit Technology Conference (NTC) is going to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 8-10. The conference is at the Omni Hotel in the CNN Center, and registration is now open. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Community, Conference/Congress, Grants and Funding, Marketing, Nonprofit, Revitalization | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D