NGO Education Survey

ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR

In an increasingly globalized world in which environmental resources are being rapidly depleted; pollution, waste and carbon dioxide are rapidly building up; and income disparities and many other social ills have reached record levels, it is imperative that every organization be aware of actively contributing to sustainability. Non-profit organizations play an especially important role in fostering a sustainable future because their core mandate often involves directly addressing social and/or environmental issues. In this high interactive module, David Van Seters will present an overview of key sustainability concepts and then engage the participants in a discussion about how they can contribute to sustainability in their organizations and their personal lives. Participants in this module will: 1. Learn basic sustainability concepts and identify the root cause of our sustainability challenges. 2. Discuss how to integrate sustainability into non-profit enterprise operations. 3. Identify ideas for new sustainabilityinspired enterprising non-profits. 4. Discuss opportunities to collaborate with other organizations to maximize their sustainability impact.

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR

With media fragmenting into a multitude of channels and so many voices clamouring to be heard, it is becoming increasingly challenging for non-profits to get their messages out to their key audiences. So much depends on a successful communications program – sponsorship and fund-raising, program participation, partnerships, advocacy, government and community relations not to mention internal goals, such as employee and program effectiveness. Organizations need coherent, comprehensive communications strategies that rise above the noise and allow them to pursue their objectives with the resources they have at hand, plans that work, and can be measured against concrete goals. Participants in this module will: 1. Learn how a clearly articulated and integrated internal and external communications plan is critical to organizational success. 2. Identify the principles and components of a successful communications strategy that embraces internal and external objectives. 3. Understand how both social and traditional media work and learn to leverage media to promote organizational objectives. 4. Go through media and presentation training to acquire a working knowledge of techniques that allow for the effective communication of key messages – including how to deal with a communications crisis.

FUND DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING STRONG CORPORATE/ NON-PROFIT RELATIONSHIPS

Competition to secure sustainable Funding Dollars for non-profits from the government and corporate sectors has never been so challenging. What should be the role of the Executive Leadership in Fund Development? How can special gala events and other fundraising activities continue to enlist the support of the private and corporate sectors? Is it possible to depend on sustainable funding from the corporate sector? Participants in this module will: 1. Review different roles for the Executive Leadership in Fund Development. 2. Explore and examine different means to secure, increase and sustain development funding from the public and corporate sector. 3. Examine ways of building stronger and more engaging relationships with the Corporate Sector. 4. Examine ways of engaging your board leadership to support and participate in your fundraising and development needs.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Like all organizations successful non-profits need to attract and keep the right people ‘on the bus’. This module will address key issues in the professional development of leaders, how leaders learn to lead and the critical and often overlooked area of succession planning. Taking the approach that leadership can be learned by individuals and cultivated by organizations, specific organizational strategies, pathways to professional development and scenarios are discussed. Participants in this module will: 1. Explore the ways in which leaders learn to lead and the key factors in the development of successful leaders. 2. Map out ways in which leadership knowledge and skills can be consciously enhanced by leaders. 3. Identify organization strategies to recruit, educate, empower and retain leaders. 4. Examine succession practices and develop a professional development and succession plan.

THE DIVERSITY ADVANTAGE: INTERCULTURAL APPROACHES

Our communities have always been diverse in ages, abilities, gender and perspectives. However, they are changing dramatically, in both our rural and urban centers, primarily as a result of increased immigration and globalization. Responding to this changing environment, at times of fiscal restraint, requires new thinking, new approaches and new relationships. Based on the growing body of evidence and practice based knowledge on inter-culturalism emerging around the world, this module will explore the co-creation of ideas and actions that are happening between people, sectors and disciplines that are different from one another, to broaden leadership capabilities, and to bridge social capital and relations. Participants in this module will: 1. Examine the diversity emerging in our communities and the impact on our work around community well-being. 2. Understand the reasons why intercultural approaches are emerging. 3. Map out the approaches to integration. 4. Explore the space “in between” our differences through our experiences of engaging different people, sectors, and disciplines