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September 2019
Build and Maintain Grantee Relationships (webinar)
As the issues that foundations address become more complex, so too become the relationships that grantmakers must build and maintain with grantees. When nonprofits begin to collaborate, partner and scale, grantmakers must adapt to become connectors and conveners while still managing the power dynamics of being the one with the checkbook. If this is one of the issues that keeps you up at night, join this webinar to hear from your grantmaking peers who have advice to share from their…
Find out more »The “You” Portfolio: How to Invest in Yourself
This event is part of the Johnson Center's FREE Brown Bag Lunch & Learn series In the nonprofit sector, it is common to hear conversations about the importance of cultivating diversified funding streams to build sustainable organizations. But how can we apply that same concept in our own personal and professional lives? How can we build more sustainable financial selves? According to CNN Money, more than 44 million Americans have a side hustle. The days of depending on one source of…
Find out more »Using Evaluative Thinking at the Social Impact Investment Planning Stage (webinar)
This is the first in a three-part webinar series on Evaluation and Impact Investing, presented in partnership with the American Evaluation Association’s Social Impact Measurement working group, the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, and the Council of Michigan Foundations. Both the Rockefeller Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation have evaluation and impact investing teams that enjoy close working relationships. In this first of three webinars on evaluation and impact investing, team members from both organizations will share their serious commitment to measuring their foundation’s…
Find out more »October 2019
How to Tell Your Story to Maximize Impact
Help you identify your organization's best story and explore ways to share it with your donors and stakeholders to drive your mission forward.
Find out more »Applying Evaluative Thinking to Active Impact Investments (webinar)
This is the second in a three-part webinar series on Evaluation and Impact Investing, presented in partnership with the American Evaluation Association’s Social Impact Measurement working group, the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, and the Council of Michigan Foundations. This installment of the "Evaluation and Impact Investing" webinar series focuses on the role evaluators can play in monitoring and evaluating active investments, particularly from a gender lens. Using its active gender-lens investments as examples, including an ongoing collaboration with MasterCard Foundation, representatives…
Find out more »Philanthropy 101
Philanthropy 101 is a two-day learning experience that helps ground new professionals in the basics of foundations, nonprofits, and grantmaking and the field of philanthropy. As a participant in this course, you will gain a deeper understanding of what philanthropy is, what makes it distinct, and why it’s important. You will also examine how your role fits within the broader philanthropic ecosystem and how the sector interacts with other sectors. The course introduces many concepts essential to philanthropic work, including…
Find out more »Using Evaluation to Improve Social impacts of Current and Future Impact Investments (webinar)
This is the third in a three-part webinar series on Evaluation and Impact Investing, presented in partnership with the American Evaluation Association’s Social Impact Measurement working group, the Johnson Center for Philanthropy, and the Council of Michigan Foundations. This final webinar of the series highlights the ways in which evaluators can use their skills to help investors at the end of an investment, including how to recalibrate their investments and identifying the social impacts to be measured in future investments. The…
Find out more »Let’s Get Cooking: Your Recipe for Quality Nonprofit Project Management
This event is part of the Johnson Center's FREE Brown Bag Lunch & Learn series Do you manage multiple grants or projects simultaneously? Do you struggle with having enough time or capacity to keep track of complex grant requirements and components? Have you found any creative strategies that work well for you, and might be helpful for others? In this interactive session, we'll explore some key ingredients (structured processes and strategies) that you can adapt and use in your own…
Find out more »November 2019
What It Really Means to Be an Executive Director
Learn how to move out of the role of chief hero and into the role of chief host, facilitating the success of your entire team.
Find out more »The VoiceKent Community Survey: Insights & Tools for Your Mission
Learn about the VoiceKent community survey, its methodology, and results, as well as how to use our online tools to find data that meets your needs.
Find out more »December 2019
Nonprofit Board Certification
The Nonprofit Board Certification Program offers guidance for those serving or planning to serve on nonprofit boards. This engaging training, led by Tamela Spicer, provides opportunities for learning, discussion, and practice. Regardless of experience, you'll gain valuable knowledge on how to become a more strategic organizational leader. The program covers the following topics: The challenges facing nonprofits and their boards The roles, responsibilities and legal duties of the board Nonprofit board structures and effective practices Nonprofit strategies for funding and…
Find out more »Financial Analysis in Grantmaking
Learn how to conduct a thorough, effective analysis of your organizational and programmatic financial information to improve funding decisions.
Find out more »Managing Your Annual Fund
Is your annual fund program adequately meeting your organization's fiscal needs? Do you have a systematic plan in place to identify prospects, request for support, involve your board, and increase gifts from one year to the next? In this workshop led by Tamela Spicer, participants will walk through a step-by-step process to managing a more effective annual fund program. Key Concepts: Effective annual fund planning for sustainability Tips for writing fundraising appeals Cultivating and stewarding donors Cost: $60 Free for…
Find out more »Research Meets Practice
This event is part of the Johnson Center's FREE Brown Bag Lunch & Learn series Please join us for a showcase of the research of alumni of the GVSU’s School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration. This presentation will fuel a discussion for how research can influence practice and how nonprofit organizations can be better consumers of research. The student papers will be published in the SPNHA Review, and free copies will be distributed to all event attendees. Research topics will…
Find out more »January 2020
Advancing Equity: A Case Study
This course will help illuminate what’s involved in integrating an explicit equity focus into your grantmaking, from highlighting key decision points to navigating potential trade-offs and challenges.
Find out more »Building Resilience at Work: Skills & Practices for a Mindful Career
This event is part of the Johnson Center's FREE Brown Bag Lunch & Learn series Join our guest presenters as we explore mindfulness as it applies to professional growth and career development. In this 90-minute lunch and learn session, participants will be introduced to and explore how mindfulness and contemplative practices can help alleviate work related burn-out, distraction, and loss of productivity. In this session, participants will: Learn how mindfulness practices such as self-compassion, mindfulness meditation, and empathic listening can…
Find out more »February 2020
Grantwriting for Success
Go beyond the basics of grantwriting with Tamela Spicer. Gather with other grantseekers and nonprofit professionals in this workshop curated to give you the opportunity to develop your grantwriting skills. Bring your ideas for potential grant proposals to this full-day seminar where we'll go step-by-step through the process of writing a grant — with Tamela’s professional experience to assist you along the way! To supplement your skills, this class will provide in-depth guidance on proposal development, tips on grantwriting language…
Find out more »Designing Metrics for Program Evaluation
Evaluation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In this session, we'll share practical tools and strategies that can help you integrate effective evaluation into your programs.
Find out more »Nonprofit Executive Coaching (7 sessions)
The Johnson Center's small-group Executive Coaching Program brings together a cohort of leaders from different backgrounds and experience levels to forge a professional support network that will last well beyond our final session. By learning with — and from — each other over the course of eight weeks, we find new ways to tackle intractable challenges within our organizations and embrace our own professional development.
Find out more »Proposal Analysis in Grantmaking
Explore how proposal analysis contributes to your foundation’s broader strategy and acquire the tools necessary for conducting a thorough proposal review.
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