Workshop series helps non-profits and their impact

Non-profits are a critical part of a community’s fabric, providing essential services that governments lack the capacity to deliver and building support for systemic change. 

Yet non-profits often carry out their work with limited resources, which can prevent them from having the impact they strive for. 

That is why the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque is again offering its Non-profit Strength Builder workshop series beginning in February 2020. Registration is now open for the seven-session series, which is designed for non-profit professionals of all experience levels, as well as non-profit board members, to enhance their capacity to deliver on their organizations’ missions. 

“For 16 years, we have been committed to strengthening the non-profits working hard day in and day out to improve the quality of life for people in our region,” said Nancy Van Milligen, Community Foundation president and CEO. “One way we do this is by leading workshops to help professionals in the non-profit field develop their skills, and the Strength Builder series in our most comprehensive and rigorous offering.” 

All sessions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Community Foundation’s McCarthy Center for Non-profit Learning, 700 Locus St., Dubuque. Each workshop will focus on building leadership capacity in a different area of non-profit operations: 

• Non-profit Board Rules and Governance (Feb. 11) 

• Leadership: Culture, Mission, Planning (March 3) 

• Measuring Your Organization’s Success: Operations and Data (March 24) 

• Financing Your Cause: Budget, Revenue, Fundraising (April 14) 

• How to Attract Continuous Improvement in Your Volunteers and Board (May 5) 

• Teamwork and Team Building (May 19) 

• Participants’ Choice ( June 9) 

Sessions will be led by Community Foundation trainer Shirley Templeton Vaughn, and participants will learn from experts in the field. 

Participants will also become part of a peer-learning cohort, an opportunity to collaborate and learn from one another throughout the series and serve as a network of advisors long after. 

“Ultimately, non-profits are about people, which means they are as strong and effective as the people running them,” Templeton Vaughn said. “With new opportunities for non-profit leaders to network, share ideas, and learn best practices, we can better serve people and communities and have a lasting impact on our region.” 

Register for the Non-profit Strength Builder workshop series at dbqfoundat i o n .o rg / StrengthBuilder. If you have questions, contact Templeton Vaughn at shirley@dbqfoundation. org.