Organizational Development Seminars for Non-Profit Professionals

The Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Public Welfare, in partnership with the Center for Schools and Communities, are pleased to introduce the First Monday Series, a series of one-hour, online organizational development seminars designed for staff and management professionals of non-profit and grant-funded organizations. The First Monday Series will be held on the first Monday of each month for a period of one year. Each month, you will receive an invitation to register for an interactive one-hour online session.

The First Monday Series will:

Introduce professionals to new management tools.
Offer new ways to think about current practices.
Explore emerging trends in human services and education.

Session Descriptions

The 2008/2009 schedule is now being finalized. Session descriptions will be posted here soon.

Dates/Times

The series will be held at 9:00 a.m. on the first Monday of each month commencing in October, 2008 and running through June, 2009.

Act 48 Credits

The Center for Schools and Communities, as a division of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, offers Act 48 professional development credit for those with Pennsylvania teaching or administrative certificates. Participants must attend the online workshop from beginning to end to receive credit. A Center for Schools & Communities staff member will track your participation during the online session. Within five (5) business days of the completion of the session, you will receive, by e-mail, the required Act 48 form for completion. If you are interested in receiving Act 48 credit, please check the appropriate box on the online registration form.

Presenter

Michael Brand, Family Support & Community Development Coordinator, Center for Schools and Communities

Michael Brand is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on successful nonprofit organizations. With 25 years of experience in the United States, Europe and Australia, Mr. Brand has aided thousands of managers to increase their performance in delivering vital services to the community.

In his early years, Michael led the nonpartisan 1984 Montana Voter Registration campaign - a campaign which still holds the record for registering 32,000 new voters accounting for 15% of all eligible voters that year. In recognition, Mr. Brand was later awarded the Governor’s Leadership Award for service to the people of the state.

Following the end of communism, Mr. Brand led a United Nations team into then Czechoslovakia in order to develop the first management program for Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). This effort built native talent in the emerging community organizations that were filling the void left by the collapse of the all encompassing state. In noting the work of Mr. Brand, the UN High Commissioner on Refugees remarked "Mr. Brand’s efforts were a critical element in the emerging civic society in Eastern Europe".

In 1994 Mr. Brand served as a consultant to the Australian Industry Commission on Third Sector Organizations which he undertook in addition to teaching duties at Queensland University.

He holds a BA in Political Science from Montana State University as well as a Masters in Nonprofit Management from the prestigious Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University.

Michael Brand currently serves as a Community Development Coordinator with the Center for Schools and Communities in Pennsylvania.

Session Archive - 2007/2008 Series

We are pleased to offer the recordings of the nine (9) First Monday Series sessions in a number of convenient formats:

Session Slides (PDF format)
Recorded Session/Online Playback (internet connection required)
Recorded Session/Offline Playback (no internet connection required/can be downloaded to any computer for viewing where there is not an internet connection)
Audio file (MP3 format)

NOTE: In order to view the recorded presentations, you must have the Elluminate Live! Java application downloaded to your personal computer. There is no cost to download the software. To configure your computer, visit the Elluminate support page at: http://www.elluminate.com/support/

October 1, 2007
Introduction to Logic Models

This workshop will offer instruction on creating rudimentary Logic Models for those who are new to the concept. The Logic Model is an effective way to explain to potential friends and funders what resources you have, what you are going to do and what impact you will have. This exercise is valuable to anyone at any level of organization as it aids in understanding the scope of your work.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

November 5, 2007
Four Levels of Evaluation

Based upon three decades of research by Donald Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., who introduced a framework for evaluating training programs, this introduction to Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation allows human service professionals to answer the question, “What should we be measuring?” The session will cover:

Participant satisfaction in service
Knowledge transfer to participant as a result of service
Change in behavior in participant as a result of knowledge transfer
Impact upon community as a result of change in behavior of the participant

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

December 3, 2007
High Powered Meetings: Run More Productive Meetings by Using Action Agendas

Long lethargic meetings a problem for your organization? Are you trapped in seemingly endless sessions which produce no major decisions and no strategic directions? The answer may be The Action Agenda. This seminar will introduce you to the Action Agenda format designed to keep a meeting focused upon the necessary decisions, discussions and actions. The Action Agenda format clarifies for all meeting participants the nature of each agenda item, what they need to prepare in order to best utilize meeting time, and the outcome expected for each agenda item.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

January 7, 2008
Where Did The Money Go? A Framework for Thinking about How We Spend Our Resources

One of the master intellects of the 20th Century, Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman, developed a framework for examining efficiency from the standpoint of the incentives that govern the use of resources, particularly money. His matrix considers two factors; Who Pays The Costs? and Who Gets The Benefits?

This seminar will provide tools to understanding what drives spending decision within an organization. In addition, discussion will focus upon some creative strategies for developing incentives that can reduce costs while increasing both quality and quantity.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

February 4, 2008
The Most Bang For The Buck: How To Think About Restructuring For Efficiency

In the past 25 years the purchase price of almost every major commodity has dropped in real terms. Why has this happened? What can human service managers learn from the corporate world about delivering more services for less money? This session will provide a broad overview as to how corporate managers think as well as a framework to help you examine your own operations to uncover places where you can do more for less money.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

March 3, 2008
How to Think About Sustainability

This workshop offered an overview of the process for developing a strategic financing plan including:

Documenting Need
Setting Program Benchmarks for Meeting the Need
Determining Resources Needed to Hit the Benchmarks,
Documenting What Resources are Already ‘In the Bank’
Determining Funding Gaps
Creating Strategies for Filling those Gaps
Determining Action Steps to Execute those Strategies

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

April 7, 2008
Benchmarking Your Efforts: How to Know If You Are an Effective Manager

Establishing numerical targets is one of the first steps in an effective evaluation process. Often, this requires marshaling the forces of your staff and volunteers to produce outcomes that make a difference to the community. How do you measure that impact? In this session, participant received an easy to use instrument to help guide their thinking in establishing benchmarks for their work and the human resources they deploy.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

May 5, 2008
How to Get the Most Out Of Your Advisory Board

Advisory Boards are there to “advise” you. How to structure an advisory board in order to harvest the wisdom in those who are sitting around the table is the focus of this session. The presentation includes evaluation instruments to determine if you are getting maximum value for the time and money you invest in your advisory board.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)

June 2, 2008
Faith and Philanthropy: The Hidden Resources to Be Found In Our Spiritual Institutions

This session offered an introduction to the enormous philanthropic potential in every community. Participants learned how an individual’s participation in a spiritual community drives their charitable behavior to secular organizations. Participants also engaged in some reflective activities that provided a framework for targeting spiritual communities in their region.

Session Slides (PDF format)

Recorded Session/Online Playback

Recorded Session/Offline Playback

Audio File (MP3 format)