Category: News

Creating an 8-Step Strategic Communication Plan for Nonprofits

Thursday, February 21, 2019
5:00 – 6:00pm
Lecture Hall (room 230), Building 2, UNM-LA
Light refreshments will be served
Register: https://alamos.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/ticket
Cost: Free

Do you ever wonder about the best way to use your marketing resources? When you use this simple method of strategic planning your communication plan will be a logical extension of your organization’s goals, your message will resonate with the people who will help you reach your goals, and you will deliver the messages using the most effective tactics for the given situation. This session will also drill down on using email marketing to drive engagement and donations.

The speaker for this event will be Mandy Marksteiner. Mandy is the owner of Mandy Marksteiner, LLC, a local a freelance copywriter and content marketing strategist.

Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by the Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.

New Mexico Principles and Practices Guide Information Session

Thursday, December 6th
5:00 – 6:00pm
UNM-LA, Building 6, Room 631
Register: https://alamos.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/ticket
Cost: Free

Join us to learn more about the New Mexico Nonprofit Principles & Practices Guide that was developed by the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE). The Guide, and corresponding Companion Workbook, were created with support from a fifty-member Advisory Committee and have been designed to help nonprofit organizations determine specific practices to implement in order to strengthen governance and operations at their organization.

During this information session you will learn:

• How to navigate the Guide and pinpoint best practices in nonprofit management
• How to use the Companion Workbook to prioritize practices to implement
• How to build organizational capacity using related support services

The speaker for this event will be Larry Alei. Larry is the Director of The Center for Nonprofit Excellence and is a proud Los Alamos Hilltopper, class of ’79.

Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.

“Strategies for Increasing Your Charitable Impact”

Thursday, November 1st
5:30 – 7:00pm
UNM-LA, Building 2, Room 230

Join us for a joint event with Los Alamos National Bank, and hear from trust officer Dean Cross on ways to incorporate planned giving and legacy giving strategies into your organization’s fundraising efforts. Dean will lead an informative discussion on how individuals and organizations can increase their charitable impact by utilizing these techniques. This seminar is open to individuals and nonprofit organizations.
Light refreshments will be served.

RSVP to info@losalamoscf.org if you are able to join us.

Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.

Successful Fundraising —A skill you can learn
Emily McGay, Manager of McGay Consulting, LLC
Thursday, June 7, 6-7pm
UNM-LA, Bldg 6, Room 631, Lecture Hall

Emily is the Manager of McGay Consulting, LLC, a small local consulting firm that works with non-profit organizations on their operations, strategic planning, and board development. Emily also conducts studies such as community needs assessments and feasibility studies for capital development. Emily looks forward to bringing her decades of leadership experience to our nonprofit community to aid in your fundraising efforts.

Non-profits generally raise funds for three purposes, 1) annual support; 2) capital; and 3) endowment. Annual support is very important because you must prove you are a publicly supported organization to the IRS in order to maintain your 501(c)3 status. The current thinking is that one-third of your income should come from contributed dollars. This is a big responsibility. So how do you become successful at asking people for money?

Proven strategies can be learned and implemented that will ensure your success:

• Set up a campaign committee of staff and volunteers
• Develop a plan and document the need and the case to include a firm monetary goal
• Cultivate your potential donors. Visit with them face-to-face to show your enthusiasm for the cause
• Recruit, train and motivate your volunteers on how to be more successful with their asks
• Monitor your campaign with report meetings
• Evaluate your campaign for improvements that can be made the next time.

Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.

Internal Controls for Nonprofits: Viable solutions that are easy to apply.
Chris Daniels, Finance Director, Los Alamos Family YMCA
Thursday, February 8, 5-6pm
UNM-LA, Bldg 2, Lecture Hall

Embezzlement and fraud within the nonprofit sector is probably more common and also more preventable than you would think.  The damage and effect of fraud can be extensive and community trust hard to regain.  By raising your awareness of how it happens and implementing a few simple methods your nonprofit can avoid such a calamity!

In this interactive presentation you will learn about:

• Common ways that embezzlement and or fraud can occur.
• The critical areas where controls are most needed.
• Effective ways to establish internal controls with a limited staff.
• Specific controls that can be applied immediately with minimal effort.
• Examples where controls could have prevented fraud or errors.

Slides from this presentation can be found below:

Internal Controls for Non Profits

Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.

Attracting and Nurturing Volunteers: A Conversation
Diana Martinez, Los Alamos Family YMCA
and
Todd Nickols, Los Alamos Historical Society
Thursday, October 19, 5-6pm
UNM-LA, Lecture Hall (Bldg 2)

Please join us for this interactive panel discussion,  led by leaders of two local organizations with robust volunteer programs. We will discuss the joys (and pains) of engaging the community in our nonprofit efforts. Among the topics we may touch on are:

• How to recruit and retain volunteers for your organization
• Different ways to recognize the work of your volunteers
• Identify resources for developing or strengthening your own volunteer program
• How to engage youth volunteers
• Recruiting  volunteers to help with programming
• Preparing for group volunteer activities.

Diana and Todd will begin the discussion with their experiences and insights, but we hope to engage the audience with their questions and comments. Please bring your ideas and questions regarding this lifeblood of any nonprofit organization.

Jennifer Bennett, the Finance and Development Manager of the Los Alamos Historical Society, Social Media Class presenter for the next installment of LACF’s “Harnessing the Power of the Media” nonprofit training series:

Harnessing the Power of the Media – Part 2:
Social Media for Nonprofits
Thursday, August 24, 5pm
UNM-LA, Lecture Hall (Bldg 2)

Jennifer Bennett is a recent transplant to Los Alamos. She previously worked for Whole Foods Market in the Silicon Valley in California as a Marketing and Community Outreach Lead. Jennifer utilized Facebook and Instagram to highlight the store and community events for ten stores in the Silicon Valley. She is excited to share her knowledge so that we can all utilize social media to its fullest potential to support each other and highlight the great work of nonprofits.

Here are the notes from the session.

Social Media Class

Social Media Resources