One thing this pandemic has afforded all of us is the opportunity to take advantage of a lot of continuing education. Conferences and seminars that used to be presented halfway around the world are now accessible to all of us. This past year, my colleague Viola has made the most of the learning opportunities, and in today’s article she shares some recommendations for seminars that are worth your time. ~Helen
Favorite Webinars From My Silver Linings Playbook
Viola Henning
For me, one of the silver linings of this pandemic has been all the great free webinars/virtual conference sessions. I participated in over 50 (!) on any topics that interested me, including prospect research, fundraising, and nonprofits in general.
There were too many great presentations to feature them all, but here were some of my favorites, along with one or two screenshots from each of the presentations to give you a sampling and some takeaways (all screenshots used with permission):
Title: The Art of Nonprofit Innovation
Presenter(s): Cherian Koshy
Date: April 17, 2020
Host: DonorSearch (part of the Unbounded Virtual Conference)
Title: Hack the Mind: Using Psychology to Boost Your Fundraising (slides)
Presenter(s): Jarrett Way
Date: May 14, 2020
Host: Bloomerang
Title: Copy That Sells: 18 Tips That Will Raise More Money For Your Cause
Presenter(s): Leah Eustace
Date: May 21, 2020
Host: Bloomerang
Great tips, including Know Your Audience:
Title: Boards and Asking Styles
Presenter(s): Brian Saber
Date: September 24, 2020
Host: DonorSearch (part of The Masterminds Series)
Title: Tips and Tricks to Search the SEC.gov Website for the Prospect Researcher
Presenter(s): Roger Magnus
Date: October 15, 2020
Host: APRA NY (part of their 2020 Virtual Conference)
Title: How To Report Research To Inspire Action
Presenter(s): Suzanne Smith
Date: November 13, 2020
Host: APRA Great Plains (part of their Fall Series 3: Start Your Engines)
Title: Campaigns and Prospect Development – The Adventure Ahead!
Presenter(s): Jill Meister
Date: March 18, 2021
Host: Apra NY (part of their 2021 Spring Virtual Conference)
Title: Corporate Fundraising Research
Presenter(s): Jennifer Filla
Date: March 19, 2021
Host: Apra AR (part of their Spring Virtual Conference)
Title: Conducting Prospect Research in Canada
Presenter(s): Andrea Reed
Date: April 21, 2021
Host: Apra NY
Title: Major Gift Modeling
Presenter(s): Marianne Pelletier
Date: April 30, 2021
Host: OPRN (part of their virtual 2021 Annual Spring Conference)
Title: “There must be a better way!” Excel Data Clean‐up Strategies, Formulas, and More
Presenter(s): Andrea Kennedy
Date: May 12, 2021
Host: Apra Maryland
Honorable Mention: This was not free for me, but very close and well worth (and then some!) the $5 I paid for this Lunch & Learn:
Title: Excel-ling at Excel!
Presenter(s): Janna Lee
Date: February 19, 2021
Host: Apra Midwest
Also, I want to give a shout out to my colleague Kristina Gropper and her great Collectors and The Art Market presentation.
What were some of your favorite webinars?
