Our learning experiences will help you build collaborative capacity and make greater impact.
Build your capacity to work better together to address our region’s complex problems and create community assets for all. Learn to use systems practice, a process to understand the system you’re working in and identify leverage points for change, and explore a suite of skills and mindsets to help you create the conditions for meaningful collaboration. Filter the list of upcoming learning experiences by the impact areas below, find the path that is right for you and take the next step in strengthening your organization, network and community.
Ready to learn? Let us help! The Learning Fund provides financial support to help local changemakers cover tuition and conference fees for virtual learning experiences offered from partners across the globe.
Upcoming Learning Experiences
Time: 8:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, explore the concepts of systems and transformation, how evaluation can contribute to a deeper understanding of transformational systems change, how to use the Six Conditions of Systems Change as an evaluation framework. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, join a helicopter talk to explore the terrain of systems- and complexity-informed evaluation, exploring a range of possible evaluation purposes (accountability, learning, and adaptation), questions to address (the situation or system, the change process, outcomes and impacts, future scenarios, and value synthesis), and method options for each question type along with resources. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 11:00 am
Offered by Circle Generation, in this 8-week series you will grow your ability to engage network mindset in cultivating impact in networks and organizations, learn coordination practices that facilitate connection, invite engagement, and support collaborative action, and share impact network experiences and approaches brought by other practitioners in the field. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:30 pm
Offered by CompassPoint, this 4-part workshop will explore the coaching mindset, build on your communication skills through three key coaching skills, and learn how coaching interrupts dominating behavior and builds power with others. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:30 pm
Offered by CompassPoint, this 2-part workshop will explore obstacles that are hindering personal sustainability, review an energy management framework, and gain an understanding of new strategies for self-care. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:00 pm
Offered by the Interaction Institute of Social Change, this 2-part, 9 session workshop (4 sessions in part 1, 5 sessions in part 2) will equip you with frameworks and tools to design and lead collaborative change processes and gain skills for modeling racial justice and racial equity tools and practices in your organization. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center, explore Form 990 as an organizational tool and the information it communicates, identify often-cited flags in Form 990 and begin to challenge assumptions, and use 990 data to find trends or opportunities in the community. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 6:30 pm
Offered by NMC Extended Ed, learn how to create content that reaches your target demographic and how to track metrics so that you can see an actual return on your social media time investment and how to make compelling videos and stories, and get tips for creating content easily and with purpose. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by Ideo U, this 5-week cohort course will explore how to unlock your team’s ability to generate new ideas and reach better solutions by tapping into diverse perspectives, establish the cultural conditions that teams need to thrive with thoughtful rituals and agreements, and turn tensions between ideas into opportunities for your biggest leaps forward. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 11:00 am
Offered by Ideo U, this 5-week cohort course will explore how environment encourages new mindsets and behaviors, reframing change to invite participation, co-creating change by involving those affected from the beginning, and sharing stories about early, small changes. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:00 pm
Hosted by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, join Trey Devey from Interlochen Center for the Arts and Warren Call from Traverse Connect discussing the role of arts and culture in our community. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Nonprofit Quarterly, learn how to enter budgets by month, quarter, and year, enter separate budgets for specific programs or projects, enter additional budgets for your restricted grants, and generate multiple budget reports for each of your budgets. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Candid Learning, explore an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation including the basic elements of a proposal, the "do's" and "don'ts" of writing and submitting a proposal, and how to follow up whether the answer is yes or no. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Ideo U, this 5-week cohort will explore how to clarify the problem you’re tackling to uncover more effective solutions, develop a shared understanding, and clearly define a purpose for the work. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, join Rotary Charities Director of Systems Change, Freya Bradford, and Jessica Conrad to learn about the four core strategies common to systems change work., nested levels of systems inquiry and common signs of change to look for at each level, and two replicable practices that use storytelling as a method to uncover and share signs of systems change. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 8:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, gain an understanding of the scope of Complexity Science and its relevance for evaluating systems and transformation, when and how to incorporate complex behaviors in their planning and evaluation practice, and when to recognize, but not evaluate, with respect to complexity, and methods for evaluating complex systems that are familiar and well-understood in the evaluation community. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by the Collective Impact Forum, this 3-day summit will inspire and provide practical advice for how to engage in community collaborations that center equity and belonging in collective impact work. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, gain an understanding of key concepts associated with complexity-aware monitoring, guidance to quickly compare selected approaches and resources to support their use, and how to apply the findings of complexity-aware monitoring for program learning and improvement. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Candid Learning, learn the basics of shifting focus from your nonprofit’s activities to its outcomes by drafting SMART objectives for a program, exploring the process of creating logic models, and reporting on impacts. No cost associated.
Time: 8:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, explore two mental models for systems change that are commonly used, the implications of the mental models for strategy, evaluation, and learning, and concrete examples of what it looks like to align mental models with strategy and evaluation approaches. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center, explore current trends and challenges affecting volunteerism in the U.S, initiatives and strategies to promote and sustain a culture of volunteerism, and tools and practices to streamline operations and effectively manage volunteers. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by the Center for Nonprofit Management, explore concepts to leverage Chat GPT and unlock its potential in content creation, marketing strategy, and ad-copy. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by TSNE, explore the importance of self-awareness, understanding and analyzing situational power constructs, and ways to develop and sustain productive relationships while managing up, down, and across the non-profit organization. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the Early Childhood Development Action Network, learn about how the Living Systems Leadership approach can support those involved in sustainable development to work together when navigating complexity and negotiating contested issues. This session is part of the Masterclass Series on Systems Thinking curated by ECDAN and NORC. No cost associated.
Offered by Rotary Charities, join Des Worthington and Megan Motil in the third of five sessions that will explore how to maximize board effectiveness through all stages of the nonprofit life cycle. In this session you will explore the importance of having shared goals, learn about tools to clarify the roles of the board and staff as they work toward the vision, develop an understanding of the power of leveraging an organization’s narrative and strategic direction for fundraising. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Candid Learning, learn step-by-step instructions on how to generate a standard project budget for a foundation proposal including the basic components of a project budget including income and expenses, how to estimate the realistic cost of a project, and what other financial documents you may also need to submit with your proposal. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by ZingTrain, learn how to recognize and better handle workplace conflict, gain techniques to engage effectively in a courageous conversation, and experience hands-on practice with these techniques. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Candid Learning, explore the different types of corporate giving, what motivates corporations to give, and how to find potential corporate partners. No cost associated.
Time: 3:00 pm
Offered by the Interaction Institute for Social Change, learn how past leaders have led during seasons of unrest, generate ideas and approaches with peers to guide our own unique situations, and explore a tool you can use to deepen your ongoing exploration of these challenges and opportunities. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by Kalamazoo Public Library, explore how an organization can balance being mission-focused while being centered in the community, connecting the dots between on-the-ground programs and the big-picture work bring accomplished through collaboration with others. No cost associated.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by Kalamazoo Public Library, explore how an organization can balance being mission-focused while being centered in the community, connecting the dots between on-the-ground programs and the big-picture work bring accomplished through collaboration with others. No cost associated.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by the Tamarack Institute, in this 2-part workshop will help you design, implement and renew a successful Collective Impact Initiative to achieve high-impact results, focusing on the importance of bringing a systems lens to Collective Impact to explicitly incorporate both programmatic and systems-change strategies into Collective Impact implementation plans. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Offered by Rotary Charities, join Des Worthington and Megan Motil in the fourth of five sessions that will explore how to maximize board effectiveness through all stages of the nonprofit life cycle. In this session you will explore the fundraising expectations of boards and staff depending on their organization’s life cycle stage and creating alignment between the two. No cost associated.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by Candid Learning, learn the importance of individual giving in a nonprofit’s fundraising strategy, identify key steps for a successful individual giving program, and draft a plan to start or improve your annual individual giving program. No cost associated.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by NMC Extended Ed, in this 2-part series you will learn about the Anishinabek culture with teaching, philosophy and stories, and discover cultural changes that have evolved over time. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 11:00 am
Time: 12:30 pm
Offered by CompassPoint, this 2-part workshop will focus on using teh "purpose, outcome, and process" format to design a meeting and will explore strategies for interrupting oppressive power dynamics and centering marginalized voices. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:00 pm
Offered by the Tamarack Institute, join in a conversation with a group of inspiring youth leaders from our Communities Building Youth Futures movement to explore what belonging looks like from their perspectives, uncover the conditions that are needed to build authentic relationships and a sense of connectedness between youth and their community, and share lessons learned on how communities can foster belonging among youth.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by TSNE, learn key concepts of strategic planning, facilitation, and community engagement for nonprofit organizations, gain insight to methodology and framework for analyzing data to develop strategy, learn how strategic planning fits within the governance and management roles / responsibilities of nonprofit organizations, and recognize how to engage the community to achieve social change. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by the Interaction Institute for Social Change, this 7-part workshop will explore ways to develop practical collaborative skills and tools for tapping our individual and collective creativity and experience as social change agents. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by Propel Nonprofits, learn hands-on tools to help you calculate program costs and move your organization to greater financial sustainability. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by TSNE, explore the ways that adaptive communication and feedback contribute to supporting, developing, and managing successful employees, understand the dynamic continuum of employee performance, and learn and practice a model of performance management that focuses on adaptive communication and feedback strategies. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:00 pm
Offered by Human Systems Dynamics Institute, this 4-part series will explore four rules for creating hope in times of turbulence and uncertainty: Honor stories, open options for action, play with patterns, and engage in inquiry. Each session will focus on one of the rules. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 2:00 pm
Offered by The Chronicles of Philanthropy, learn how to better manage and analyze donor data to reveal the stories it can tell and make fundraising, at all levels, more strategic. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center, gain an understanding of the core functions, legal and other responsibilities of a nonprofit board of directors, understand board governance and how boards are structured, and identify common challenges and related strategies facing nonprofit boards. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the Center for Nonprofit Management, learn about surveying the digital media landscape, creating a research-informed social strategy, articulating goals and SMART objectives, creating basic content to engage your audience, and more. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Offered by Rotary Charities, join Des Worthington and Megan Motil in the last session of our five-part series that will focus on building a healthy board culture through behaviors and processes. In this session you will learn what it means to have a healthy board culture and relationships, explore how boards can clarify values and create shared expectations for communication processes and conduct, and develop a plan for how boards can stay accountable to shared expectations. No cost associated.
Time: 1:00 pm
Offered by The Communications Network, learn about the LinkedIn platform and how it lends itself to nonprofit communications, how to leverage the platform for communications, and hear about case studies on what has worked effectively. No cost associated.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by TSNE, explore what resonance looks and feels like, as well as ideas to develop someone’s “resonant leadership” capability, their emotional intelligence, and the experiences of mindfulness, hope, and compassion to help individuals and teams develop, organizations adapt and grow. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 12:30 pm
Offered by CompassPoint, this 2-part workshop will explore the distinction between change and transition and how they impact individuals and gain an understanding for the Margin to Center frameworks to identify solutions to challenges. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 10:00 am
Offered by the ABCD Institute at DePaul University, this 6-part series will introduce the core principles and applications of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) in the context of local communities and will occur in light of current conversations about equity and social justice that will enable participants to think deeper about responses to these challenges. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 4:00 pm
Offered by LifeLabs Learning, explore the how managers can encourage effective one-on-one meetings to increase engagement and productivity and transform organizational culture. No cost associated.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by Propel Nonprofits, learn about preparing for an upcoming leadership change, setting yourself up for a successful search process, and onboarding your new leader for short-term and long-term success. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.
Time: 9:00 am
Offered by TSNE, gain an understanding of the foundational principles for governance frameworks and strategies, learn about the benefits and challenges of these frameworks, and explore ways to apply the guiding principles of these new approaches to the governance of their own organization, coalition, or network. Cost associated. Eligible for support through Rotary Charities Learning Fund.