Missouri Common Grant Application 6/17/15 Orientation

Nonprofits considering submitting grant applications to foundations that accept the Missouri Common Grant Application (CGA) are invited to a free 90-minute orientation to the CGA process June 17 at the Nonprofit Services Center office. Gateway Center for Giving coordinated development of the Missouri CGA will also explain how to use it most effectively. The  CGA allows grantmakers and grantseekers to work from a common set of questions and definitions that reinforce solid nonprofit and philanthropic practices. 

Register for this event here

The common grant application format has been adopted by groups of grantmakers in various locations. to allow grant applicants to produce a single proposal for a specific community of funders. Note: CGA's do not represent separate pools of grant money, just a more efficient way of applying to the participating funders. Click Here for  Foundation Center links to some 17 CGA's around the country.

Gateway Center: 3 ops for Local Fundraisers

Gateway Center for Giving offers three practical October opportunities for nonprofits to learn more about philanthropy:

1. A free MOOC (massive open online course)  on grantmaker thinking and effective charitable giving processes starts Oct. 6. Find out more here.
2. Participation in-- and access to details of--  the 2014 Dollars & Sense report on regional capital campaigns closes Oct. 10. Find out more here.
3. Meet the Donor: Updates to Funder Strategies event, Oct. 14, Missouri History Museum. $20. Register Here.

Philanthropic Landscape 2014: Data Tools

Finding and analyzing philanthropic data was the main topic at yesterday's St. Louis Philanthropic Landscape event, organized by the Rome Group with sponsorship from the Gateway Center for Giving and the Community Foundation of Greater St. Louis.  Along with fundraising data from their annual survey of local givers and nonprofits, the Rome Group's website now offers links to its recommended Data Tools here. 
And, for thoughtful monthly news about the St. Louis Philanthropic world, be sure to subscribe to Insights the Group's free e-newsletter.

Meet the Donor(s) in St. Louis June 3

Gateway Center for Giving invites nonprofits and members of the community to "Grantmaker Stories: the good, the bad...and the interesting" June 3, 3-5 pm  at the Missouri History Museum, $20 general admission. Panelists from Wells Fargo Advisors, Pettus Foundation, Whitaker Foundation, St. Louis County Children's Service Fund, Brown sisters Foundation and Equifax will share funding experiences. Click here to find out more and register.

"Collaboration" -- Share the Info Wealth

Thanks to David L. Holmes of the Foundation Center and Danielle Wallis of the Gateway Center for Giving for elaborating on 3 significantly helpful internet resources at last week's "Understanding Collaboration" class webinar here at Central:

1. Nonprofit Collaboration Directory -- searchable, in-depth information about how dozens of successful collaborations work
2. Foundation Center online classes and webinars scheduled free/low-cost online learning opportunities on variety of topics
3.  St. Louis Collaborations Directory -- updated quarterly, download from the Center (or get a printout at the Grants & Foundation Center.)

Take a look. And if you'd like suggestions of more books or articles about collaboration, contact me.

Also, Brown School of Social Work will have a morning lecture "From Collaboration to Merger: Evaluating Opportunities for Inter-Organizational Cooperation," Nov. 22, primarily for social work students and professionals -- 3 CEUs -- but open to the interested public for $50.  Contact profdev@brownschool.wustl.edu to see if this would be helpful to your or your organization..

October STL NPO Learning Event Highlights

 Check out these worthy professional development  opportunities during this busy month:

• Oct.  8 - CSPRC lunch meeting Public Plumbing Meets Public Affairs (MSD's Project Clear) $40 nonmembers, Sheraton Clayton Plaza, www.csprc.org 
• Oct. 9 - AFP webinar,  What's Wrong with Your Fundraising and How You Can Fix It? with Linda Lysakowski and Ellen Bristol, $20 nonmembers,  www.afpstl.org/events/
• Oct. 10 --free seminar - Neighborhood Change in St. Louis Region Since 1970: What Explains Neighborhood Success? 7-8:30 pm Missouri History Museum, UMSL's Community Partnership Project
• Oct. 10 - NSC webinar Get Started with EMail Fundraising, $40, www.nonprofitservices.org
• Oct. 11- deadline for nonprofits to participate in the 2013 Dollars & Sense Capital Campaign Report, www.centerforgiving.org
• Oct. 15 - 3-morning series: Performance Management in Today's Regulatory Environment, $145, nonprofitservices.org
• Oct. 16 - AFP morning seminar for grantwriters, You Be the Trustee, Norwood Hills Country Club, $75, www.afpstl.org
• Oct. 16 - morning Arts Leadership & Management workshop on Organizational Change, $30 nonprofit services.org
• Oct. 16 - Meet the Donor: Updates to Funder Strategy, Gateway Center for Giving/ AFP, $30, Missouri History Museum, 3-5 pm, www.centerforgiving.org
• Oct. 18 - morning lecture Social Workers Make Great Fundraisers:Applying Your Knowledge/Skills to Secure Financial Resources for your Cause, $50, Brown School Professional Development Program,  brownschool.wustl.edu/profdev
• Oct. 24 -NPML class Do's & Don't of Employee Termination in Nonprofits, UMSL 3-5 pm $45, 314-516-5655, www.umsl.edu/npml

Meet the Donor 7-22 Underwritten -> Free Registration

News from AFP/Gateway Center for Giving --  A generous donor has offered to underwrite registration for the July 22 program, Meet the Donor: Common Community Indicators, See our July 5 post below for some program details and go to afpstl.org.to sign-up.

Gateway Center Info for Nonprofits

 Go to Gateway Center for Giving www.centerforgiving.org to download your copy of the 2012 Giving in St. Louis report on individual, corporate, and foundation philanthropic giving in St. Louis for the past few years and to get details and register to attend The Center's next Meet the Donor program Friday, Aug. 17 at Emerson HQ. This event will include presentations from new regional executives at the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, St. Louis Mental Health Board, YouthBridge Community Foundation, Missouri Foundation for Health, Emerson and the Deaconess Foundation, cost $30.

Many May Continuing Ed Events

Tues. May 1

Setting Up Social Media Programs-- Hands On, 9-12, $45, NSC, http://www.nonprofitservices.org/
3 New (Funder) CEO's Share Their Views, 11:30 -1:30, $15, GPA, 314-740-5284
What's Really Growing in Community Gardens?, 3-4:30, free, UMSL's Community Partnership Project, ce.umsl.edu/seminarseries

Mon. May 7

Storytelling with Data to Enhance Communication between Grantmakers and Nonprofits, 8:30 - 11, $35, http://www.centerforgiving.org/

Weds. May 9

Communications Planning, 9-12, $30, Arts Leadership & Management Academy, www.KeepArtHappening.org/What/ALMA 

Thurs. May 10

CFRE:What Does This Mean? panel discussion & lunch, 11:45, $30, ALDE Great Rivers Chapter annual meeting, www.alde.org/Chapters/ChapterDirectory/GreatRiversStLouis/tabid/237/Default.aspx by May 8.

Tues. May 15

Plugged In SPECTRUM 2012 conference, 7:30 - 5,  $125, Dr. Robert Archibald keynote, http://www.csprc.org/

Registration deadline to avoid a late fee for NpML's June 4-8 Fundraising Institute, all 8 sessions, $400, See this year's schedule at http://umslce.org/index.php/fundraising-institute

Thurs. May 24

Understanding the Ministerial Exception and Its Impact on Religious Organizations, 2:30 - 5, $20, NpML,  www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/ppa/npml/noncredit.html#ministerial

Missouri Funders Introduce Common Grant Application

Thanks to the Gateway Center for Giving for coordinating local funder efforts to produce the long-awaited Missouri Common Grant Application. You can take a look at this streamlined application and the truly comprehensive User Guide at www.centerforgiving.org. That's also the site for nonprofits to sign up to attend the Sept. 27 Meet the Donor: Introducing the Missouri Common Grant Application (8-10 am, Cardinal Stadium $30) so you can learn more about the application and who's going to be accepting it and have other questions answered.

Funders to Describe Benefits of Non-Arts/Arts Collaboration June 2

Both non-arts and arts organizations are invited to come learn how arts collaborations can work between funders and nonprofits in this era when partnerships are vital to securing support for your mission. Meet the Donor: the "Art " of Collaboration, will be from 8-10 am at the Regional Arts Commission on the Delmar Loop. Panelists from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, the Arts & Education Council and the PNC Foundation will discuss the benefits arts/non-arts partnerships can bring to all parties and explain what funders look for when investing in an arts collaboration. Cost is $30--register at www.centerforgiving.org

St. Louis Nonprofit Intermediaries ID'd

Gateway Center for Giving has just published a potentially very useful report "Understanding the Intermediary Infrastructure in St. Louis " which identifies 30 organizations currently providing assistance to nonprofits in a variety of ways. To find out who they are and what they do, go to www.centerforgiving.org.

More February-March Events for Nonprofits

• AFP's Feb. 24 lunch meeting program will include a panel discussion on Advancing Your Fundraising Career (non-members - $35). Get details at www.afpstlouis.org. Speaking of fundraising careers, plan now to attend one of the free, informal discussions of What Exactly IS a CFRE? AFP will cosponsor here at the library April 14 or May 11
• St. Louis Chapter of the Grant Professionals Assn. has rescheduled a wiped-out-by-weather session on the ABCs of MOUs for 11:30 - 1:30 March 1 at Central Reform Congregation. For more information, contact 314-308-7823.
• Also on March 1, 9-3, NSC is offering Talent Management: Finding, Engaging and Retaining Great People, cost-$50. Get details at www.nonprofitservices.org on NSC's helpful and fairly comprehensive Upcoming Events Calendar. This includes both NSC and Community events--just be sure to check the location since entries may be from outstate.
• Gateway Center for Giving's next Meet the Donor event -- Getting Noticed; How to Turn Effective Communication into Collaboration will be March 16 at Boeing. Cost $30. Details at www.centerforgiving.org. (IMHO, this site has a good new look and helpful reorganization.)

More January Events for St. Louis Nonprofits

Jan. 20, 3-4:30 pm, Online Communities for Your Nonprofit: Legal Aspects of Social Media, free, here at the Schlafly Branch, Information technology attorneys from the St. Louis Corporate Counsel Assn.’s pro bono committee will discuss ways to create creative online communities without unhappy surprises. Will post more details after the holidays.

Jan. 21 - Gateway Center for Giving Annual Meeting/40th Anniversary, Powell Hall, 11-1, Cost: $40, go to www.centerforgiving.org

Jan. 27 - AFP Extended Session with Katya Andresen, Social Networking and Behavioral Economics for Fundraisers, 8 - 1:30, $70 for nonmembers to attend both sessions, contact afp@qabs.com to register. Want to prepare? Ccheck out either of Andresen's books, Robin Hood Marketing or People to People Fundraising from the G&FC.

Jan. 27 - Gambling & Fundraising: What Nonprofits Need to Know, 3-5 pm, led by Dan Sise at UMSL, Fee: 20. Click on the NPML Link at right.

Coming Events for St. Louis Fundraisers

• July 28 ("Major Gifts)" & Aug. 4 - ("Healthy Habits in Fundraising) sessions of AFP St. Louis Summer Morning Fundraising Seminar Series--nonmember cost - $49 per session--call 314.416-2238 or go the the AFP website link on this blog for details.
• Aug. 10 - CSPRC (Community Service Public Relations Council) lunch meeting with nonprofit Print Media panel, nonmember cost-$35, call 314.416-2237 by noon Aug. 6th to find out more.
• Aug. 12, 8:30 - 10 am, Gateway Center for Giving's Meet the Donor: Sports Philanthropy at Busch Stadium Champion's Club, cost-$30; contact www.centerforgiving.org or call 314.621-6220 to sign up.
• Seats are still available for participation in the Gateway Center for Giving's Will to Give program for nonprofits interested in starting a planned giving program. Contact the Center if you are interested.

Meet the Donor May 28

A panel of St. Louis area grantmakers will talk about how you can demonstrate the impact of your nonprofit programs at this session on Evaluation & Accountability, 8:30 -10am, at Wells Fargo Advisors. Cost is $30. Gateway Center for Giving is sponsor-- for more information and to register, go asap to www.centerforgiving.org

Then, if you'd like to learn more about evaluation, especially how to use the logic model, later in the summer Claire Hundelt from the Nonprofit Services Center, will discuss "Program Development with the End in Mind" at Schlafly library. Put it on your calendar (Aug. 24) now and watch for details on this blog.

Participate in Capital Campaign Report

Gateway Center for Giving publishes a full scale capital and endowment campaign report ("Dollars & Sense: A Report on Major Funding Campaign in the St. Louis Region") annually to inform grantmakers, nonprofits and others about restricted funding allocations in the St. Louis region. Nonprofits now involved in, or planning, a campaign are asked to complete a short survey at www.centerforgiving.org by June 11. Benefits include a complementary "scrubbed" copy of the report. Contact Beth@centerforgiving.org or call 314.621-6220

More January Events for St. Louis Nonprofits

• AFP St. Louis Jan. 28 Meeting Mentoring for Fundraising Professionals: Strategies for Building Effective Mentoring Partnerships with speaker Rik Nemanick 11:30 - 1:30 at Norwood Hills country Club, $25 members$35 non-members and $20 for YNPN members (YNPN is sponsor of the meeting). Click on the AFP link at right to register. BTW, the book Creating a Mentoring Culture an organization's guide by Lois Zachary is available for check-out from the G&FC.
• Nonprofits are invited to come network and honor local donors at the Gateway Center for Giving Annual Meeting Jan. 29 11:30 - 1:30 at Build-A-Bear Workshop, $45. Find out more and register at www.centerforgiving.org.

Meet the St. Louis Donors in December

Two special sessions this month from the Gateway Center for Giving:

1. Keeping the Arts Alive in Tough Times, Friday, Dec. 18, 8:30- 10am, Regional Arts Commission
2. What Donors Want When Dollars are Down- Part II, Monday, Dec. 21, 8:30-10am, The Boeing Co.

Cost $30 each; contact www.centerforgiving.org for more information or to register.

Light to Discuss Nonprofits' Future

Hear noted professor and author Dr. Paul C. Light define sector choices in these momentous times and discuss the future of area nonprofits with a panel of experts. The Oct. 23 event is part of the Nonprofit Services Center's Continuing the Dialog series, and costs $30. For more information and to register, link to the NSC website from this blog.