Every month, I compile the internet's biggest list of free nonprofit webinars.

The conversation in the nonprofit and membership sector still revolves around how to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and how to continue fundraising and attracting new members this fall season.

Webinar topics include volunteer management, donor retention, social media marketing, legacy giving, crowdfunding, Giving Tuesday, year end fundraising and much more.

Wild Apricot also continues to present Targeted Impact, a bi-weekly Q&A session with experts in the nonprofit and membership management space.

Be sure to save the date for the upcoming session:

October 8, 3:00PM with Kerstin Heuer, founder of Non-Profit Today.



Sign up for the next session here, and come prepared with your questions for our speakers.



Now onto this month’s webinars. Please note, all times are indicated in EST.

September 29, 1:00PM

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, digitally connecting with donors is more of a necessity than ever before. Last year, 27 million adults participated in Giving Tuesday, and this year, so many more will be seeking ways to contribute to the good that has been getting us through this challenging year. We know that Giving Tuesday will shine a spotlight on millions of missions around the world, of organizations both big and small. But what happens beyond the big day?

In this webinar, you’ll learn how to stand out on Giving Tuesday and turn new donors into long-term advocates by celebrating Welcome Wednesday with the same enthusiasm through a dynamic and engaging new donor welcome series. Topics include:

Discover the impact of Giving Tuesday as a global day of giving

Craft a campaign that rallies your community and reaches new donors

Adopt strategies to expand the reach of your Giving Tuesday campaign

Make an awesome first impression with a dynamic new donor welcome series

September 29, 1:00PM

It takes more than a few promotional emails to cut through the noise of donors’ inboxes and bring in donations. In order to successfully boost end-of-year giving, you need a comprehensive and personalized marketing plan. Sound intimidating?

It’s easily done with a marketing automation software like HubSpot, which can help your nonprofit:

Reach hyper-targeted audiences based on segmented lists

Automate emails through workflows to save your marketing and sales teams’ time

Adjust and improve your marketing strategies based on attribution reporting results

And more!





September 29, 2:00PM

When you think about #GivingTuesday, your small-dollar donors likely come to mind—and all the strategies that help you reach that broad audience. There’s no question that crowdfunding drives this global generosity movement, but are you missing out on an opportunity to engage your mid-level donors?

Led by Campbell & Company presenters, this webinar will explore how to integrate #GivingTuesday into your mid-level giving program. Mid-level giving experts Lauren Collette and Jacquelyn Peters will walk through a series of #GivingTuesday strategies tailored to this important group. You’ll leave the session with a roadmap to help you achieve your giving day goals and meaningfully connect with your mid-level donors along the way.

September 29, 2:00PM

How can you get your members hired without those valuable annual events? Easy! Virtual Career Fairs. And Web Scribble has got you covered with our affordable, easy to use Career Fairs platform so you are STILL the go-to place your members turn to for career advancement.



Join Director of Marketing, Dawn DiLorenzo on September 29th @ 2pm EDT to learn how to leverage (and monetize) virtual career fairs, and learn best practices around creating and hosting successful online events in a crowded marketplace in this CAE accredited webinar.



In addition, hear a success story presentation and learn how our Career Fairs platform can help recruit and retain members by offering them a valuable career advancement benefit and help your association backfill some non-dues revenue from lost events.

September 30, 11:00AM

Many businesses have been negatively impacted by the global pandemic, Covid-19. But how can these businesses fight back? In this session, we will go over consumer behavior, trends in e-commerce, and how branding can affect search visibility. Utilizing keywords in your ad’s content messaging, in SEO and SEM, can increase the chance for consumers to find your business and eventually, convert.

Session Takeaways:

How consumers will interact with digital marketing in a post-covid-19 world

E-commerce data trends

Best practices to implement in SEO/SEM to maintain a presence online

September 30, 1:00PM

Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, CFRE, for a review of the best practices in writing fundraising appeal letters. Chad will boil down the research from top fundraising experts to provide actionable tips on both how to write content that spurs action and how to actually get prospects to open the envelope.

September 30, 1:00PM

Nonprofit professionals will learn game-changing strategies around gathering and using data to manage to both financial and mission outcomes. Participants will explore how to analyze and report data to achieve lasting programmatic and community impact. When information from this session is implemented, program participants will have the tools proven to increase impact, revenue, efficiency, morale, and positive press.

October 1, 11:00AM

The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly impacted every person and every business on the planet. Many national and international nonprofits have been hit hard. Many will be downsized or simply not survive.

So what is it that has enabled others to raise record sums of money from public donations during these times? How have they adapted? What fundraising techniques and channels have performed exceptionalism well...and why? How has governance and leadership evolved to support growth?



"Pivot" your operations to succeed! Drawing on examples from around the globe, this fast and furious session will open your mind to what is possible in times of crisis.



Learning objectives:



Provide positive examples of how organizations have changed to thrive and not just survive COVID-19

Look at what techniques and channels to switch investment into

How to re-purpose staff during COVID-19 lockdown and keep them motivated whilst working from home

What your leadership and governance structure needs to do to help fundraising succeed

October 1, 12:00PM

Presenter Carol Hamilton helps nonprofits & associations become more strategic and innovative for greater mission impact.

October 1, 2:00PM

Do you sometimes feel that your membership is like a leaky boat? Every time you look at your database, you notice a few members have left?

In this free 45-minute webinar, you’ll learn how to:

Get your members to renew on their own, so you don’t have to chase them

Automate your new member onboarding process and save hours each week

Quickly identify who is about to leave, and what you can do to keep them

October 6, 2:00PM

What do your volunteers need to know to be successful? This webinar will start with the basics and help you understand how to determine what information you should be sharing with your volunteers, and how that can be used to create a curriculum. We’ll then discuss how to present this information in a variety of ways using different delivery methods that appeal to adult learners. Assessing what your volunteers have learned, and creating ongoing training and professional development training for your volunteers will also be covered.



What You'll Learn:



What information should you share with new volunteers?

How can you turn regularly shared new volunteer info into a curriculum?

How is adult learning different from child learning?

How can you tell how much training new volunteers are absorbing?

October 6, 2:00PM

Fundraisers spend a lot of time acquiring new donors, and with good cause. However, in order to create a long-lasting relationship, the most critical gift isn’t the first; it’s the second.



Join us on Tuesday, October 6 from 2-3 p.m. EDT to learn how to get that second gift! In this session, Steven Shattuck of Bloomerang will make the case for why development professionals should concentrate on acquiring a donor’s second gift in order to achieve sustainable funding, high donor retention rates, and high donor lifetime values.



You’ll see examples that can be implemented by any organization, whether you are a one-person shop or a large development department. The results can be astounding when put into daily use!

October 7, 11:00AM

It’s no secret that people are attached to their phones—checking email, social media, even shopping, purchasing and making donations. If you haven’t figured it out, your nonprofit needs an engaging mobile presence. This used to be a nice-to-have; now it’s a must-have.



Mobile marketing is a key component of any comprehensive marketing strategy. And optimizing your website for all devices and screens is crucial for staying relevant with today’s audiences, especially millennials and Gen Xers, but even the more tech-savvy baby boomers. And if you don’t keep up you’ll lag behind, losing online visitors, donors and, ultimately, donations.



Join Molly Coke for a webinar that explores mobile marketing and generational marketing, with an emphasis on:



4 reasons why your website needs to look great on a smartphone.

How each generation responds to marketing (and how to optimize your efforts).

5 tips for planning your mobile marketing strategy.

Discover why mobile marketing is so important and get valuable tips on how to market to each generation when you join Molly for this insightful free webinar.

October 7, 1:00PM

What’s the secret to keeping donors coming back year after year? How do you encourage the donor loyalty that leads to major gifts? Personalization! It’s the key to making your donors feel recognized, valued, and connected. If you are a development communications professional who knows the importance of donor retention to hitting your fundraising goals, this webinar is for you. We’ll discuss best practices for producing the personalized, “donor-centric” communications that can propel your donor retention rate past the national average of 44.6% towards the 70%-75% retention enjoyed by elite institutions. You’ll learn the small changes you can make to your donor communications process for long-term impact on your fundraising results.



Development professionals in small and mid-sized non-profits will leave the webinar knowing:



Five “touchpoints” for personalized correspondence that donors appreciate

Four elements of an effective, personalized donor communications program

Strategies for building a stellar donor communications team from the ground up (even if you're a team of one)

October 7, 2:00PM

At VolunteerMatch we have a unique view into what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. The age of one-size fits all volunteer engagement is coming to an end. This webinar will start with a review of some of the things that we know about what volunteers are looking for in an opportunity. It will then help you use this information to start designing volunteer opportunities and determining who is the “right” volunteer for your program. You’ll also learn how “word of mouth” plays such a large role in attracting volunteers to your organization and how social media makes this even more important.



This is a great introduction to some of our more advanced webinars including Where do I go from here? Engage Volunteers in New Ways, and Developing a Strategic Plan for Volunteer Engagement



What You'll Learn:



The trends that are influencing volunteer engagement and what that means for your program.

How to create volunteer opportunities that match what volunteers are looking for now.

How to take advantage of "word of mouth" recruitment by understanding what types of volunteers are right for your program.

The role that social media can play in engaging the volunteer of the future.

October 8, 1:30PM

Telling impactful stories to prospective donors is already difficult enough, and now the benefit of face-to-face communication has all but disappeared. What’s more, online donor campaigns must compete with an ever expanding marketplace of ideas. So how can we ensure that our content doesn’t get lost in a crowded internet?



Join Tara Todras-Whitehill, an award-winning visual storyteller and communications consultant, as she teaches the critical skills needed to authentically and powerfully connect to audiences.



Key takeaways:



Three critical questions to ask when considering what story to tell

How to identify an impactful visual story

Creative ways for telling stories that seem to lack visuals

October 8, 2:00PM



Is your membership website an engine that brings in new members while you sleep? If not, I’ll show you how anyone with no tech experience can use membership management software to turn their website into a new member recruiter — in just an afternoon.



In this free 45-minute webinar, you’ll learn:

3 website changes that will start attracting new members right away

How to get anyone on your board to easily make updates by themselves (even if they don’t have any tech experience)

The top website features our most successful clients use to drive membership





October 8, 2:00PM

The global pandemic hit the economy and our workplaces fiercely and suddenly in mid-March through the end of May. It seems logical that we could then transition back out of it in 10 weeks. Unfortunately, as we’re all experiencing, disaster recovery doesn’t work that way. It is at least a year-and-a-half process back to some sort of new normal (whatever that means). Your leadership needs to change with the recovery too.



During this webinar you’ll learn about the 4 phases of disaster recovery, which one we’re in now, and how you—as a CEO, vice president, or director—can continue leading your people to meet their needs now and in the future. You’ll also walk away with a better understanding of why you and your team need more resiliency and focus than ever to emerge from the disaster as strong as ever.



Learning objectives:



Why it’s critical to capture lessons learned during times like these

Prioritize the weaknesses revealed in your organization and create action plans for resolving them

Why you need to lead from your values now more than ever

Why now is the time to keep high expectations

Re-think your meetings to be even more effective

October 13, 2:00PM

Your volunteer engagement program can be measured by more than just the hours a volunteer gives your organization. What other kinds of information should you keep track of, and how do you know if you're doing a good job with your volunteer engagement program? This webinar will help you think through both the quantitative and qualitative information you can use to evaluate your program.



What You'll Learn:



What are the criteria for success for your volunteer program?

How can you work with others to create a culture of measurement for volunteer engagement?

October 13, 2:00PM

Join us on October 13th for this free workshop and take your virtual fundraising campaigns to the next level.



Industry thought leaders Julia Campbell and Josh Hirsch will teach you how to use social media to drive engagement and donations, you'll learn how to optimize your online donation forms, and you'll walk away with actionable tips on hosting a virtual event inspired by fellow fundraisers—all in one afternoon! You'll also receive 2.5 CFRE credits towards your certification when you attend.



October 14, 1:00PM

The biggest challenge nonprofit leaders face today is managing the endless flood of meetings, email, information and tasks. In my coaching work, I teach nonprofit executives how to regain control of their time and attention in order to focus on what matters most--board development, fundraising, leadership, and yes, your mission. Ultimately, organizing your time and your attention is essential to your success.



In this webinar, you will learn:



How to spend 50% less time on email

A simple technique to ensure you never over-schedule yourself again

How to manage other’s expectations about your time

Techniques to manage your to-do list that are based on your personality type

October 14, 2:00PM

A good position description can make the recruitment and placement of volunteers so much easier, but this foundation component of a program is often overlooked or put into a folder and never used.



This webinar will start with the basics of what should be included in a position description and will help you create or update position descriptions for all of your volunteer opportunities.



Once those position descriptions are created – use them! Learn how accurate and up-to-date position descriptions can help you recruit and train volunteers, and how they can help with retention and the development of leadership positions within your volunteer engagement program.



What You'll Learn:



What should go into a good position description.

Why should you have a position description for all of your volunteer opportunities

How can a position description help you recruit and train volunteers?





October 14, 2:00PM

Does your organization need help directing its fundraising efforts? Planning focuses your organization by setting fundraising priorities and helps give staff and board members a roadmap to success.



This introductory class will provide you the basic steps for developing a fundraising plan, including tips on:



Making your case for support

Diversifying your organization's fundraising base

Creating a plan of action

October 14, 3:00PM and October 21, 1:00PM

Nonprofits! Would you benefit from boosting your online awareness, raising more money, or getting more event attendees? You can achieve all that and more through the Google Ad Grant: a program that gives nonprofits $10,000 PER month in free advertising. Yes, you read that right.



This information-packed webinar is led by Cindy Lee, Steph Vesely and David Ries of ConnectAd, an Ad Grants Certified Professional company. They’ll tell you everything you need to know about the program, how it can benefit your nonprofit, and the actual process of applying for the grant. Sign-up to reserve your spot!



Cindy, Steph, and David will also highlight a few best practices and inside tips and tell you about a Google Certified professional service that is proven to help nonprofits effectively maximize the value of their Ad Grant.



What You Will Learn from this Free Nonprofit Webinar:



What is the Google Ad Grant?

How do Google Ads work?

Why is Google Grants an essential nonprofit marketing tool?

Case studies: How other nonprofit organizations have benefited

Step-by-step instructions of the application process.

What is required to succeed with Google Grants?

Details regarding a management service to save you time and provide better results.

October 14, 3:00PM

Want to launch a planned giving program for your organization but don’t know where to begin? Or maybe you’re trying to determine if the time is right for this venture? In this webinar, you’ll learn the foundations needed to begin and grow a successful planned giving program for your organization. We’ll cover prospecting for donors, documenting gifts, handling objections from donors, and building communication and stewardship plans.

October 15, 2:00PM

Are you the one who ends up staying late to get all the work done at your membership organization? Things like processing registrations, designing newsletters, and updating your website? In this webinar, we’ll show you how a typical membership manager uses Wild Apricot, the #1 rated membership management software, to automate 90% of these tasks to save 20 hours a week or more.



In this free 1-hour webinar, you’ll learn how to:



Completely automate payments for dues and events

Connect your website with your database so member records update automatically

Set up automated welcome emails and reminders for overdue payments

Create online registration forms and go completely paperless

And more!





October 15, 2:00PM

With the changing economic landscape, many not-for-profit organizations are revisiting their need and use of reserve funds to stay resilient and allow for operational continuity.



From the types of reserve funds to the level to maintain, every organization will have a unique plan to meet their specific needs and objectives. However, setting up and maintaining a reserve fund has its challenges.



In this webinar, we’ll demystify reserve funds and share our best practices for establishing and managing reserve funds for your organization.



In this webinar you will learn:



Identifying and understanding the different types of reserve funds

How to manage a reserve fund

How to work with your donors to develop information required for grant reporting

Reporting best practices for both internally and externally restricted funds

External audit considerations for reserve funds

October 20, 1:00PM

Grants are a key part of launching new programs and projects for many tax-exempt organizations and even for-profit businesses. But where to begin? Federal grants? Family foundations? State agencies? Corporate foundations?



Participating in “So You Want to Write a Grant?” will help you understand how to get started with the grant writing process.



In this live, interactive webinar we will discuss how grants can help your organization implement new programs or projects to best achieve its mission. We will also address the common pitfalls encountered by many organizations seeking grants for the first time as well as common challenges for new grant writers.



What You Will Learn from this Free Nonprofit Webinar:



What grant funding *can* do for your organization

What grant funding can *not* do for your organization

What you can do to become successful at writing a grant

October 21, 11:00AM

Events like galas, walks and auctions are critical to the fundraising (and friend-raising) strategies for most nonprofits. Want your next one to be a hit? Give it digital legs.



With the vast number of online tools available, you can streamline everything from event registration to email marketing to social media, ensuring you capture your audience right where they are: online.



Join us to learn how to plan your next event with digital in mind from day one, including:



The importance of integrating digital into your event.

3 key goals to help you measure success.

5 digital must-haves to keep your event running smoothly.

October 21, 11:00AM

The Corona virus has turned fundraising topsy-turvy. Your gala went south. Well-meaning board members advised you to stop fundraising altogether. And your programs have had to be reinvented. You’ve had to get creative and try new approaches.



In this special event with veteran capital campaign expert Andrea Kihlstedt, you’ll find out how to raise money through a Pivot Campaign, applying principles of capital campaign fundraising to your organization. Andrea will share five powerful campaign lessons you can put to work this fall to raise more money. You’ll learn how the pivot campaign plan worked for organizations that have used the campaign model. You’ll leave with a practical roadmap to conducting a pivot-campaign for your organization. Don’t miss this lively session with one of our field’s pros.

October 21, 12:00PM

A nonprofit’s board and the staff need to be collaborative partners to achieve the mission of the organization. However, there are times when roles and responsibilities become blurred. Join us as we clarify where governance stops and management begins.

October 21, 2:00PM

Join Candid’s panel of prominent national and regional arts funders for a lively discussion of how grantmakers are reimagining institutional funding during an ongoing global pandemic and a society-wide racial justice movement. The presenters will discuss their impact through grantmaking and address the following questions:



How are arts funders taking action in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and racial injustice?

How are grantmakers and nonprofits collaborating during today’s crises?

What have you learned as you’ve pivoted to address these challenges?

October 22, 1:00PM

In the wake of COVID-19, cancelled in-person events have left many nonprofit managers struggling to replace lost revenue and create new streams for donations. As our current climate goes more and more virtual, crowdfunding has been on the rise as a great way to safely engage donors into giving and to continue raising funds – no matter what happens with the ongoing pandemic.



Many Canadian charities have already embraced crowdfunding to adapt their fundraising strategies to our new normal. In this webinar, we’ll share their experiences as well as some best practices on how to use crowdfunding to generate serious revenue for your own organization and stay afloat in these unprecedented times.



Here is what you’ll learn in this webinar:



What is crowdfunding for charities?

How crowdfunding can benefit your organization

Types of crowdfunding campaigns for nonprofits (with examples/case studies)

Crowdfunding as an instrument both for acquiring new donors and engaging ongoing ones

5 elements of a successful crowdfunding campaign

October 22, 2:00PM



Have you noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to grow your membership?



In this free 1-hour webinar, you’ll learn:



All about The Tech Effect, the hidden threat that is making things harder for you to grow

5 proven strategies to address The Tech Effect and attract new members right away

How an easy tech solution can save you hours of administrative work every day





October 27, 1:00PM

2020 has presented nonprofits, and the world at large, with plenty of challenges and changes. In order to continue reaching new donors and growing your mission into the new year, you’ll need a focused annual giving plan that takes into account the new landscape of fundraising. This webinar will show you five crucial strategies on which to focus your 2021 annual fundraising plan in order to increase giving, expand your database and build long-term loyalty no matter what the future holds.



Topics include:



How to establish and grow monthly giving programs

Incorporating virtual and live-streaming events

Increasing your reach through peer-to-peer fundraising

Embracing and leveraging days of giving

Strategies to expand your email list and database

October 27, 2:00PM

Join us to learn how the Funding Information Network's fee based program can help your organization support your local nonprofit and small business economy.



Candid’s national network of partners connects nonprofits to the resources they need to thrive in the zip codes of every major city and many points in between.



The Funding Information Network program is nonprofit outreach "in-a-box," enabling organizations to become local nonprofit funding experts.



The program packages include access to our world-class database, Foundation Directory Online, product and training certification courses, along with support materials to assist your local nonprofit community. Want to support your nonprofit and small business community as a go-to fundraising resource? Join the network.

October 28, 1:00PM

Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, CFRE, for a workshop focused on finding potential supporters for your nonprofit organization. Chad will review the best practices in fundraising prospect identification and provide practical tips for how small nonprofits can maximize their network. Attendees will leave the session with a game plan for identifying their next 50 potential donors.



October 28, 1:00PM

Since becoming a remote workforce, you may have noticed new challenges arise. Even "normal" tasks like managing projects and communicating with staff look different and even feel uncomfortable at times. And on top of that, your employees may be facing burnout as their work and home life have blended into one. So how do we invest in our employees and make sure they have the skills and resources they need to thrive in this new environment?

In this webinar, we will discuss the unique benefits and challenges of a remote workforce and discuss how we as employers can continue to develop their capabilities. You'll leave with at least one custom action you can take to begin creating a more effective remote workforce in your organization.

Learning objectives:

Reflect on the benefits of developing your remote workforce.

Discuss the unique challenges of a remote workforce.

Determine one step you can take today to begin developing your remote workforce.

October 29, 1:00PM

What are your fundraising plans for the fall season? The two biggest events of the giving season are almost here! Join us to get a practical guide on how to set up and launch any crowdfunding campaign, including recurring ones like Giving Tuesday and Year End, in less than a day at low – or even no – cost.

Crowdfunding is a uniquely accessible way to engage your community and raise money for your cause. We know that Canadians are looking for opportunities to support the charities they care about – and in this webinar, we’ll talk about how to connect with them.

Here is what you’ll learn in this webinar:

How to set up a crowdfunding campaign

Giving Tuesday and Year End campaigns during COVID-19

How to promote your crowdfunding campaign and tap into the fall giving season

How crowdfunding technology helps you get better fundraising results

October 30, 11:30AM

Has your organization ever looked at outsourcing all or a portion of its accounting? If not, it is because you’re not sure how the organization would benefit from this decision. Since it is not a common practice for nonprofits to outsource its accounting, we will discuss the process and discuss the overlooked benefits of outsourcing your Nonprofit Accounting.

October 30, 1:00PM

Your organization like every other nonprofit is feeling the pressure to deliver more transparency. The demand for more timely information is coming from a multitude of interested parties: board members, major donors, potential funders, and watchdog organizations.



The goal of transparency can’t be easily accomplished without sound nonprofit accounting software-financial reporting is the foundation upon which transparency is achieved.



We will review at least seven reasons Nonprofits should consider Nonprofit Accounting Software.

Weekly

Most nonprofit leaders aren’t sure how to get their organizations thriving, so we created a framework that helps them get organized, build effective teams, and make a bigger impact, without getting overwhelmed or burning out. Finally strategic planning that works!



In today's fast paced digital world, running a nonprofit with traditional strategic planning is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. It just doesn't work. To make an impact you need a new method. Imagine what it would be like if your nonprofit was thriving.



Join nonprofit business strategist Sarah Olivieri in weekly mini-webinars to learn how you can unlock your organization's capacity with the Impact Method™ and stop feeling overwhelmed, overworked, and unsure.





