All-Access Pass Holders will also be able to attend the webinars Kivi presents with our training partner, CharityHowTo.com. While these webinars are hosted and presented through CharityHowTo.com, All-Access Pass Holders can attend for no additional cost.
Kivi rotates a number of webinar topics throughout the year. These are listed below along with the upcoming dates for each.
You will need to purchase an All-Access Pass in order to attend these events or you can register separately for CharityHowTo webinars through CharityHowTo.com. If you are already an All-Access Pass Holder, please register on your All-Access Pass Dashboard.
All webinars last 90 minutes and begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (10:00 a.m. Pacific) unless otherwise noted.
How to Write an Annual Report People Will Actually Read
Next Presentations: TBA
Your donors want to see some results before they'll give again. And you know that producing an annual report is a nonprofit management best practice.
But that doesn't mean you have to write and design a 20+ page tome. In fact, many donors say they'd prefer something much shorter, clearer, and more direct.
During the webinar, we'll cover the basics of good nonprofit annual reports, including what to emphasize and what to leave out.
We'll go over the critical differences between activities and accomplishments and cover the most frequently asked questions about common annual report sections like the letter from the director, the financial section, and donor lists - and whether you need them at all in your report.
But best of all, we'll talk about how to share your accomplishments in ways your supporters both understand and appreciate in short formats that are easy to create both offline and online. We’ll look at how nonprofits are using a variety of new and engaging formats including two and four-page print reports, oversized postcards, video, slide-shows, and mini-sites.
Webinar Take-Aways
- Where an annual report fits in your donor communications plan
- The five things every annual report should include regardless of format
- Answers to pesky questions like what you do with the list of donor names if you don’t do a long printed report, and when your annual report should be released
- Samples and examples you can use to get started on your own report
How to Do Your Own Nonprofit Communications Audit
Next Presentations: 6/18
Has your nonprofit communications plan come together in an ad hoc, on the fly, piece-by-piece kind of way? If so, you aren't alone. Most nonprofits have added new communications channels one by one. Maybe you added an email newsletter to your print newsletter, and started paying more attention to your website. Then you started experimenting with blogging, Facebook, or Twitter. Now you are wondering whether to add Pinterest and Google+ -- all the while maintaining your print communications and media relations.
You are doing more and more, but are less and less sure it's all coming together in a way that makes sense to your participants and supporters. Your to-do list and frustration levels grow, and you wonder whether this treadmill you are on is really getting your nonprofit anywhere!
A great first step to reigning in the chaos and becoming more strategic about your communications is to do a communications audit. You can hire a consultant to do it for you, and gather input from all sorts of places, but that can be time-consuming and expensive.
That's why Kivi Leroux Miller of NonprofitMarketingGuide has created a Do-It-Yourself Communications Audit Kit just for nonprofits that will help you chart everything you are doing now, take a good look at what's working and what's not, and chart a strategic, reasonable course forward.
Course Level: Intermediate
What You'll Learn During This Live Nonprofit Training Webinar:
Included with this webinar is the DIY Nonprofit Communications Audit, explained in detail and provided as a free download to participants. During this nonprofit webinar we'll show you how to self-assess your nonprofit's current communications in four essential areas:
- Professionalism and Consistency. Do your communications convey the professionalism of your organization, or do they look amateurish? Do your communications convey a consistent brand so supporters can recognize your organization whether they see you in the mail, on your website, or Facebook?
- Clarity of Purpose. Are your communications as a whole, as well as individual communications channels (e.g. email, print, Facebook), clear and specific about what your organization is doing, and what you want participants or supporters to do? Do you have calls to action and is it easy to follow through on them? Do you share information that educates and builds rapport with supporters in addition to requesting action -- giving people content that makes them Do, Think, and Feel?
- Relevance of Messaging. Do you present your messaging in ways that are relevant to participants and supporters? Does your messaging embrace the Six Rs: Rewarding, Realistic, Real Time, Responsive, Revealing, and Refreshing?
- Tactical Implementation. Are you following "better" practices as you produce your communications? We'll get specific about what's expected today for good:
- Websites
- Email newsletters
- Print newsletters
- Blogs
- Event marketing
- Media/blogger relations
Bonus: The nonprofit webinar includes the following materials in the DIY Nonprofit Communications Audit Kit:
- Step-by-step instructions on what materials to gather
- Scoring sheets and rating scales to help you evaluate your communications as a whole
- Ranking worksheets to help you compare your specific communications against best practices and pinpoint areas for improvement
- Suggestions for what to do next based on the results of your DIY Communications Audit
Writing Short: How to Write Subject Lines, Tweets, Headlines, Facebook Updates and More
Next presentations: 7/9
It’s said that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the article. Headlines, email subject lines, and social media updates are more important than ever, because it’s this short content – often called microcontent – that people actually read.
You don’t have much space to work with. And writing really good microcontent is hard! So hard in fact, that some professional writers will draft 25 versions of a headline for an article before they pick the one they’ll use. Other writers will spend 20% of their writing time on the body of the article and 80% of their time getting the headlines and subheadings right.
It’s time to learn how to write short, “sticky” content that grabs people and keeps them there long enough for them to open your email, read your newsletter article, or comment on your social media update.
In this webinar, you’ll learn:
• Best practices for writing headlines, email subject lines and social network updates
• How to write differently for these different spaces
• How to emphasize the personal value of your content in only a few words
• How to write visually so the reader has a clear image in mind.
Purchase Your All-Access Pass Now | Purchase One-Time Webinar Registration Directly from CharityHowTo.com
Writing Nonprofit Thank You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts
Next presentations: 7/30
Did you know that the quality of your thank-you letter can determine whether your donor gives again or not? Research proves that thank-you letters are incredibly important in turning a first-time donor into a life-long giver. Donors want much more than an acknowledgement and receipt. They want to know how you used the gift and that they are a genuine part of your success.
During this webinar, we'll look at several typical thank-you letters that just don't cut it (you've probably received ones like this yourself, and maybe even sent some like them!).
We'll look at ways to improve them so that they graciously thank the donor, while also taking the necessary steps to start a long-term relationship with that supporter. We'll look atgreat thank-you notes for a variety of situations that nonprofit staff encounter daily, from first and repeat donors to event and corporate sponsorships.
We'll also touch on when and how often to say "Thank you!" and other ways to show your gratitude to your supporters.
You'll leave with an understanding of what goes into a great thank-you letter and several outlines you can use in your work immediately.
Webinar Take-Aways
- Common problems with typical nonprofit thank-yous, like tired openings, vague program descriptions, and depressing language
- The five qualities of a good nonprofit thank you letter
- How to make your thank yous feel incredibly personal even if they are really mass produced
- Samples and examples you can use to revamp your thank yous
Email Newsletters: What Works for Nonprofits and What Doesn't
Next Presentations: 9/10, 9/24
According to the 2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report, nonprofit communicators spend more time on creating email newsletter articles than any other type of content. If you are going to invest that kind of time into something, why not do it right?
You can write an engaging, inspiring email newsletter that supports your programmatic, fundraising and/or advocacy goals, but it takes both strategic focus and tactical know-how to pull it off. During this webinar, you’ll get the practical advice you need to create a newsletter worthy of the time you are investing in it.
In this webinar, you’ll learn
- How to define the role of your e-newsletter in your broader communications strategy, including who should get what
- How to integrate your email newsletter with your social media and print marketing strategies
- How to create an e-newsletter editorial calendar that works –including how often to publish and how long it should be -- and how to tweak and refine it over time
- How to repurpose newsletter content across multiple communications channels so you get the most mileage out of your work
- What tactical mistakes to avoid, which best practices to embrace, and where you should experiment with your e-newsletter
- How to get better results from your email communications
Purchase Your All-Access Pass Now | Purchase One-Time Webinar Registration Directly from CharityHowTo.com
Taming Your Communications Calendar Six Months at a Time
Next Presentations: 10/8, 10/15
Do your website, newsletter, social media, PR and all the other communications you produce feel like a racing treadmill that’s wearing you out but taking you nowhere fast? You aren’t alone. Nonprofit communicators are now publishers and broadcasters – in other words, media moguls, but without the mogul budget and staff!
You might be wondering if it is possible to get a grip on your communications plan, so that you can catch your breath, while still effectively engaging your community and without missing out on anything big. The answer is, “Yes it is, if you are willing to make some decisions and work smart, six months at time.”
During this webinar, Kivi will preview a nonprofit content strategy and communications planning system that is the basis of her new book, “Content Marketing for Nonprofits: A Communications Path to Engaging Your Community, Becoming a Favorite Cause, and Raising More Money,” due out in August 2013.
At the heart of this approach is what Kivi calls “mapping and merging.” First you map out the big events and milestones on the horizon, followed by your major story arcs for the next six months. Then you layer on the specific topics you want to be known for, blending in the topics your program participants and supporters are most interested in too.
In This Webinar, You’ll Learn:
- How to create a multi-channel communications schedule you and your staff can handle
- How to develop a Big Picture Communications Timeline, a Core Topics List, and an Editorial Calendar – three documents that together make up your communications plan
- Kivi’s formula for how much to map out ahead of time and how much space to leave open on your calendar so you can merge in new or urgent ideas later
- How to blend what your nonprofit wants to say with what your supporters want to hear
- How to handle all the inevitable changes and distractions that come up and get in the way of your plans
Purchase Your All-Access Pass Now | Purchase One-Time Webinar Registration Directly from CharityHowTo.com
How to Communicate Like Their Favorite Nonprofit: Real & Relevant Messaging for Today
Next Presentation: 6/25, 7/2
How people feel about your nonprofit matters more than what they think about it. The angel in their hearts overrules the bookkeeper in their heads all the time – and yet many nonprofits center their communications on the bookkeeper, talking mostly about tax receipts, to-do lists, event logistics, and program statistics.
Instead, what if you focused on connecting with and engaging those inner angels to the point that you became their favorite nonprofit? Just imagine the good they could make possible for you and your cause.
We know that the favorite nonprofit wins: a recent study on nonprofit donor engagement found that donors gave two-thirds of their annual charitable donations to one favorite charity. Other donor research shows that the extent to which someone considers your nonprofit a favorite can determine how likely they are to support you in the future.
Learn how your nonprofit can be more relevant to your current and potential participants, supporters, and influencers by creating more powerful, inspiring, and yes, even fun, messaging.
Webinar Takeaways:
During this webinar, Kivi Leroux Miller of NonprofitMarketingGuide.com, will share with you:
- The Latest donor engagement research on what donors want from nonprofits and the value of becoming a “favorite” nonprofit
- The imperative need to transition from old style “interruption” marketing to new “attraction” or content marketing strategies
- How to make a promise to your “angels” and keeping it via regular communications with them
- How to talk about your work in ways that are much more relevant and valuable to your supporters using the Six R’s of Relevant Messaging: Being Rewarding, Realistic, Real Time, Responsive, Revealing, and Refreshing.
- Lots of examples of relevant nonprofit messaging that you can learn from and be inspired by
Purchase Your All-Access Pass Now | Purchase One-Time Webinar Registration Directly from CharityHowTo.com
