Professional development is important for any agency and any nonprofit employee. However, it often gets pushed to the side as organizations stretch their budgets to meet critical needs. The Pierce Family Foundation bridged this gap by providing free workshops and trainings to grantees on a variety of topics—usually suggested by grantees themselves. Workshops were held 2-4 times per year, were led by local experts in their fields, and covered such issues as:
- Ethical storytelling practices
- Mitigating bias in hiring
- Advanced grant writing
- Improving intergenerational workplaces
- Interpreting financial statements
- Developing a technology plan
- Making better use of social media
- Best practices in hiring and firing
- Program evaluation methods
“Just a quick note to let you know how much my staff and I enjoyed the workshop this morning. We learned a LOT too. Preparing for my Board meeting this afternoon, I have been going over the financials. I noted some things that were not clear to me or that I did not understand. After today’s workshop not only do I understand them better but I am going to suggest changes that will help everyone understand them better, including my Board members.”
“It is so encouraging to have a funder that works so hard to fill needs in a positive, uplifting, and pragmatic way. The workshop was one of the more productive I’ve been to, and on a topic I am always happy to have extra boosters/refreshers on.”
