National Public Lands Day | APPL Conference Webinar

Public Lands Program

Power of Friends Network: Webinar Series 2010

Announcement! The next webinar hosted by NPLD and APPL, Providing Authentic Programs and Experiences through Partnerships, will be held on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 3pm EST.

This workshop explores ways to help people make personal connections to public lands through workshops, seminars, field experiences, community and school-based educational programs. Participants will learn how to identify and program for different audiences and age levels, market programs to captivate public interest, and develop resources for sustaining programs.

Previous Webinars

On Feb. 8, 2010, the National Environmental Education Foundation’s Public Lands Program and the Association of Partners for Public Lands (APPL) hosted a joint workshop, The Power of Friends: Building and Maintaining Partnerships that Work at the APPL Annual Partnership Convention in San Diego. The workshop was led by Robb Hampton, director of National Public Lands Day at the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and Donna Asbury, executive director of APPL.

The 90-minute session was available to “friends of” groups and public land managers across the nation as a free webinar. The session covered information and discussed resources pertaining to the benefits of partnering including the types of services partners can provide in collaboration with public lands agencies. This is the first of a series of free webinars on topics such as nonprofit governance, fundraising and partnerships meant to strengthen and enhance the capacity of public lands “friends of” groups across the country.

We would like to thank Cisco Webex for providing the technology to us to bring you these capacity building webinars.

If you missed the webinar on Feb. 8, you may still view the full webinar online.

Agenda
The Power of Friends: Presentation, Robb Hampton, director, Public Lands Program, NEEF
Partnerships the Work: Presentation, Donna Asbury, executive director, APPL
The Power of Friends: Presentation, Curt Bucholtz, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Nature Association, APPL Training Corps

We apologize for the audio quality for the first 14 minutes of the webinar. You may want to skip through this first section as it is difficult to hear the speakers. We will work to improve the audio quality of future webinars.

Below are resources on different topics discussed during the webinar, including partnerships, strategic planning, fundraising feasibility studies, evaluation tools and hiring a consultant. More resources and information will be coming soon!

General Resources

Four Stages and Four Challenges of Organizational Development
Institute for Conservation Leadership

Leadership Development
Institute for Conservation Leadership
Ten tips for developing members into volunteers and leaders within your organization.

Managing in Hard Times
Institute for Conservation Leadership
This publication provides best practices and tools for managers of environmental and conservation nonprofits in our challenging economic times. Learn how to track your finances, recognize danger signals, assess your options, and make tough decisions fairly with the best interests of the organization in mind.

Program Management – Related Library Topics
Free Management Library

Program and Project Management
Free Management Library
This includes information about designing a feasibility study for a new program or venture.

This publication shares four success stories illustrating different forms of partnerships. The monograph covers five options for strategic restructuring (merger, joint venture, parent-subsidiary structuring, management services organization, and fiscal sponsorship), plus offers pointers and resources for groups exploring partnership possibilities.

Working Together: A Toolkit for Cooperative Efforts, Networks and Coalitions
Institute for Conservation Leadership, Cost: $35.00

This toolkit is for leaders and activists who want to better accomplish environmental and social change goals by combining forces with multiple organizations. It shares useful ideas, models, and practices gleaned from over 15 years of ICL consulting with, coaching, and training thousands of leaders and organizations; nearly all were cooperating in some way with other groups.

Evaluations

Meaningful Evaluations
Ginger Hinchliff, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Designing Your Program Evaluation Plans
Free Management Library

Basic Guide to Program Evaluation
Free Management Library

Basic Guide to Outcomes-Based Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations with Very Limited Resources
Free Management Library

Hiring Consultants

All About Using Consultants
Free Management Library

Consultants—Getting Consultants
Free Management Library

Upcoming Webinars, Conferences and Workshops

Information coming soon!

Links

Institute for Conservation Leadership

The Institute for Conservation Leadership (ICL) empowers leaders with training and builds volunteer institutions that protect and conserve the Earth's environment. They do this by helping leaders lead better, by building connections between groups with similar goals, and by supporting groups' progress with fundraising, board development, and other activities.

Free Management Library

The Free Management Library is a free community resource for nonprofit and for-profit organizations; and is contributed to by users and readers. The library is designed to be as user friendly as possible, with a focus on providing online management resources to organizations. Visitors to this well-organized Web site can conduct a category search of free, self-directed management courses in topics such as communications, finances, fundraising, program management, program evaluation, strategic planning, and consultants.

InnoNet

InnoNet (Innovation Network, Inc.) is dedicated to building evaluation and learning skills, knowledge, and processes within public and nonprofit organizations through the use of participatory evaluation. The Web site provides a free, innovative Workstation tool to guide nonprofits and public agencies through a planning and evaluation process, resulting in a blueprint for designing, evaluating, and implementing a successful program, with a corresponding work plan. InnoNet also provides information on its consulting services and workshops and provides a wealth of evaluation resources in its Resource Center. The InnoNetworking section connects you to a message board, discussion group, news, and an opportunity to signup for e-mail updates.

Foundation Center

The Foundation Center is a national nonprofit service organization recognized as the nation’s leading authority on organized philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. Its audiences include grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants; issues a wide variety of print, electronic, and online information resources; conducts and publishes research on trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice; and offers an array of free and affordable educational programs. Every day thousands of people gain access to valuable resources through the Center’s web site and in its five regional library/learning centers and national network of more than 400 funding information centers at libraries, nonprofit resource centers, and organizations in every state. The Center’s online subscription database, Foundation Directory Online, provides detailed information about more than 95,000 U.S. foundations and corporate donors and 1.7 million grants. It can be used free of charge on site at all Center locations and Cooperating Collections.

Environmental Support Center

The Environmental Support Center’s mission is to help grassroots environmental groups sustain their advocacy over time. They believe that the key to long-term and lasting change is building robust, locally based organizations with strong organizational capabilities and leadership skills. The center’s programs have helped over 2,700 organizations from every part of the country. Each year they help over 200 environmental groups, from small, all-volunteer, single-issue groups to large, fully staffed organizations. They provide groups with low-interest loans, money to pay for training and consulting, and technology assessments and equipment.

Upcoming Webinars

Spring 2010

As part of The Public Lands Program, The National Environmental Education Foundation is providing online training resources, as well as networking opportunities and small grants to increase the capacity of friends groups to work more effectively with public land managers and engage community volunteers.

More information will be coming soon about these upcoming webinars:

Providing Authentic Programs and Experiences through Partnerships: April 1, 2010
Nonprofit Governance
Fundraising and Friend Raising