Meet the Experts: Michael A. Sand, Program Planning and Development

This week, we round out our Content Expert intros with one of our Program Planning & Development Experts, Michael A. Sand.

 

Michael founded Sand Associates, a national management consulting firm, in 1979. The firm is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and provides consulting and training for nonprofit organizations. Mr. Sand has led more than one thousand workshops for nonprofit groups in areas such as grant writing, fundraising, strategic planning, board development and supervision. Mr. Sand is the author of “How to Manage an Effective Religious Organization” (Career Press 2011), “The Essential Nonprofit Fundraising Handbook” (Career Press 2009), and “How to Manage an Effective Nonprofit Organization” (Career Press 2005). He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University. 

Registerfor Michael's FREE 90-minute teleconference, "Planning for ProgramPlanning," on Thursday, November 29, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST.

Meet the Experts: Deborah Spector, Marketing and Communications

Deborah Spector is president of Creative Solutions & Innovations, an independent consulting firm that specializes in empowering nonprofits, with a heavy emphasis on marketing readiness, communication planning and event management.  Deborah served as president of the Georgia Chapter of Women in Communications and on the national board; co-founded the Nonprofit Special Interest Group (SIG) for Public Relations Society of America’s Georgia Chapter; and worked as project manager for AMA’s Nonprofit SIG. Her community service includes chairing the DeKalb County Community Relations Commission; marketing and logistics chair of the yearly Eizenstat Memorial Lecture, featuring Nobel Prize Winners, US Presidents and other national and international notables; and vice-chair of the Professional Association and Event Managers, Inc. (PAEMI) Board, Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO).  Deborah holds an ABD in Cultural Criticism from Emory University’s Institute of Liberal Arts, an M.ED in counseling and psychological services, and an AB with distinction in psychology and philosophy from Georgia State University. Spector continues her growth through extensive professional education including Mediation Certification, Best Practices in Event Management Certification and Strategic Restructuring for Training Consultants.

Meet Deborah, and our other Experts, in the Affinity Groups at the new NPO Connect! To celebrate our launch, we're giving all members a FREE 60-day trial Premium Membership. Simply sign up for free and enjoy the new features for two months, with no obligation.  Check it out!

Free Webinar: Fundraise Like a Genius

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On Thursday, November 8, 2012, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., we'll be presenting our first webinar, "Fundraise Like a Genius" with Linda Lysakowski. Even better: to celebrate our launch, this 90-minute webinar is free to all NPO Connect members. (What's that? You haven't signed up for a free membership yet? Go ahead and do that now - we'll wait.)

In this engaging webinar, Lysakowski, author of the book Fundraise Like a Genius, will show both novice and veteran fundraisers how to become a fundraising superstar. You'll learn to develop an integrated fundraising program that wisely uses both human and financial resources.

Register now for the opportunity to spend 90 minutes learning from one of the nation's leading fundraising experts. See you November 8th!

Meet the Content Experts: Tina Mosetis, Marketing and Communications

Tina Mosetis is an expert marketing and public relations specialist with over twenty-five years of experience in the communications field. Prior to establishing her own firm, she served as Assistant Operations Manager for WLIW-TV and as Director of Communications and Government Affairs for the American Cancer Society in New York City where she received yearly awards for her outstanding media campaigns. Tina has served as a corporate spokesperson, and represented a vast array of commercial and non-profit agencies. She has helped launch non-profit agencies, develop their brand and execute high-profile communications campaigns. She has been an instructor at New York Institute of Technology and is a frequent media lecturer at universities, public relations seminars and educational forums. Tina has received American Women in Radio and Television’s NYC Pinnacle award for public relations and several Telly awards for her advertising campaigns.

Welcome, Tina! Meet her, and other top-notch Content Experts, at the new NPO Connect.

The New NPO Connect: What's Different?

So, we’ve been talking for months about all the exciting changes at the new NPO Connect. Now that those changes are live and you can experience them for yourself, let’s look at what you can expect from the new NPO Connect experience.

NPO Connect was founded in 2009 with one aim – to help strengthen the nonprofit sector by facilitating mentor-mentee relationships. The bulk of user activity on the original site took place offsite, in the context of a coaching relationship. 

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The new NPO Connect has kept, and builds on, this basic service, while adding a completely new component: on-site learning, discussion and knowledge sharing – all headed up by Content Experts in various aspects of nonprofit management. And it’s now designed to appeal to a national audience!

Now, when you sign up at NPO Connect, you’ll start as a Basic Member, which still offers access to our no-cost skills matching service, though the terminology has changed: Mentors and Mentees have become Skill Coaches and Skill Builders. (Remember: you don’t have to be the greatest expert in your field in order to have helpful knowledge to share!) New features for Basic Members include the ability to purchase webinars and blocks of consulting time with our Content Experts (at non-discounted prices).

Our Premium Memberships are the most exciting part of the new NPO Connect experience. Sign up for an Individual Membership, or get all of your organization’s staff and/or volunteers connected with an Organization Membership. For an affordable yearly fee, these offer:

• Membership in our Expert-led Affinity Group forums, with engaging and insightful discussion
• Access to our library of downloadable articles from our Content Experts
• Considerable discounts on educational webinars and blocks of consulting time
• Organizations: sliding-scale membership fee is based on the number of staff/volunteers you would like to enroll

We’re starting with our three most-requested Professional Development tracks:  Fundraising, Marketing/Communications, and Program Planning & Development. More tracks will be added as we head into 2013. Also in the works: in-person networking events in select cities!

Right now, we’re offering a FREE 30-day trial of our Premium Individual Memberships. Visit npoconnect.org today, create a free account, and sign up for a trial!  Enjoy exclusive content, discussion and networking opportunities, at no cost to you for 30 days. Please email us at info [at] npoconnect.org with any questions or comments.

Meet the Content Experts: Linda Lysakowski, Fundraising

Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, one of NPO Connect 2.0's Fundraising Experts, is President of Linda Lysakowski, LLC. She is one of fewer than one hundred professionals worldwide to hold the Advanced Certified Fund Raising Executive designation. In her twenty years as a philanthropic consultant, she has managed capital campaigns; helped dozens of nonprofit organizations achieve their development goals; and has trained more than 22,000 professionals in Mexico, Canada, Egypt and most of the fifty United States, in all aspects of development.

Linda is a graduate of Alvernia College in Reading, PA with majors in Banking and Finance, Communications, and Theology/Philosophy. She is a graduate of AFP’s Faculty Training Academy and has received two AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) research grants.  She is also a prolific writer and is currently working on several more books. 

Linda has received the Outstanding Fundraising Executive award from both the Eastern PA and the Las Vegas chapters of AFP and in 2006, was recognized internationally with the Barbara Marion Award for Outstanding Service to AFP.  Linda is also a graduate of the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Program, Diocese of Las Vegas. We're looking forward to sharing Linda's expertise with our Individual and Organizational members at NPO Connect, beginning with our re-launch on Monday, October 22!

Keeping Up With the Content Experts

Here's some exciting news from two of NPO Connect's Marketing and Communications Experts, Tina Mosetis and Charlotte Tomic:

Twilight’s Marlane Barnes Becomes  National Spokesperson for Spay First!

Marlane Barnes, who portrays “Maggie” in the final installment of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, has taken on the role of National spokesperson for the non-profit organization, Spay First, which is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of spaying/neutering their animals. 

Over 7 million animals enter shelters each year in the U.S. and the majority of these dogs and cats are killed. Marlane says she “hopes to inform the public about the crisis of pet overpopulation and encourage everyone to support the establishment of low-cost spay neuter clinics in underserved communities.”

The U.S. spends approximately 2 Billion dollars of public funds on animal control which includes the collection, housing, euthanizing and disposing of animals in landfills or via incineration but less than ten percent of those dollars are spent on spay/neuter programs. 

Ruth Steinberger, Founder of Spay First notes, “We are thrilled to have Marlane on board as a National Spokesperson, she will greatly help our organization reach communities throughout the nation with the word that spaying and neutering our animals is the simple solution to pet overpopulation.”

Marlane’s character in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is a member of the new Irish Coven being introduced into the film which will arrive in theatres on November 16, 2012.

For more information about Spay First visit: SpayFirst.org