ASRSD - Community Education Summit

Workshops

Volunteer Recruitment and Retention

Most schools and organizations depend on groups of volunteers for everything from planning events to shelving books. Sometimes volunteers find themselves struggling to find enough people to step up and share in this important work. Even when people do step up, it can be hard to keep them actively engaged. In this workshop, we will take a step‐by‐step look at best practices in working with volunteers including strategies for recruitment, retention, and recognition. We will also talk about planning for smooth transitions in volunteer leadership, whether those transitions are expected or unexpected.

Speaker: Faith Salter

Faith Salter is the Director of Volunteer Relations for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). As the country's oldest conservation, recreation, and education organization, AMC depends on a community of dedicated volunteers to perform organizational tasks as varied as leading outdoor activities for groups, managing accounts, developing web content, and training other volunteers. Since joining the AMC staff in 2001, Faith has worked to improve and develop a strong partnership between and among staff and volunteers on common goals and projects. Her efforts have involved training, troubleshooting, goal setting, and project management, balancing the passions and talents of both volunteers and paid staff in support of a common mission. Faith has a B.A. from Hamilton College, a Master’s in Education (Community and Agency) from Boston University and recently completed a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership through INML, Boston University.

Social Media Tips and Tricks

Setting up shop and collecting "Likes," "Friends" or "Followers" will not necessarily result in donors and supporters. In this workshop, you will learn how to extend your reach on the two biggest networks, Facebook and Twitter. Explore how to find and engage like-minded peers, supporters & partners. We will also look at the power of cross posting and the use of hashtags.

Speaker: Greg Jarboe

Greg Jarboe is the president and co-founder of SEO-PR, which provides Internet marketing services, including: search engine optimization, online public relations, social media marketing, and online video marketing. Jarboe is the author of YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day and is profiled in Michael Miller’s Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus. Jarboe is a member of the faculty at Market Motive, and for several Rutgers Mini-MBA programs. He is also a correspondent for Search Engine Watch and a frequent speaker at the SES Conference & Expo series.

Effective Grant Writing

Learn the art of proposal writing---from the executive summary to the conclusion and packaging of the proposal. This interactive workshop, designed for beginning proposal writers, will teach you how to apply for funding opportunities. Each component of the grant writing process will be addressed, including: documenting the need; writing measurable objectives; and developing an evaluation plan. We will explore examples of successfully funded projects. Participants will have the opportunity to brainstorm an idea for a project and draft a proposal outline.

Speaker: Michelle Eberle

Michelle Eberle is the Health Literacy and Community Engagement Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM NER). For the past 11 years, she served as a reviewer and consultant for NN/LM NER funded projects. She collaborated with NER staff to plan and write the NN/LM NER’s proposals for the 2006-2011, 2011-2016, and 2016-2021 contracts. She enjoys presenting on a variety of topics including proposal writing, National Library of Medicine resources, and health literacy. Michelle has a Master’s of Library and Information Science from Simmons College and is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals.

Fundraising

ASRSD is fortunate to host an active group of parent and community volunteers giving both time and resources to provide for our students. With many groups organizing multiple fundraising efforts throughout the year, this workshop will be a roundtable discussion on best practices, tips/tricks for fundraising success, and a sounding board for brainstorming new ideas and possible collaborations.

Speaker: Maureen Kilcommins

Maureen Kilcommins is the director of research & consulting at The Helen Brown Group which provides fundraising intelligence to charitable organizations. She has been working in the non-profit world for over twenty years starting in the annual giving program at Harvard Law School. Maureen continued her career as director of annual giving at UC Santa Cruz before making the switch from front-line fundraising to serve as director of prospect research at Bentley University. Since 2001, she has served as the US administrator for the North American Foundation for the University of Manchester. Maureen is also the president of the Ayer Shirley Education Foundation.