Fundamental Nonprofit Management Workshops in Partnership with Hartford Public Library

Is Your Organization Grant Ready?
📅 Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026
🕒 Time:12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
🔗 Please click this link to Register
Presenters: Michelle A. Stawder, MPA
Founder & CEO, Renaissance Consulting

Description: You’re moving full steam ahead with programming but need funding to keep it going, so let’s write a grant! PAUSE! Did you assess whether you have the successful internal systems needed to compete for and manage funding?

This foundational workshop helps participants assess whether their organization is truly positioned to pursue grants and where critical gaps may exist.

During this interactive session, participants will be guided through a Grant Readiness Assessment Tool, which evaluates organizational strength across key areas funders look for.

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Understand the five core pillars of grant readiness
• Identify organizational strengths and areas for improvement
• Recognize common barriers to funding success
• Develop a prioritized readiness improvement plan
• Gain clarity on what funders expect before awarding grant

A Nonprofit Operations Self-Assessment Workshop
📅 Date: Thursday, October 13, 2026
🕒 Time:12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
🔗 Please click this link to Register
Presenter: Hugo Castro
Founder, Flourish Collective

Description: Most nonprofit operations don’t break loudly. They erode quietly, until the one person who knew how a system worked moves on, or a tool everyone relied on stops working. By then you’re reacting instead of planning.

This 90-minute working session gives you a way to see the whole picture before that happens. Together we’ll walk through the core areas an operations assessment covers, from people and process to technology, finance, and risk. But you won’t just listen. You’ll rate your own organization in each area as we go, using a self-assessment tool you’ll keep and can re-run anytime.

Expect to participate. We’ll use polls, chat discussion, and live self-scoring to keep things moving and make the time yours, not a slideshow you watch.

You’ll leave with a completed self-assessment and a clear answer to one question every overstretched team needs: where should we focus first?

Built for the people who run operations without the title, the budget, or the playbook. Bring your real situation. You’ll walk away with a tool you can actually use.

Storytelling Learning Lab: Building a Winning Brand for your Organization – June 2026
PP Slides
Handouts
Presenters: Mercy Quaye and Michelle Garcia from The Narrative Project

Description: Authentic stories that are true to your brand are more important than ever, but knowing how to execute them can be a challenge. This interactive workshop is designed to help nonprofits and mission-driven teams sharpen their messaging, connect and maintain relationships with their audiences, and build a brand that inspires action.

Participants will learn how to identify their organization’s core narrative, elevate community voices, and translate complex issues into compelling, accessible stories across platforms.  Through hand-on exercises and real-world examples, you’ll walk aways with practical tools to strengthen your band identity, engage supporters, and drive meaningful impact.

How Nonprofits Can Strengthen Their Governance and Operations During a Time of Uncertainty -May 2026
Session Recording, PP Slides
Presenters: Sara Taylor, Senior Staff Attorney, Pro Bono Partnership, Inc. & Jen Fournier, Owner & Principal Consultant, Racebrook Consulting, LLC
Description: During this webinar, we will briefly review the current political landscape and its effect on nonprofits. We will focus on what nonprofits can proactively do to build strength in the face of these external pressures, with an emphasis on board governance and human resources and operations. Topics will include: the basics of board compliance including proper financial oversight; employment law compliance including personnel matters; and issues to consider when planning for an uncertain future. We will have time for questions!

Intro to Data: Build Your Data Literacy – April 2026
Session Recording, PP Slides
Presenter: Jackie Vancour, Data Specialist
Handout
Workbook
Description: Data literacy is essential for making informed decisions. This workshop has been designed to help you build your confidence in working with data by breaking down need-to-know concepts, challenging common assumptions, and giving an overview of the entire data life cycle. Whether you are new to data or looking to strengthen your skills, this session will provide the framework and strategies you need for your data work.

Introduction to Nonprofit Budgeting – January 2026
Session Recording, PP Slides
Presenter: Jen Hockenhull
Handout
Budgeting Worksheet
Description: Nonprofit Leaders and staff know their vision and mission inside and out. But when it comes to budgeting, there are often many questions from “Where do I begin” to “How do I determine the numbers to use?” You aren’t alone!  Join us as we discuss the budget process from start to finish, and what to do with the budget process from start to finish, and what to do with the budget once it is complete.

Are you trying to search for grants?  You can access Candid’s Foundation Directory Online at Hartford Public Library locations either on a library computer or using the library’s wi-fi. This resource provides in-depth profiles for organizations that supply grants and can be used to determine which funders to contact. For a brief introduction, watch this video.

Are you looking for information about a nonprofit?  GuideStar can also be used at Hartford Public Libraries.  Look up a nonprofit to access extensive data about the organization that can hep you decide what nonprofits to support, send job applications to, etc.  For a brief introduction, watch this video.

Are you in need of building your nonprofit schools from home?  You can access the free training you need on your own time through on the Candid Training Website.

Library staff is available for questions via e-mail at contatus@hplct.org or by calling 860-695-6300.