Helping You Do What You Do Best
The nonprofit ecosystem is vital to the health of Bainbridge Island. For every quality-of-life element on Bainbridge, a nonprofit organization is actively working to keep it strong and healthy: from north to south, the schools, environment, social safety net, cultural community, and everything in between — all are vital. Yet, many or most of these essential nonprofits remain vulnerable. Increased demand, limited funding, and other issues threaten their longtime existence. We believe that to address the challenges of our local nonprofit organizations, we must go deeper. We must understand the unique issues facing these organizations and help them find solutions. We work toward positive, concrete solutions four ways:
- Nonprofit Convening and Annual Survey: We convene nonprofit leaders to discuss the issues and trends they face and survey local nonprofits to gain a better understanding of the elements and diversity of work on Bainbridge. The survey and sector conversations that follow help inform grantmaking and training priorities in the year ahead.
- Community Grants Cycle: Every year, BCF staff and dozens of well-trained community volunteers review applications and conduct site visits with nonprofits to help provide support for specific programs, capital projects, as well as general operations of local nonprofit organizations.
- Capacity Building Grants: We help nonprofits secure seed funding for in-house training and professional development to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
- Workshops and Trainings: We host workshops and trainings for community leaders and volunteers to improve access to education and professional counsel. For a list of upcoming training programs, please scroll below.
- Community Resources: We make ourselves available to interested parties who wish to discuss community issues and the role that nonprofits and/or philanthropy can have in addressing those issues.
Free Upcoming Nonprofit Trainings
BCF strives to help nonprofit leaders develop and implement the best possible practices in carrying out their programs and advancing their missions. Our surveys of nonprofits on Bainbridge Island and throughout Kitsap County have identified these priority needs for ongoing education and training:
- Improving Marketing and Communication
- Building Quality, Efficiency and Depth of Programming
- Maintaining Effective Board Governance
- Developing Powerful Strategic Plans
- Securing Sufficient Resources
- Assuring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Each year, BCF offers a series of workshops and mini courses to meet these needs. Each of these sessions is free. In addition to presentations by skilled trainers/facilitators, they include responses and additional guidance from experienced local nonprofit program managers, and lively discussions by all participants.
BCF also hosts a quarterly roundtable to help nonprofit organizations to focus upon diversity, equity and inclusion. BCF has asked trainers and facilitators to integrate DEI practices into all mini-courses and workshops.
Tell Your Impact Story: Program Evaluation for Fundraisers
Thursday, September 25 from 10am - 12pm at Bainbridge Performing Arts
Brittany Kirk, founder and president of Cloudbreak Collective, will lead a workshop on telling your organization’s impact story in grants, donor communications, outreach, and more. Designed for board members, executive directors, program staff, grant writers, and marketing or fundraising professionals, this session will cover nonprofit program evaluation basics, how to apply them in fundraising, responding to grant “metrics” requests, and advocating for stronger evaluation systems to drive revenue growth—even in smaller organizations without formal impact tracking.
Register Here: Tell Your Impact Story: Program Evaluation for Fundraisers
Nonprofit Management Mini-Course
Thursdays, October 2, 9, 16 and 23 from 3 - 5pm at Bainbridge Community Foundation
David Harrison is an emeritus senior lecturer at the University of Washington’s Evans School and former chair of the Bainbridge Community Foundation and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. This four-session mini course is designed to help senior staff of nonprofits tackle the distinct and essential elements of nonprofit management. These include determining and maintaining strategic direction, securing and managing resources, and recruiting and deploying staff and volunteers.
Register Here: Nonprofit Management Mini-Course
Succession Planning for Nonprofit Leaders
Thursday, November 13 from 10am - 12pm at Bainbridge Performing Arts
David Marzahl is a nonprofit consultant and executive coach headquartered on Bainbridge Island. His workshop will focus on how nonprofit executives and board leaders can prepare for inevitable succession in their leadership ranks. Focusing on the practical side of succession, while providing insights into establishing a transition-ready organizational culture, the workshop will help organizations establish a shared framework and practices for effectively managing leadership change.
Register Here: Succession Planning for Nonprofit Leaders
Financial Management for Nonprofit Board Members
Thursday, December 4 from 10am - 12pm at Bainbridge Performing Arts
David Harrison and BARN board chair Erin Thomasson are offering a workshop to close the gap between what nonprofit board members want and need to know about their organization’s financial management and their current knowledge and skills. These approaches start with understanding monthly reports but go way beyond that necessity. How do members identify financial problems before they worsen? What are the common ways that organizations get into financial trouble? What are the core ingredients of effective financial management?
Register Here: Financial Management for Nonprofit Board Members
