Free workshops and webinars are available

Community Development Works, a program of The Rapides Foundation, is offering free skill-building training for Cenla residents and nonprofits. Workshops and webinars begin in September and include a variety of topics including fund development, evaluation, community engagement and grant writing.

All workshops and webinars are available free of charge. Webinars can be accessed from most devices using the GoToWebinar app. Workshops take place at The Rapides Foundation Building, 1101 Fourth St., Alexandria. Register at www.communitydevelopmentworks.org.

The trainings are geared toward nonprofit staff, board members, volunteers, and people interested in starting a nonprofit, said Akeshia Singleton, a Foundation program officer with responsibility for CDW’s programs. Fall trainings are presented within four topic areas: Start-up Series for Nonprofits; Grant Writing Series; Evaluation Series; and Community Engagement Series. 

Participants are not required to attend all of the training courses in a series. Individuals can customize their learning by choosing the topics that interest them.

Workshop and webinar topics include:

• Start-up Series for Nonprofits: To Be or Not To Be a 501(c)(3); Introduction to Finding Funders; Conducting a Needs Assessment. 

• Grant Writing Series: Basic Grant Writing; Advanced Grant Writing. 

• Evaluation Series: Building Better Programs for your Nonprofit; Using Logic Models to Plan your Evaluations; Show Me the Data: Measuring Outcomes. 

• Community Engagement Series: Avoiding Conflicts of Interests; Collective Impact Approaches for Problem Solutions; Nonprofit Advocacy. 

To register or for a complete list of training offerings, call Community Development Works at 318-443-7880, toll-free at 800-803-8075, or visit www.communitydevelopmentworks.org.