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Nonprofit Technology Consulting Skills (Basic Seminar Facts)            

 

Faculty | Location & Price | Date & Times | Technical Requirements

Our seminars are intended for the professional staff of nonprofit organizations, specifically those working in communication, fundraising, or technology. Our packages tend to be tightly focused on a particular professional field and our seminars deliver lessons that can be immediately applied within a particular professional's field of authority.
 

Basic Content Info:

The field of nonprofit technology consulting has grown and evolved enormously in the last few years. One of the essential tensions in the field is the sense that technology consultants, in order to do their job responsibly, have to become communication and management consultants as well. As nonprofits get more sophisticated and the technology develops to address mission critical needs, this tension is only getting worse. These seminars will address that tension head on, by identifying appropriate roles in the consulting process and by helping technology consultants ground their work in the communication needs of the organizations they serve.

Session 1: Communication Centered Technology Planning: The seeds of success and failure of a nonprofit technology project are planted during the planning process. Although more and more wise consultants are insisting on planning, most of the time this planning, however well intentioned, is deeply flawed. But the flaws may never fully come to light, so it's easy to just keep repeating the same mistakes, because they come so naturally.

Session 2: Responsible and Successful Promotion of Technology Projects: One of the biggest frustrations facing technology consultants is resistance. Sometimes resistance emerges early on and sometimes it only emerges late in the process of implementation. Sometimes the resistance comes from the top and sometimes from the front lines. Sometimes it is active and clear and sometimes it is altogether passive aggressive. Regardless of the pattern, it's frustrating for advocates, planners, and implementors.

Session 3: Common Flaws of Nonprofit Technology Projects: Nonprofit technologists face a lot of failure, at least if we measure by some of their more ambitious hopes and promises. Some of these failures are inevitable, because we are still in an experimental phase of the development of our field. But some are clearly due to flaws in the projects themselves, and these can be prevented or mitigated.

Get more Detailed session information here.

Faculty:

Michael Gilbert

Michael C. Gilbert

These seminars will be taught by Michael C. Gilbert, the author of Communication Centered Technology Planning, the only book of its kind for this profession. He was the Founding President of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, the professional association for nonprofit technology consultants and staff. He is the Editor of Nonprofit Online News, the longest running online newsletter covering civil society and the Internet. For more information about Mr. Gilbert, please see his bio.
 

Date & Time

Location & Price

This is an open registration series, which means that anyone can attend. Sessions will be held online. The price is $219.00 per person, for both sessions. There is a $15 fee for each additional person watching at the same computer.

 

Additional Resources

To help support your implementation of what you learn.

One on One Phone Consultations with Michael Gilbert

Michael Gilbert has a proven track record of helping individuals and organizations move the ideas he has taught in a seminar from concept to implementation during one on one consultations afterwards. He will answer any questions you have regarding the seminar materials, of course. But more importantly, you'll have access to the discipline and focus that comes from his twenty years of experience. He can help you develop a plan and get it started. One call or many, it all depends on how much help you need in your particular situation. Also, you may have additional people join the call on your end, if you like.

Location & Timing: Each call is 30 minutes in length and can be held over the phone, in person, or online via chat with audio and video. The timing is somewhat flexible. The first one should be scheduled within two weeks after the seminar.

Pricing: The price for one on one consulting is discounted by more than 50% if you buy it as part of a seminar package.

Length Regular Price Discounted Price
30 Mins $125 $59
60 Mins $250 $118
90 Mins $375 $177

Technical Requirements: This depends on how you decide to conduct the consultation. We will discuss this with you when we are scheduling it.
 

Publication

Communication Centered Technology Planning, 2nd Edition., By Michael C. Gilbert, et al

Communication Centered Planning is the core of our work at The Gilbert Center. This 254 page book is a rich guide to that core. It's divided into four sections: Strategy and Leadership; Cooperation, Integration, and Listening; Weblogs, Email, and Other Tools; and a large section of Annotated Resources. In every section, we've worked to provide a mix of vision, practical methods, and quick tools. The book can be read from front to back, but is intended for the busy professional who will want to keep the book on hand for inspiration and support. (Read More Here)

 

Technical Requirements for Seminar

You are responsible for making sure that you can meet these requirements before you register to attend one of our online seminars. Please feel free to Contact Us with any questions you might have.

The seminar will be broadcast to you via Quicktime, and you will be able to send in questions to the instructor via AOL Instant Messenger. For this you will need:

 

 

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