Scroll down to see all our upcoming learning opportunities.
Have questions or suggestions for a class topic? Click here to send us a message and we’ll get it on the calendar!
April 23 – 27, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

The Grant Writing Certificate Program provides an intensive opportunity to acquire the knowledge and practice the skills necessary to succeed in today’s competitive grant writing environment. Instructor Jack Smith is an accomplished grant writer with an easygoing style who packs each day with a vast amount of content and expertise. In addition, you’ll receive an extensive package of materials to use both during the week and for future grant writing projects. The Grant Writing Certificate Program is a hands-on workshop, not just a series of lectures. Class size is intentionally small in order to provide personalized attention while you build a real, usable work product. This certificate program is composed of four sessions held over five days for a total of 30 contact hours (3.0 CEUs):
Click the button below for full course description.
May 1, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

This workshop, designed for management, board or committee members of nonprofit organizations, discusses the need for clear and concise policies and procedures for your organization and provides an easy formula for creating them.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to identify:
- Why your organization needs policies and procedures
- Which areas of activity should be addressed in your policies and procedures
- The components of clear and concise policy and procedure document
- How to write your policies and procedures
May 2, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

This workshop, designed for management, board or committee members of nonprofit organizations, discusses the need for clear and concise policies and procedures for your organization and provides an easy formula for creating them.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to identify:
- Why your organization needs policies and procedures
- Which areas of activity should be addressed in your policies and procedures
- The components of clear and concise policy and procedure document
- How to write your policies and procedures
May 8, 2018 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Most business owners find themselves intimidated by contracts and the contracting process. The truth is that contracts don’t need to be confusing or time-consuming. After all, contracts are all about relationships and communication. Jennifer is a self-professed contract nerd and loves to teach entrepreneurs how they can empower themselves to be in the driver’s seat of their business relationships.
May 9, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

This workshop, designed for management, board or committee members of nonprofit organizations, outlines the components of a practical and usable Organizational Plan, and the steps to devising a Plan for your nonprofit organization.
What you’ll get from the workshop:
- The Organizational Plan: why it’s different from your Strategic Plan and why you need one
- Who should be involved in creating your Plan
- What information you need to gather to inform your Plan
- Outline of all the elements of the Plan, and
- How to create your Plan!
May 10, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

As volunteer leaders, board members play an important role in the success of the organization. Boards have significant legal and ethical responsibilities to their constituents, staff, and communities. Strong, knowledgeable boards help the organization gain credibility, provide important access to the community, and serve as effective advocates.
This workshop will introduce board members to the fundamentals of effective governance by defining the basic roles and responsibilities of the board and examining strategies for building effective boards.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain a clear understanding of the roles of responsibilities of nonprofit boards
- Clarify and articulate expectations for board member engagement
- Structure the board’s work to better leverage the board’s unique value
- Evaluate specific needs and action steps for better performance
May 11, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

In Stephen R. Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he introduces the idea of the need to shift our paradigm to achieve success along with embracing key principles of effectiveness. The very first habit to master to move from dependency to independence is to be proactive. When we are reactive, we are allowing others to take our power to choose and we keep ourselves dependent on others. We are not able to progress or achieve what we really want to achieve due to our tendency to stay locked into that reactive mode.
In this session participants will:
- Recognize the dangers of staying reactive
- Discuss toxicity reactive thinking creates in organizations
- Understand the impact it has on us and others
- Be equipped with very simple tools to eliminate this unhealthy practices, understand and embrace the power of being proactive, and feel empowered to make this critical shift from reactive to proactive in every aspect of their lives, personally and professionally.
May 22, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Gregg S Bossen, CPA of QuickBooks Made Easy is now offering his two part QuickBooks® training seminar for Nonprofits in Austin, TX.
Part 1- The Essentials: 9:00 A.M.-1:00 PM
Part 2-Beyond the Essentials: 1:30 PM-4:30 PM
Click the button below for full course description.
June 1, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

In this session, participants will identify their top 5 core values and written a value statements for each. This critical step can easily be forgotten. Value statement provide a clear and concise picture of what the value means to the individual. Through interactive exercises, participants will then be equipped to leverage what they’ve learned to understand others’ core values to build successful relationships and interactions with others.
Click the button below for full course description.
June 5, 2018 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

This is an introduction course on what search engines are looking for, how to provide them with information and how to track traffic on your site.
To cover:
- What is the purpose of your website?
- Google Analytics Setup
- Page Titles
- Meta Descriptions
- Using Analytics to find out about site traffic
Facilitated by: Robin Mannas, Founder of Firebrothers Inc
June 7 & 8, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Whenever you’re not getting the results you’re looking for, it’s likely a crucial conversation is keeping you stuck. Whether it’s a problem with poor quality, declining organizational support, or a strained relationship—whatever the issue—if you can’t talk honestly with nearly anybody about almost anything, you can expect poor results.
Click the button below for full course description.
June 13, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Certain challenges are inherent as board and staff work together to build strong and productive relationships. Boards work best when they focus on setting policy and strategy, not on administration.
This workshop provides guidance on how to distinguish between shaping policy and hands-on management. It will help executive directors and board members clarify the board’s role and strengthen its capacity to govern.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the roles of the board and the staff, and the factors that influence the relationships between the executive and the board
- Gain insights about how to cultivate an effective board/staff partnership to advance your organization’s mission
- Discuss, clarify and support realistic expectations for your board and staff to creative a more cohesive and effective working partnership
- Have a strong foundation for positive organizational culture by cultivating greater capacity for open and honest communication between the executive and the board of directors
June 19, 2018 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

This course covers what to do after your set up the basics and how to climb the ranking towards the coveted first place ranking.
To cover:
- Keyword research
- Google Search Console
- Content Creation
Facilitated by: Robin Mannas, Founder of Firebrothers Inc
July 10, 2018 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

This course covers what Google Ad Grants is, how to set it up and campaign creation. More in depth AdWords courses will be offered separately.
To cover:
- Signing up for AdGrants
- Setting up AdWords linking
- Creating your first Ads
Facilitated by: Robin Mannas, Founder of Firebrothers Inc
September 17 – 21, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

The Grant Writing Certificate Program provides an intensive opportunity to acquire the knowledge and practice the skills necessary to succeed in today’s competitive grant writing environment. Instructor Jack Smith is an accomplished grant writer with an easygoing style who packs each day with a vast amount of content and expertise. In addition, you’ll receive an extensive package of materials to use both during the week and for future grant writing projects. The Grant Writing Certificate Program is a hands-on workshop, not just a series of lectures. Class size is intentionally small in order to provide personalized attention while you build a real, usable work product. This certificate program is composed of four sessions held over five days for a total of 30 contact hours (3.0 CEUs):
Click the button below for full course description.
Nov 14-15 & Dec 12-13, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Volunteers provide a unique human resource that can enhance an organization’s ability to achieve its mission, priorities, and goals. And, a well-managed volunteer program provides key building blocks that help ensure organizational sustainability.
Kathleen McCleskey and Wendy Biro-Pollard of Long and Short Associates have been collaborating with ACC’s Center for Nonprofit Studies for over a decade. During this time, they have conducted highly rated, four-day courses that provide managers of volunteer resources with state-of-the art, professional development training that is unique in the State of Texas.
Each class includes lecture, class discussion, opportunities for creative problem solving, networking, and useful resources including tools and checklists – all drawn from Kathleen and Wendy’s careers as practitioners and nationally recognized experts in the field of volunteer engagement.
This course will benefit anyone in the nonprofit, association, and governmental sector who seeks to learn how to build a successful volunteer program. Participants will discover the latest volunteer management trends, learn key steps in the volunteer management process and develop skills and techniques that are useful to any organizational leader.
Click the button below for full course description.