The UNA Credential: It's About Credibility

Nonprofits provide an important vehicle individuals and organizations to work together to improve their communities. Advocacy and civic engagement are an essential element of this partnership. More than politics and grassroots organizing, advocacy is a central feature of a nonprofit’s responsibility to represent the interest of the people that they serve. Civic Engagement creates mutual accountability and benefit among organizations and their communities. Advocacy and civic engagement can focus on organizational policies and procedures, community awareness and collective action, and the legal and political landscapes. This badge focuses on strategies and tactics toward dismantling oppressive systems and building organizational capacity to support individual and community well-being

Here's what some participants shared about the course.

"This was a really great two-day seminar. I was surprised how in depth it was able to go without losing us all along the way. I took a ton of notes but also found myself writing down adjacent ways to use this information in our partner/sponsor development process too. I think this two days will prove incredibly strong return on investment for our organization."

Another shared, 

"Through this course I have been able to see where we have gaps in our advocacy efforts and have learned that structurally, we have many of these items already in place. I believe that we can definitely flesh out our Advocacy Plan and acknowledge that we should expend more energy on collaboration as a tool to make us stronger and lighten our load."

Successful completion of this course will guide you to:

• Develop an advocacy plan for your organization.
• Create a public narrative as a call to action.
• Identify potential intersections of your organizations’ mission with key policies, departments, committees and elected officials.
• Find out how to tap into Utah’s 150,000+ college students as part of their curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Your Part

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

Note: The UNA Credential program is for nonprofit organizations only.

In order to earn the UNA  Badge for Advocacy and Civic Engagement, the organization must submit the following items for review and approval:

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

Badge Requirement 1: Advocacy Plan

Document how your mission, vision and values articulate the change you are seeking to bring about and designate your focus on individual change theory (direct service impact), systems change theory (cumulative impact) or both. Effective plans include the following components. Wherever possible, this data should include demographic analysis including race, gender, income, educational attainment, etc.

1. Measuring change: Document or provide templates used to measure the impact your organization is having on the change it is seeking to bring about.
2. Communication channels: Document your organization’s use of diverse communication channels to amplify important messaging for the organization and advance advocacy efforts. Include a description of who is responsible for such messaging and how partnerships with communications sources are cultivated.
3. Stakeholder engagement: List or document local, state, and national policies, departments, committees, task forces, elected officials and stakeholders whose interests intersect with your organization’s mission. Document how relationships or interactions are developed and cultivated with these entities.

Badge Requirement 2: Public Narrative

Provide two to three samples of public narratives used by the organization and its advocates. Examples of content for public narratives include: why individual leaders/advocates are involved in the cause, why community members should care about the cause, what urgent challenges within the community require actions and how individuals can become involved.

Badge Requirement 3: Public Policy

Organizations are strongly encouraged to have public policy statements on the types of legislation and policy follow as well as the relationships between those policies and organizational priorities for social justice.

1. Policy change: Provide an example of a policy change the organization has brought about, is in the process of affecting, has plans to implement or is reacting to. How does your organization systematically track and follow potential policy changes that may impact your constituents?
2. Credibility: How is your organization establishing itself as a credible entity within social movement and by those most impacted by the issue? If your organization works with policy makers, explain how your organization is working to be deemed influential and credible by policymakers. Examples of this may include: presence and participation in key policy meetings, distribution of information on topics of which the organization is a subject matter expert, ability to gather a critical mass of individuals willing to testify, write to legislators, gather at the Hill, gain media attention and the like.
3. Influence: Define what success in influence and credibility looks like. Examples of this may include appointment to task force or committee, contact from policymakers prior to vote on bills affecting your population, regular meetings with policymakers, inclusion in drafting of policy proposals and the like Intersecting interests (regarding Advocacy). If your organization works with elected officials, list or document local, state, and national policies, departments, committees, task forces and elected officials that intersect with your organization’s mission. Document how relationships or interactions are developed and cultivated with these entities.

Badge Requirement 4: Reciprocal partnerships and coalition building

How does your organization partner with institutions, organizations, and those most impacted by the issues for mutual benefit? Reciprocity is more than a transactional exchange and should include participatory decision-making, power-sharing, and elevated influence. Documentation may include a copy of a contract, memorandum of understanding, other formalized document, coauthored grants or description of commitments for potential collaboration.

1. Educational partnerships: Higher education, K-12 school systems, and community education efforts offer opportunity to foster education and engagement around your issues of focus. Educational partnerships can also expand organizational capacity and inform decision-making processes through engaged research, direct service, internships and more.
2. Grassroots and community partnerships: Not all advocacy and civic engagement takes place through formal organizations. Grassroots and community partnerships should strive to break down barriers between and within communities and apply resources to foster people power. Organizations should strive to continually re-evaluate what it means to authentically engage with communities.
3. Organizational partnerships: Other organizations that can play a role in affecting the change your organization seeks should be brought to the table to identified common goals and share information. These organizations can include other nonprofits, government agencies, for profit entities, and more.

Subject Matter Expert: Jennifer Seelig

Jennifer Seelig has been involved in politics and public service for three decades at a policy-making and leadership level in both the private and public sectors for such entities as the City of Salt Lake, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, 1-800 CONTACTS, and for Utah State University. Jennifer was elected by District 23 residents in November of 2006 to the Utah House of Representatives. In 2012, her caucus colleagues elected her House Minority Leader - the first female in Utah’s history to serve in this role. She retired from elected office in 2015 in order to finish her PhD in Political Science -which was completed in the fall of 2018 from the University of Utah. Jennifer's research area of interest is in community based organizations and their capacity to empower people politically. She has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Utah and a BA in English from the University of Louisville.

Course Description and Learning Objectives

Board Governance is one of nine courses in the UNA Credential Program designed to provide you with the resources you need to make an even greater impact. Nonprofit boards govern by providing high-level vision and leadership to ensure sound stewardship of organizational assets and resources. This course, delivered with a focus on interactive exercises, will give you the knowledge and tools you need to improve the results and impact of your board. This course will show you how to:

• Create and support an active, engaged board
• Orient and provide ongoing training to board members on their roles and responsibilities
• Use your board to build public understanding and trust
• Ensure your bylaws and policies and procedures align with and inform how your organization's work is done
• Provide financial oversight and monitoring to the organization
• Set organizational goals and assess performance
• Successfully build a partnership between the board and the CEO (as applicable)

What’s Expected of You

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

BADGE REQUIREMENTS

In order to receive the UNA Board Governance Badge, the organization must submit the following items for review:

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

Board Orientation

Board Orientation document, packet, video or checklist of items given to new board members at the commencement of their service term.

Board Handbook

Table of Contents or checklist showing documents included in Board Handbook (or similar compilation of organizational documentation) including revision or version date.

Board Assessment

Template of board assessment tool used by the organization. Include a document noting how often the tool is administered to assess board performance and how results have been used to impact board effectiveness.

Board Training

Proof of ongoing board training; for example, a board training calendar, sample of recent board training, document outlining how board trainings occur in the organization or similar proof.

Organization Bylaws and Review

Copy of organization’s bylaws, including voting procedures, number of board members, terms of office, removal from office, how bylaws are revised, and description of officers and their duties. Document describing most recent review of bylaws, including who was involved in the review and when it occurred.

Policies and Procedures and Review

Policies and Procedures manual, including code of conduct, whistleblower policy, nondiscrimination policy, document retention and destruction policy, and conflict of interest policy. Also include date of most recent review of policies and procedures and who was involved in its review.

Planning/Goals

Document that the board has established concrete long- and short-term organizational goals and methods of assessing progress towards those goals. Examples of this may include a strategic plan, a list of organizational priorities, a matrix citing goals and deliverables, a performance dashboard or similar proof. Risk Management Plan—Document outlining how the board protects the organization from fraud, abuse and/or negligence. This may include reference to separation of duties, conflict of interest policy, check-signing policies, work of Executive Committee as oversight body or similar proof.

Reporting

Example of the organization’s programs- and activities-reporting tool, such as an annual report, including its revision or version date.

Fundraising Role

Document the board’s collective and individual fundraising role and how additional responsibilities are designated to staff (as applicable).

Financial Reports Verification

Document how the board independently verifies the accuracy of the financial reports it receives and ensures its financial mandates are carried out. Examples of this may include description of work by financial oversight committee or individual(s) appointed by the board, organizational audit, or similar proof.

Filings

Provide a checklist or calendar used by board to ensure the timely review and approval of state and federal filings prior to their submission.

Minutes

Sample of board minutes showing an emphasis on policymaking rather than administrative decision making by the board.

CEO Performance and Compensation

Template organization uses to evaluate the performance of the CEO/Executive Director, (as applicable) including revision or version date. Document that outlines the process by which the compensation rate of the CEO/Executive Director is evaluated, including whether compensation is aligned with performance targets, and how often evaluation occurs.

NOTE: The documentation on the requirements requesting explanation need not be lengthy. Clear, concise statements on how the organization meets the requirement listed are sufficient. In most cases, three or four sentences should suffice.

Course Description and Learning Objectives

Donors are increasing their scrutiny of nonprofit entities and requiring more accountability in return for their dollars. And with more nonprofits vying for the dollars available, it has never been more critical to have your nonprofit in legal and financial order. This course will guide help you:

• Ensure your organization meets its legal obligations and understand how to protect donor information, follow donor intent, and provide tax receipts to donors as applicable.
• Understand how to create the necessary documentation to show sound financial practices and timely reporting.
• Integrate best practices regarding technology, data collection and retention of personnel information.

What’s Expected of You

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

Note: The UNA Credential program is for nonprofit organizations only.

BADGE REQUIREMENTS

In order to receive the UNA Badge for the Credential in Finance and Legal, the organization must submit the following items for review:

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

1.0 Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and Bylaw Review

Organization’s bylaws, including description of voting procedures, number of board members, terms of office, method of removal from office, how bylaws are revised, and description of officers and their duties.

1.1 Document the most recent review of bylaws, including who was involved in the review and when it occurred.

2.0 Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures manual or similar compilation of organization’s policies, including code of conduct, whistleblower policy, non-discrimination policy, document retention and destruction policy, and conflict of interest policy. Include date of most recent review of policies and procedures and who was involved in its review.

3.0 Training

Document ongoing staff, board, and volunteer training on policies and procedures. A training calendar, a sample of recent training, a document outlining how policies and procedures trainings occur in the organization, a sample volunteer orientation packet, a sample staff handbook or similar proof would satisfy this requirement.

4.0 Board Minutes

Document your organization’s method of compiling and archiving the minutes from board meetings. Describe how minutes are taken and by whom, how they are stored, how amendments/revisions are noted and how the minutes are made accessible.

5.0 Code of Ethics

Provide a copy of your organization's dated, signed UNA Standards of Ethics or other board approved code of ethics.  

6.0 Finances

Document the organization’s financial record-keeping practices.

7.0 Financial Oversight

Provide a list of board members or other individual(s) who provide financial oversight to the organization. Note the dates of the three most recent meetings.

8.0 Policies Governing Oversight

Charter, policies or governing document denoting the responsibilities and parameters of the financial oversight body or person(s).

9.0 Filings

Calendar or checklist of state and federal filings, which includes dates of most recently submissions and upcoming due dates.

10.0 Financial Planning/Goals

Provide documentation that the board has concrete long- and short-term financial goals and methods of assessing progress towards those goals. Examples of this may include a financial strategic plan, a list of organizational financial priorities for income and expenses, a financial performance dashboard or similar proof.

11.0 Budget

Recent, dated sample of the organization’s working budget.

12.0 Donor Acknowledgement

Provide a sample of organization’s donor acknowledgment letter.

13.0 Donations

Document your process for accepting and acknowledging monetary, in-kind, and other forms of donations/gifts, including providing tax receipts.

14.0 Internal Controls

Document your process for protecting the organization from fraud, abuse and/or negligence. This may include reference to separation of duties, conflict of interest policy, check-signing policies, work of Executive Committee as oversight body and/or similar proof.

15.0 Financial Reports Verification

Document how the board independently verifies the accuracy of the financial reports it receives and ensures its financial mandates are carried out. Examples of this may include description of work by financial oversight committee or individual(s) appointed by the board, organizational audit, or similar proof.

Subject-Matter-Expert: Cynthia Cady, CPA

Cynthia provides tax compliance and consulting services to a variety of industries, focusing on nonprofit clients and their related entities. She is experienced in serving tax-exempt entities, individuals, partnerships and taxable corporations.

When you work with Cynthia, you can expect her to take the time to get to know you and your organization’s goals, mission and structure. Client Work Assists with tax consulting, planning and compliance services for a variety of public and private foundations, partnerships and businesses. Works with organizations to understand the impact of tax law and reporting changes and develops strategies to address these changes. Cynthia holds a Masters in Accountancy from BYU (Provo) and currently works on the firm’s Nonprofit Process Committee and the Phoenix Office “Gives Back” committee.

Subject-Matter-Expert: Daniel Nuttall

Daniel audits a variety of industries but spends a significant amount of time working with affordable housing (multi-family HUD, rural development, new markets tax credits and low income housing tax credit projects) and nonprofit organizations (including single audits). When you work with Daniel, you can expect him to demonstrate a sincere desire to understand and meet your business needs. He will strive to be proactive in his communications and to become a trusted advisor to your organization. Daniel holds a bachelors degree and masters degree in accounting from the University of Utah. 

Subject-Matter-Expert:  Brent Andrewsen

Brent serves as a trusted advisor to his clients, both individuals and organizations, in all aspects of charitable planning, wealth management, and business planning. His practice focuses on nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, assisting them with their board governance, qualification and maintenance of exempt status, and legal audits when necessary. Additionally, Brent offers clients sophisticated estate planning and tax-efficient strategies to manage their wealth and reduce their potential tax liabilities. Brent often assists clients in a general counsel role, advising on a variety of legal needs, including tax planning, integration of estate plans, and charitable wishes. He counsels clients on business matters and helps them form various business entities and transactions.

Subject-Matter-Expert:  Michael Durham

Mr. Durham is a member of the firm's Tax and Estate Planning section. He has advised some of the nation's largest private foundations, museums, hospitals, high-technology nonprofits, newly formed organizations and donors wishing to structure their gifts to maximize tax savings. Mr. Durham has considerable experience in the rules governing private foundations, private operating foundations, supporting organizations and donor-advised funds, as well as tax-exempt bond issues and unrelated business activities of exempt organizations.

In addition, Mr. Durham has represented large charities before the IRS on audit, seeking initial recognition of exempt status, and in specific ruling requests. He has also represented clients before Treasury and Congress regarding new or pending law and regulations.

WHAT YOU'LL EXPERIENCE AND LEARN

Nonprofits provide donors with ways to support the community, causes, and organizations they value. As agents of philanthropy, nonprofits have ethical and fiduciary obligations to handle funds appropriately, honor donors' wishes, and have sufficient funds to carry out its mission. Fundraising and Development is one of nine courses in the UNA Credential Program designed to provide you with the resources you need to make an even greater impact.

This course builds the capacity of your fundraising and development program and covers four main topics:

• Ethical and Effective Fundraising: Do you take a best practices and highest standards approach when generating resources?
• Funding Diversity Strategies: Do you have a diverse funding portfolio and/or are you diversifying your portfolio effectively?
• Resource Planning and Evaluation: Do you have an effective goal setting, planning, and evaluation process?
• Staff and Board Roles: Do you involve stakeholders effectively and appropriately?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED (AND WANT) TO DO

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

HERE'S HOW YOU EARN THE UNA BADGE FOR FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT

In order to receive the UNA Fundraising and Development Badge, the organization must submit the following items for review: 

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

Ethics Policy
Provide the portion of your organization’s ethics policy that relates to resource development. Include revision or version date.

Gift Acceptance Policy 
Provide a copy of your gift acceptance policy. Include revision or version date.

Donor Bill of Rights 
Provide a copy of your organization’s Donor Bill of Rights or similar document provided by your organization to its donors which designates their rights as donors. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has a sample your organization may choose to adapt and/or adopt. Include revision or version date.

Training
Document proof of ongoing ethics training. A training calendar, sample of recent ethics training, document outlining how ethics trainings occur in the organization, or similar proof will satisfy this requirement.

Donor Cycle
Document how you track where your organization is at with donors in each of the Donor Cycle stages (identifying, cultivating, soliciting, reporting). Your documentation will answer these questions: How do you track potential donors? How do you track donors from whom you are cultivating relationships and who is doing the cultivating? How do you track the donors to whom you have solicited donations? How do you track donor reporting deadlines and what needs to be reported?

Resource Development Planning and Goals
Document your organization's long- and short-term resource development goals and methods of assessing progress towards those goals. Examples of this may include a strategic resource development plan, a list of organizational priorities, a matrix citing goals and deliverables, a performance dashboard or similar proof.

Funding: Portfolio Diversification
Document ways in which you have diversified your funding portfolio.

Personalizing Solicitations 
Provide 2-3 examples of how your organization personalizes its case for support to funders from broad range of backgrounds, interests and/or fields.

Internal Coordination
Document the ways in which your organization coordinates resource development efforts with financial management efforts and with marketing and communication efforts.

Role Descriptions
Provide a copy or template of your organization’s resource management role descriptions. Where applicable, provide separate role descriptions for staff, volunteers and/or board members.

NOTE: The documentation on the requirements requesting explanation need not be lengthy. Clear, concise statements on how the organization meets the requirement listed are sufficient. In most cases, three or four sentences should suffice.

Subject-Matter-Expert: TBD

 

Course Description and Learning Objectives

People are your most important asset. To attract and retain quality employees and volunteers, your nonprofit must follow effective and fair leadership practices. This course, one of nine offerings in the UNA Credential Program, provides you with the resources you need to implement best practices in Human Resources. 

Successful completion of the course will help you:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of key employment and discrimination laws relevant to an organization’s size, and how to implement practices to follow those laws.
• Learn how to create, review, and revise an organization’s personnel handbooks, policies, and practices to ensure compliance with applicable laws.
• Gain critical insight into employee recruitment best practices, learn new methods to retain and motivate employees, and leave with a toolkit for performance appraisals that drive performance.

What’s Expected of You

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

•  Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
•  Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline. 

Subject Matter Expert: Kathleen Weron

Kathleen D. Weron practices employment law, representing major state and national employers. Ms. Weron has been annually recognized in Chambers USA as an employment litigator “tremendously well versed in the law” with “considerable expertise” and an understanding of “the dynamic of employment relationships.” Chambers USA has also recognized Ms. Weron as a “highly proficient mediator.” Ms. Weron has also been regularly awarded recognition in The Best Lawyers in America for Labor and Employment Law. She has been voted by her peers as one of Utah’s “Legal Elite” in Labor and Employment Law in Utah Business magazine and has received Martindale-Hubbell’s highest AV rating. Ms. Weron is a well known speaker, author, and experienced trainer. She has an extensive employment counseling practice that includes comprehensive harassment prevention training and executive training for creating diverse, inclusive and professional work environments and culture.

In addition, Ms. Weron has served as a trustee for two nonprofit organizations, chairing The McGillis School Board of Trustees and serving as President of the Board for Nuzzles & Co. Pet Rescue and Adoption, where she also went on to serve as its Executive Director.

Ms. Weron graduated as a Leary Scholar from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law where she served as a member of the Utah Law Review. After graduation, Ms. Weron completed a federal clerkship with the Honorable Ewing Werlein in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Weron was an associate specializing in employment law with the national law firm Littler Mendelson.

Course Description and Learning Objectives

As nonprofit leaders, we most likely find ourselves involved in the work of this sector because we feel called to implement the mission of our organizations.  We seek to achieve the vision of the change we feel is needed in our community, and we are driven by values that we hope guide the way we do our work. 

The traditional canon of nonprofit organizational leadership is replete with expectations that often foundationally center a “saviorism” in policy and practice.  What can you, your team, and stakeholders do to re-imagine how you do your work in the community to dismantle and restructure this?   

This Credential will take a deep dive in understanding the impact of microaggressions (microassaults, microinsults, & microinvalidations) in the workplace and how it keeps us from authentically doing our work. We will take what has traditionally been rested in majoritarian-centered ideals of nonprofit professionalism and explore it through a JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) lens, in an effort to rethink the concept of “best practice” 

This course is not meant to be formulaic or prescriptive, but rather iterative and driven by who you are as a leader and what you bring to the table in order to enhance your leadership journey.

Subject-Matter-Expert: Rebecca Chavez-Houck: Former Utah State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck holds a BA in Journalism & Mass Communication and an MPA, both from the University of Utah. She represented the northeast quadrant of Salt Lake City on Utah’s Capitol Hill from 2008 through 2018, where she focused on policy related to health & human services, as well as voter engagement & access. Rebecca came to the state legislature with more than 20 years experience in nonprofit administration and public affairs.  She also has extensive experience as a nonprofit governance volunteer having served on myriad local and national nonprofit boards of directors. Rebecca serves as an adjunct instructor for the University of Utah Programs of Public Affairs and also provides candidate and community engagement consulting through her public affairs firm, Aspira Public Affairs. 

 Subject-Matter-Expert: Shawn Newell: Shawn is a retired VP at Industrial Supply Company with 37 years of service. Active in community roles, including VP of Salt Lake NAACP, various board positions, including the Road Home, the Chair elect of Friends for Sight, and former board member of Utah Nonprofits Association. He serves on multiple committees and councils including the Council on Diversity Affairs (CODA). He served as the co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Newell is an entrepreneur owning Waves Enterprises, LLC. He holds multiple degrees and certificates in leadership and diversity and enjoys officiating youth sports and BBQing. Mr. Newell is married with three children and six grandchildren.

 

What You'll Experience and Learn

Through communications, we craft narratives, messaging, and images that persuade people to take action or think differently. With an effective communications strategy, you can bring consistency to all areas of your work, identify and engage your key stakeholders, refine how you talk about your work, and present your organization as an authentic, polished, and relevant force for good.

Your website, social-media presence, and email communications are most likely the most important way—if not the only way— your stakeholders can involve themselves with your mission. So make sure they are doing the job you need them to do. Learn how to obtain and interpret marketing data to track your impact and refine your approach, so you can send the right message to the right people at the right time.

Included in your registration is expert-coaching specific to your nonprofit's communication and marketing program. Everything in this Credential centers on equipping you to create and deliver the messaging you need to support your mission.

Successful completion of the course will deliver the following to you and your organization

• Strategies for creating and re-purposing content to drive your readers to action.
• Information on website optimization for donors, volunteers, and corporate partners. 
• Ways to tell an effective story that inspires action and supports your goals.
• A variety of tools to support you in your marketing efforts.
• Information on how to use social media, blogs, emails, and videos in your organizational marketing strategy.
• The concept of marketing personas to ensure your marketing material is getting in front of the appropriate audience(s).
• Ideas on how to use goals to guarantee that your marketing plan is in alignment with the organizational goals.
• A deep understanding of inbound marketing, content marketing, email marketing, video marketing, and social media marketing.
• How to position yourself as a marketing professional.

What You'll Need (and Want) to Do

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

Course Description and Learning Objectives

Outcomes and Evaluations is one of nine courses in the UNA Credential Program designed to provide you with the resources you need to make an even greater impact. Measuring the performance of your organization is essential to understand and communicate your actual impact, inform decision making and guide organization improvement, properly deploy resources, and build a strong case for receiving funders’ support. This course is designed to provide you with tools for deciding how to:

• Clarify what their intended impact is and how they will achieve results
• Identify the appropriate metrics to measure agency activities, outputs, and outcomes
• Develop an evaluation plan to use and improve measurement over time
• Develop and deploy data collection, analysis and reporting tools to monitor impacts and communicate results

What’s Expected of You

This course is highly interactive and relies on the experiences of each participant. Therefore, it's important you are prepared to contribute to the program. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, the facilitator will provide you with samples to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline.

Badge Requirements

In order to earn the UNA Outcomes and Evaluations Badge, the organization must submit the following items for review and approval:

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

1. Community Needs Assessment  (Choose one of the following options.)   

1. The current Community Needs Assessment developed in your organization with an evaluation of its accuracy in reflecting the needs of the community and how your program is using the needs assessment to achieve your mission. OR
2. A Community Needs Assessment you conduct within the next three months incorporating the principles from the course including a description of how you intentionally conducted the needs assessment to ensure the information is a fair and accurate reflection of the clients and the community.
3. A plan of how you will conduct a community needs assessment in the future to identify the accurate strengths and needs of your community relating to the service your organization with description of how you will accurately assess the needs of your clients and the community 

2. Continuous Quality Improvement: A representation of how you will apply (or are already applying) the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (e.g., a Driver Diagram)  

• A statement of your organizations overall objective (based on your organization’s mission)  
• A description of the Primary Drivers leading to your organizations overall success  
• A description of what data you will use to assess success in these Primary Drivers  
• A description of the Secondary Drivers that make up success in the Primary Drivers  
• A description of what data you will use to assess success in these Secondary Drivers  
• A description of the Change Agents or activities that your organization does on a regular basis to impact the Secondary Drivers  
• A “Quadrant Diagram” showing critical examination of where the activities that you engage in as an organization fit in the dimensions of effort and impact  

3. Sustainability Plan: Include a description of who in your organization has responsibility for data collection, storage, analysis, and reporting decisions  in this brief plan.

4. Using Data to tell a Story: Provide an example of a graph or dashboard telling a story of data use or impact in your organization.  

Subject-Matter-Expert: Jared Lisonbee

Jared Lisonbee holds a Ph.D. in Human Development from Auburn University with dual emphases in early childhood education and research methods. As a research scientist, Jared studied children’s biological stress in preschool settings. He has developed education program evaluations for the states of Alabama and Washington as well as at Weber State University.

We are updating the UNA Credential in Volunteer Management. While the following information provides a good idea of what to expect, you can expect a new and improved Credential in Volunteer Management soon.

WHY PARTICIPATE? 

Have your volunteer management practices kept pace in a world that consistently upends what we call normal? In spite of pandemics, funding challenges, and the call for social justice, volunteers still want to connect with your mission and serve your cause. It falls to you to find ways to maintain that sense of connection—even if they can’t help in person. If volunteers are even remotely critical to your organization, you’ll want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to attract, retain, and celebrate these amazing people. The UNA Credential in Volunteer Management provides everything you need—live online-training, curated resources, and coaching from experts—to create and implement a volunteer management program that honors your volunteers and their good works. 

YOU CAN EXPECT

• Classroom-style training focused on solidifying your familiarity with foundational concepts and practical applications (including recruitment and retention) and introducing Code of Ethics, and DEI supported resources—all synthesized to make the most of your time.
• Comprehensive resources to guide your shaping of best practices in volunteer management. You won't need to start from scratch.
• A consultation from experts in volunteer management to find answers to your specific questions. You won't be left wondering if your practices make sense.
• Expert ongoing coaching. You don't have to go it alone.
• Certification for your successful integration of best practices in the form of a Badge in Volunteer Management and a media guide for sharing that success. Taking a victory lap is its own reward.

HOW YOU'LL BENEFIT

Successful completion of this course will help you:

• Integrate volunteer management into your organization's overall planning and development.·       
•   Learn more about the profession of Volunteer Administration and how important it is to uphold the CCVA Professional Ethics in Volunteer Administration.·        
•  Secure senior leadership support and resources for strong volunteer management practices.·        
•  Develop and implement effective volunteer-related training organization-wide.·        
•  Engage and recognize volunteers.·        
•  Recruit, track, and communicate with volunteers.·         
• Demonstrate your commitment to program stability and sustainability to funders, stakeholders, and even your volunteers.·        
•  Demonstrate the ability to lead your organization forward and contribute to the mission.

WHAT'S EXPECTED OF YOU

Programming is highly interactive and relies on your participation. Please be ready to:

• Bring all required materials to each session. If your organization doesn’t have any of the required materials, we'll provide samples for you to use.
• Complete the follow up activities after each session and bring questions and concerns to the next session.
• Complete the Badge Requirements by the deadline (four months after the first class session).

Note: The UNA Credential program is for nonprofit organizations only.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO EARN THE BADGE IN VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT?

In order to earn the UNA Badge in Volunteer Management, you'll submit, on behalf of your organization, the following items for review and approval:

Please follow specific guidelines in the participant folder, as they are always going to be the most current.

Professional Ethics In Volunteer Administration

Write out one volunteer engagement experience, where there was a negative code of ethics incident, into a case study for learning and teaching others in the organization to engage in teaching policy through story.

Volunteer Philosophy, Mission, And Program Vision

Create a volunteer philosophy, mission, and program vision for the volunteer program and receive buy-in from your leadership team.

Volunteer Involvement Framework

Create your Volunteer Involvement Framework as a visual reference to understand current positions and explore new opportunities for volunteer engagement.

Types Of Volunteering

Of the different types of volunteering, and working off the Volunteer Involvement Framework, define two new types of opportunities for volunteers to engage with your organization and how these volunteers will contribute to your mission.

Position Description

Write a detailed position description specifically targeting a non-traditional volunteer, one of your newly defined gaps in volunteers.

Targeted Outreach Plan

Create one targeted outreach strategy for one of the new positions identified in the Volunteer Involvement Framework.

Prospective Volunteer Follow-Up Procedure

Provide a written procedure, flowchart, or outline of the process after a volunteer applies.

Volunteer Experience Plan

Submit a written operational plan for volunteer feedback, data gathering on the volunteer experience and how to effectively integrate into your daily operations.

Recognition Plan

Submit written operational plan for volunteer recognition and rewards, including customization for DEI. Prepare and submit one nominee for Utah Philanthropy Day.

Impact, Value, And Outcome-Based Measurement

Submit a list of impact statements, how these items will be tracked, and the process for sharing the outcome-based impacts.

Training Plan For Staff Integration And Action Plan For Support

Conduct an internal SWOT for volunteer engagement and internal integration of the program. Then write a detailed training plan to overcome the agency’s weaknesses and challenges.

Volunteer Handbook

Provide a Volunteer Handbook including all the concepts learned through the credential. Include legal statements, rules, guidelines, and important information for the success of each volunteer.

 Subject-Matter Expert: Kellie Mieremet         

Kellie Mieremet is the Community Engagement Manager for The INN Between. She has a background in marketing, higher education, service-learning, and volunteer management. Kellie also comes with a deep sense of passion and dedication for the community and those that she serves. Before coming to The INN Between, she was the Volunteer & Engagement Director for the Family Support Center, she served a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the American Red Cross, Disaster Services as their Volunteer Coordinator. Prior to that she worked in higher education managing a service-learning program and then managed a federal grant focused on college access. In 2015 she received her Master of Arts in Community Leadership (MACL) from Westminster College where she focused on how to locally support the profession of volunteer management. Kellie has now taught the Working with Volunteers course for the MACL program and most recently, taught the Utah Nonprofits Association’s Credential in Volunteer Management as the subject matter expert. In 2016, she sat for and earned the Certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA) credential. Kellie is the co-founder of Utah’s Professional Association for Volunteer Engagement (UPAVE), a community of practice designed to support the profession of volunteer management and the co-founder of Coffee with Coordinators in 2014, under the name Volunteer Managers of Utah.