The Resource Center, an organization that promotes volunteerism and nonprofit effectiveness in the Flint area, has announced a newly developed series of training opportunities for local nonprofit staff and volunteers. The series -- Connecting Resources to Community Needs -- will begin on January 16 and end on April 26, 2001.

The training sessions are offered in partnership with United Way of Genesee County, The Flint Journal, and The University of Michigan – Flint, and will begin with a focus on the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards of directors. The series will also include topics such as fund raising, marketing and public relations, volunteer management, and basic nonprofit administration. In total, more than twenty different sessions have been scheduled. The cost to attend most workshop sessions is $35 per person.

"This training series will allow us to demonstrate what the Resource Center is really all about: helping nonprofit agencies succeed," said

Executive Director Dale K. Weighill. "By providing workshops on topics identified as very important to many local organizations, we’re helping to fulfill our basic mission as a nonprofit support center."

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In August 2000, the Resource Center surveyed more than 80 organizations regarding their most significant training needs. Area nonprofits indicated that developing their boards of directors, fund raising, and marketing their services were very important to them. As a result, the Center recruited experts in these and other fields to facilitate the individual training sessions. Workshop presenters will include local fund development and marketing professionals, nonprofit board members, and various consultants.

The Resource Center’s nonprofit training series is a new initiative for the three-year-old organization and is patterned after similar programs conducted at other nonprofit support centers in Michigan and throughout the country.

For more information or a brochure, call the Resource Center at 232-6300.

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