The Philanthropy Institute
The Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance (TVNPA) and Las Positas College present
The Philanthropy Institute 2023
The Philanthropy Institute’s Top Performing Boards Program is now available to purchase!
FREE NONPROFIT TRAINING!

Monthly Seminars: January – June 2023
No-cost training & grant research for nonprofit leaders, staff & board members
Two valuable resources—the Foundation Center and GuideStar—have changed the world by giving people the information they need to do good. In 2019, these services combined to form Candid to serve nonprofits with education and resources in development relevant to charitable organizations.
As a service to the community, Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance and Las Positas College are partnering to provide Candid’s excellent training curriculum to nonprofits, along with access to their foundation and grant database as well as other nonprofit capacity-building tools—completely free of charge!
Registration is open to enroll in each individual seminar. Seminars are held monthly from 12:00pm-1:00pm PST. All sessions will be held online via Zoom. Login information provided upon registration.
These classes are open to the public at no cost and incorporate best practices in nonprofit fundamentals – including searching for grants, budgeting and proposal writing. Special focus and insights on local opportunities will be provided by Kathy Young, President and CEO, TVNPA.

Starting a nonprofit can seem terrifically complicated—is it worth it? This class can help you decide. In this session you’ll learn the legal and logistical elements necessary to start a successful nonprofit. You’ll also learn about possible alternatives to starting your own nonprofit that you may not have considered. Finally, you’ll be introduced to a tool that will help you assess your own readiness to move forward.
Upon completion of this class, you will be able to:
- Outline the steps required to start a nonprofit
- Assess the alternatives to starting a nonprofit
- Complete the steps required to start at nonprofit
- Access additional resources to help your in your nonprofit development journey

Are you new to the field of grant seeking? Discover what funders are looking for in nonprofits seeking grants and how to find potential funders in this introductory course.*
You will learn the 10 most important things you need to know about finding grants, including:
- Who funds nonprofit organizations and what are their motivations?
- What do funders really want to know about your organizations?
- How doe you identify potential funders and make the first approach?
Note: This session is not intended for individuals seeking grants for their own use.
*This class is a prerequisite to March’s session: Introduction to the Foundation Directory Online, held on March 15, 2023. See next session below. Please register for both classes when signing up for enrollment.

Are you Looking for grants for your nonprofit? Join us to learn how to use Foundation Directory Online (FDO), the most comprehensive prospect research tool for fundraisers, with over 239,000+ grant-maker profiles. You will learn how to search for grant-makers who have funded organizations working on causes and with communities similar to those you serve.*
NOTE: This class is for nonprofit organizations looking for funding. It is not geared to individuals seeking grants.
This class will cover how to:
- Explain and use the Foundation Directory Online (FDO)
- Identify your needs in preparation for searching for potential grant-makers in the FDO
- Research potential grant-makers using a project-based search in FDO
- Evaluate prospects for strong or weak fit using FDO
- Identify the options for accessing FDO
- Access resources for getting help with FDO
*Introduction to Finding Grants on February 15, 2023, is a prerequisite to this class. See session above. Please register for both classes when signing up for enrollment.

Are you new to proposal writing or want a quick refresher? If so, you don’t want to miss one of Candid’s most popular classes!
This class will provide you with an overview of how to write a standard project proposal to a foundation, including:
- The basic elements of a proposal
- The “do’s” and “don’ts” of writing and submitting a proposal
- How to follow up, whether the answer is yes or no

Are you ready to start fundraising for your project or idea, but don’t know what and how much to ask for? If preparing a budget for your foundation grant is holding you back, come learn the basic elements of how to draft a project budget with confidence.
This class will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to generate a standard project budget for a foundation proposal.
We will discuss:
- The basic components of a project budget including income and expenses
- How to estimate the realistic cost of a project
- What other financial documents you may also need to submit with your proposal

Is your organization ready to seek corporate support?
Corporate grantmakers are different from traditional foundations in many ways.
This class provides a basic overview of:
- The different types of corporate giving
- What motivates corporations to give
- How to find potential corporate partners
- How to define different types of corporate philanthropy and the motivations behind their choices and actions. Additionally, you will learn how to find information about different types of corporate philanthropy.
Need more information? Explore Candid’s programs and services online.
Nonprofits may also access the Foundation Directory Online (Candid’s electronic grants database) in person and free-of-charge at the Las Positas College Learning Resource Center in Livermore.
Interested in learning more? Or in designing a custom Candid Training for your organization?
Contact Kathy Young at kathy.tvnpa@gmail.com
Know someone who may be interested in our program?
Download the Philanthropy Institute Flyer:
