February 17, 2020

Nonprofits 101: Blackbaud Courses Free with AFP

Your AFP membership comes with a benefit that you might not be aware of: free access to introductory-level courses from Blackbaud University!

The partnership with Blackbaud provides all AFP members with a set of eight courses covering core concepts about nonprofits and fundraising. These courses are a great starting point if you’re looking to expand your knowledge beyond your role, or if you’re just getting started in the nonprofit world and want a big-picture overview. 

The full list of courses includes: 

  • Basics of Fundraising, which covers fundraising strategies, the use of case statements, acquiring major gifts, retaining donors, and leveraging the donor life-cycle. 

  • Basics of Marketing, which covers how to spread your message and sell your story of social good. 

  • Basics of Personas, which explains how to leverage personas to engage supporters, target donors, and raise more funds. 

  • Basics of Impact, where you can learn how to measure and share your impact with your staff and donors. 

  • Basics of Finance, where you can acquire the skills to translate nonprofit financial jargon, complete financial tasks and procedures, run common financial reports, and understand the goals and objectives of the finance office.

  • Basics of Events, which covers how to plan and execute events effective and successfully, creating buzz-worthy, meaningful events that tie in to your purpose and deepen your connection with your supporters. 

  • Basics of Nonprofit Organizations, which covers the hierarchy and structure essential for all healthy nonprofit organizations, including the board of directors, executive director, development director, finance director, and programming director.

  • Basics of Volunteers, where you can learn how to fully utilize volunteers, including the best ways to recruit, train, and retain them, turning them into long-term supporters. 

You can acquire the entire package for free through AFP’s learning management system. If you haven’t signed up for an e-course or webinar through that learning system, you’ll need to create a (free) account, which is separate from your AFP login. 

Note: Due to their structure, these courses are not eligible for CFRE points. They might help give you some background and context for CFRE-eligible courses, though. 

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