Marketing Must-Haves

Please join us, Thursday, April 12th from 8-9:30am at the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to discuss marketing must-haves.

Nonprofits have a lot on their plates. In the prioritization of things, marketing can sometimes get overlooked, be viewed as too expense, or just not get done because there is not enough
staff or time. The truth is that marketing is an essential cog in a nonprofit's ability to provide services and communicate to those who need them. 

Lindsay and Jake will present some of the marketing must-haves organizations should be thinking about, no matter the size of their budget or staff. Discussion on topics such as knowing your audiences, honing your messages and storytelling, creating a distinct brand, and using online assets will help teams develop marketing solutions that connect people to their missions. The pair will share knowledge gained from other professionals through CVNA marketing meet up presentations and bring their perspectives as nonprofit marketers.

Free for CVNA members; $25 non-members.  Please RSVP by April 10th. 
Community Events

The Strategic Plan for the University of Northern Iowa identifies Community Engagement as one of the essential components to student success. Additionally, there is a rich history of community engagement at UNI that should be showcased and celebrated.

On Thursday, April 19th from 9-10:30 am, UNI will host a Community Engagement Celebration which will feature collaborations between faculty, staff, students and community members [ read more...]


Elevate: a virtual conference on social equity.  This 3-day conference is geared toward the social-impact leader who is focused on changing lives for good. We know that equity cannot be an afterthought -- it must be central to all that we do. Elevate is a great, affordable way for us to build our capacity in this critical area.  Our partner, the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, is convening the conference with sponsorship from American Express. 
 
Date:  April 18-20  (Online: attend from the comfort of your office or home)
Cost: Only $50  (75% discount thanks to American Express sponsorship).  When three or more attendees from one organization (including your campus) registers together, you can receive a 20% discount and register for only $40 each! [read more and register...]


The 7th annual "Sparking Academic Excellence Breakfast" will be  Thursday, April 26 from 7:00-8:30 AM.   This celebration of the Waterloo Community School District is open for the public to attend and learn about the exciting things happening in our schools [read more/registration...]

Job Openings

Job Title:  Marketing Director

Cedar Valley United Way seeks a creative and innovative professional to develop and implement key marketing and research strategies that communicate the organization's impact to the Cedar Valley Community. This position serves as CVUW's primary liaison with media, and provides expertise in writing, editing, print design and copywriting. This position also conducts ongoing community research for both marketing content purposes, and to provide quality feedback and information to the community impact process.

The position requires excellent communication, organization and time management skills as well as the ability to work with diverse groups including organized labor, community leaders, minority groups, etc. A bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Media, Graphic Arts or Social Science and at least 2 years of experience in communications or marketing field, with experience in website design/maintenance and multimedia is preferred. 

Resumes and cover letter can be sent to Debbie Roth.

Great Article for Nonprofits

In Grantseeking your budget does matter!

GrantStation is currently in the midst of its   Spring 2018 State of Grantseeking Survey, and as you can imagine with an expected 3,500 to 4,000 nonprofit respondents, I receive feedback early and often.
One gentleman from a small nonprofit organization told me, "We were not eligible for the award because the funder required a paid executive director of $125,000 for two years, and a budget of $500,000 or more. Of course, if we had that kind of money there would be no need for a grant." [ read more...]

Legislative Corner

Keep up-to-date with what's going on with our State Representatives & Legislative team (not all represented)

 In our first 5 years we have: (continually being updated)
  • 78 member organizations
  • 6 investors
  • 1,575 program registrations
  • 177 hours of programming
  • 180 e-newsletters
  • Grant Gurus workshops
  • 192 jobs advertised
  • 20+ organizations connected with 50 UNI students 
  • added additional educational training workshops to our members
  • won the "Gift of the Heart Innovation" award in 2013
  • Partners with Idealware
  • Developed a new website 2017
  • Created Internship Program
Check out the other benefits of membership  HERE  .   If you are interested in joining CVNA, you can access our application form online 
HERE.

Share your good news with the CVNA and be featured in future e-newsletters.   Have you implemented an innovative idea?  Are you hiring?  Have you created or updated your website?  Are you hosting an event?   Let the CVNA spread the word. 

To submit an item for the next newsletter, click on the  submit news page.  Please note that only member organizations who have submitted membership applications may post items.  The newsletter is published every two weeks.
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Holly Dusenbery | Coordinator Cedar Valley Nonprofit Association |   [email protected]| Website | Facebook | | Event Calendar |