4 Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs Professional Development Training

4 Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs Professional Development Training

Is your nonprofit ignoring professional development training opportunities? If the answer is yes, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Professional development training is often overlooked within the nonprofit industry. In this blog entry, we will provide a few reminders as to why professional development is so important.

Thanks to the pandemic, today’s labor market landscape is unlike anything we have seen before. As a result, employees want to be engaged in their work. They want to participate in meaningful work to help make a difference in the world. Fortunately, nonprofits are in the perfect position for this kind of mindset. With the addition of professional development training to your organization, you will find yourself with the makings of a team that will achieve great success in 2022 and beyond.

What’s Holding Your Organization Back?

First, let’s define professional development. Professional development is identifying goals and learning new skills to help people grow and succeed at work. However, before we get into the benefits of professional development training, let’s quickly go over some of the common obstacles many nonprofits face when considering this type of training.

Common obstacles that nonprofits face when dealing with professional development opportunities:

● It’s thought of as too expensive

● Many people believe there is not enough time to build the training into busy schedules

● There is a mindset that professional development isn’t necessary or needed

Even though we listed the points mentioned above as obstacles, these are excuses more so than anything. However, none of these excuses are valid if you take the time to research the professional development opportunities out there. Understanding the benefits of professional development training will help guide your decision to provide it to your organization.

4 Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs Professional Development Training

1. Stay Up To Date Within Your Industry. The nonprofit sector is rapidly changing, like many other industries nationwide. If you take advantage of the trends that affect your organization, you will likely bring in less money than you could with your fundraising efforts. For example, social media trends are enormous in today’s world. It’s more important than ever to stay on top of fundraising event trends and methods to keep your organization successful.

2. Train Your Employees to STAY With Your Organization. Your employees want to grow in their positions. It’s your job to give them the tools to do so. Boost their morale by providing professional development that will motivate them to stay with your organization for the long term. This route is much cheaper than constantly hiring new employees.

3. Update Job Expectations as Needed. Is there a position at your organization that works with outdated approaches and methods? If so, professional development training is a formal way to get these positions up to speed. Train your employees to move forward in ways that will help you achieve your goals. Living in the past won’t get you anywhere.

4. Build A Happier, More Productive Team. Professional development training helps people open themselves up to new ways of thinking and find new ways to be more productive and efficient. Developing these tools will create a happier team that will strengthen the bond of your co-workers. Who doesn’t want to be around a cheerful group of co-workers? It’s much better than the alternative!

The American Fundraising Foundation Speaker’s Bureau is comprised of a team of renowned Development Experts who take great joy in spearheading creative campaigns and sharing best practices with nonprofits across the globe.This program offers professional training for Development Directors, Executive Directors, Board Members, and others leveraging more than two decades of fundraising experience. In addition, it provides expertise in a wide variety of topics for groups ranging in size from 12 to 1000. If you need help finding the right professional development training opportunities for your organization, please reach out to us.