News & Events

Target Audience

Effective report writing is a cornerstone of good governance, accountability, and transparency for every Irish charity. Whether you are a dedicated staff member, a manager, a CEO, a voluntary charity trustee, or a valued volunteer, your ability to communicate clearly and accurately through reports is paramount.

This essential introduction provides clear insights into the critical importance of robust report writing within the unique context of Irish charities.

Outline

• Why Report Writing Matters: Understand how well-crafted reports underpin your charity’s operations, decision-making, and external communications.
• Meeting Regulatory Requirements: Learn how precise reporting is vital for compliance with key regulatory bodies, including:
  • The Charity Regulator: For demonstrating good governance, financial transparency, and adherence to charitable objectives.
  • HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority): Essential for charities providing health and social care services, ensuring quality and safety standards are documented.
  • TUSLA (Child and Family Agency): Crucial for charities working with children and families, requiring meticulous record-keeping and incident reporting.
  • MHC (Mental Health Commission): Important for mental health service providers, demanding clear and compliant documentation of care.
  • HSA (Health and Safety Authority): Necessary for all charities to document health and safety practices, incidents, and risk assessments.
• Enhancing Accountability & Trust: Discover how clear, concise, and accurate reports build confidence among donors, beneficiaries, and the wider public.
• Internal Communication & Decision-Making: Explore how effective reports facilitate better internal communication, enable informed strategic decisions, and support continuous improvement.
• Best Practices for Clarity & Impact: Learn practical strategies for structuring reports, using plain language, and ensuring your message is understood and impactful.

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Zoom.

Target Audience

Experienced Excel users looking to enhance their skills in areas detailed below.

Outline

This short course you cover:

• Creating nested if functions using IFS function.
• Exploring new functions: Filter, Vstack/Hstack, Unique/Sort.
• Working with dates and times in Excel.
• Working with Vlookup/Hlookup/Xlookup.

Methodology

• Delivered virtually via Zoom.
• GiraffePad will be the platform used to hold the Zoom link/training materials/recording.

Target Audience

Experienced MS Excel users turn data into visuals that are easier to understand.

Outline

In this short course you will:

• Review of basic charts.
• Good practices around chart creation: choosing a chart, formatting.
• Diving into lesser known charts: Treemap, funnel, Box and Whisker, Scatter chart.
• Use GetPivotData() function to expand your pivot chart possibilities
• Adding your chart to PowerPoint/animating it.

Methodology

• Delivered virtually via Zoom.
• GiraffePad will be the platform used to hold the Zoom link/training materials/recording.

Target Audience

• Non-Profit Organisations: Executives, Marketing Teams, Social Media Managers
• Freelancers: Those who work with Non-Profits
• Students: Studying marketing or Non-Profit management
• Consultants: Specialising in Non-Profit sector

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Module 1: Understanding Social Media Landscape
   • Popular Platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok
   • Audience Demographics
   • Case Studies: Successful Non-Profit Social Media Campaigns
3. Module 2: Setting Objectives and KPIs
4. Module 3: Content Strategy
   • Types of Content: Educational, Inspirational, Call-to-Action
   • Content Calendar
   • Tools for Content Creation
5. Module 4: Audience Engagement
6. Module 5: Analytics and Reporting
   • Tools for Analytics
   • Metrics to Track
   • Reporting and Insights
7. Q&A and Wrap-up

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Zoom.

Target Audience

Trustees, Chairs, CEOs, and those responsible for governance in their Charity.

Outline

The Charities Governance Code explains the minimum standards you should meet to effectively manage and control your charity. This workshop will walk you through the requirements of the code including actions and evidence needed to demonstrate compliance.

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Zoom.

Target Audience

Are you a Board member of a voluntary or community group? Are you unsure of what is expected of you? Do you want to ensure your organisation is governed in accordance with good practice?

Outline

This session will demystify Board members’ roles and responsibilities and give you tools to enhance your contribution and the effectiveness of your Board. It outlines the purpose of the board as a whole in relation to governance and management. We then examine the specific roles of individual board members and in particular, their legal responsibilities and duties under the Charities Act (2009) and the Companies Act (2014). The workshop will finish with a discussion on typical problems arising within boards and some practical solutions to deal with them.

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Zoom.

Target Audience

This course will be beneficial for chairs of boards, CEOs, senior managers leading executive teams, officers engaging in community outreach, education/training workers, and staff leading meetings.

Outline

In this workshop you will be introduced to tools and techniques for effective online facilitation. You will have a chance to think about what is working in your own facilitated sessions, and what can be improved. The workshop includes: tips on how to set up your workspace, making use of lighting, and effective use of icebreakers and interactive collaborative tools, so that you can come away with fresh ideas to bring your events alive.

Methodology

Delivered online via Zoom.

Target Audience

Anyone involved in advocacy or looking to influence policy or legislation in an area of work relevant to their non-profit organisation.

Outline

Ever wondered how can our organisation secure a legislative or policy win? This workshop has been developed to share an insider-outsider perspective on how to succeed in influencing policy or legislative change for your organisation. The workshop will inform and provide a practical roadmap.

Overview of workshop 

Part 1: Understanding – knowledge building

• The Oireachtas
• The legislative calendar and process
• Seanad Commencement Matters and Dáil Topical Issues
• Parliamentary Questions
• Tips on how to inform and influence TDs and Senators 

Part 2: Influencing – how to effect change

• Defining your issue and policy/legislative solution
• Setting goals and objectives
• Identify the target audience and who to influence
• Stakeholder mapping and building partnerships/alliances
• Creating effective communications

Ending: Questions and Answers – draw on Jillian’s expertise for your organisations’ campaign.

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Zoom.

Target Audience

This course is aimed at people who already have some experience with digital fundraising/marketing in charities and not-for-profit organisations. Preferably, people who have been doing digital for 4 years or more.

Outline

1. Introduction:

• What is digital fundraising, and why is it important?
• The pros and cons of digital fundraising

2. Case Studies

3. Steps to Follow When Creating a Digital Fundraising Campaign:

• Review past strategies and results.
• Set goals and KPIs – What does your charity want to achieve? Work backward from there.
• Ensure your digital fundraising strategy resonates with your donors.
• Create a communication plan that aligns with your strategy.
• Identify all relevant channels.
• Choose the right tools for your strategic fundraising plan.
• Engage and cultivate relationships with your donors throughout the campaign.
• Measure and track performance.
• Review the campaign’s performance.

4. Q&A to Finish

Methodology

Delivered online via Zoom.

Target Audience

Managers and staff of charities and not-for-profits.

Outline

This training course is designed to engage non-technical management and staff of charities and non-profits, helping them understand the importance of preparing to handle a cyber security incident. The topics are presented in a practical and accessible manner to inspire confidence in the attendees that they would have the ability to handle an unexpected incident.

1. Introduction

a) What is incident response?
b) Why is it important for charities and non-profits?
c) Common types of incidents that such organisations face
d) The benefits of having an incident response plan

2. Planning for Incidents

a) Identifying your organisation’s assets and risks
b) Developing incident response procedures and playbooks
c) Assembling an incident response team
d) Testing your incident response plan

3. Responding to Incidents

a) Review of the incident response plan template
b) Detecting and analysing incidents
c) Containing and eradicating incidents, by using playbooks
d) Carrying out risk assessments
e) Recovering from incidents
f) Communicating with stakeholders during an incident

4. Conclusion

a) Best practices for incident response
b) Resources for charities and non-profits

Methodology

Delivered virtually via Google Meet. It will be an interactive workshop, including a breakout room for participants to see how they would respond to a particular scenario. A copy of the slides will be provided as well as a link to download an incident response plan template and a couple of example playbooks.