The CFNRV offers a mix of in-person and Zoom sessions for our Third Thursday gatherings and other workshops. On this nonprofit resource page, you can find the recordings of Zoom sessions along with any accompanying presentation materials. For information on upcoming events, please visit the CFNRV’s event page or sign up for our twice-monthly e-Newsletter.
2026 Sessions
August: Are Your Events Actually Helping You Raise More Money?
This virtual session was presented by fundraising strategist Holly Kobia, Founder and Principal of Kobia Consulting. Not every event has to raise money. But every event should have a purpose. Whether you’re fundraising, cultivating donors, engaging volunteers, building awareness, or thanking supporters, success starts with knowing what you want the event to accomplish.
Holly will challenge you to rethink how your organization approaches events, set meaningful goals, measure success beyond dollars raised, and determine whether your events are truly worth the time and resources you invest in them. Leave with a more strategic approach to creating events that move your mission and your organization forward.
View the Slides from this Session
July: Connecting Your NRV Nonprofit & Higher Education
We know that nonprofits in the New River Valley need volunteers for both one-time events or projects as well as longer-term commitments. With so many college students nearby, what are the ways that nonprofits can tap into this huge volunteer base? During this virtual session, hear from panelists from Virginia Tech, Radford University, and New River Community College to learn more about making connections at these institutions.
April: GiveLocalNRV 2026 Fundraising Plan & Key Metrics Webinar
During this month’s session, we shared details about this year’s event, including big changes to our prizes, gave tips on how to engage with your donors, and gave you a tour of different parts of the GiveLocalNRV website.
View the Slides from this Session
January: Strategies for Recruiting Volunteers
During this virtual session, hear how fellow nonprofit partners approach building a volunteer base and recruiting volunteers. Panelists included: Sandy Hagman (Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry), Ryan Martin (YMCA at Virginia Tech), Jo Keeler (Volunteer Montgomery), and Shannon Hardwicke (Plenty!).
2025 Sessions
November: How to Take Great Photos to Share Your Mission
Photos are a powerful way to help communicate the important work that nonprofits do. But what if you don’t have a background in photography or don’t know what photos to capture because of the nature of your work? At this session, presenter Rebecca Moore of Three Bird Photography shared practical tips on how to capture great photos even when you don’t have a lot of experience or fancy equipment.
Visit Three Bird Photography’s website
October: Update on Partnership for Progress’ Work
This session was a follow-up to our January session on how Virginia Tech and surrounding communities can work together to positively impact our region through the Partnership for Progress initiative. LINK Strategic Partners will join us again to share an update on how the project has progressed and how your feedback is reflected in the Implementation Roadmap being drafted. During this session, the project team engaged with the group to ensure the input gathered during the initial conversation is reflected in the final drafts of materials.
While this session was not recorded, those interested in the work can find out more here on Partnership for Progress’ website.
September: Plan to Prosper: Building Your Nonprofit’s Annual Fundraising Roadmap
At this in-person workshop, presenter Holly Kobia, founder of Kobia Consulting, walked participants step-by-step through creating a practical, actionable annual fundraising plan tailored to your mission. She shared how to set realistic goals, diversify revenue streams, engage your board and donors, and align your plan with your organization’s priorities.
– Learn more about Kobia Consulting
– Plan to Prosper PowerPoint Slides (PDF version)
– Build Your Annual Fundraising Workshop (PDF version)
August: AI Writing Workshop
At our AI Writing Workshop, participants learned more about best practices to get the most out of this revolutionary tool. Presenter Brent Stevens of 5Points Creative focused on the language of prompting, helping you get more focused results.
July: Creating an Annual Report
Ever wonder what it takes to put together a great annual report? Watch this Third Thursday session to learn from panelists on their experiences with annual reports: where to start, what information to include, and who the audience is. Example annual reports from our presenters:
Community Foundation of the New River Valley
Havenwood Equestrian Center
Mountain View Humane
June: How to Write a Winning Grant Application
At this in-person workshop, our team shared about the CFNRV’s Responsive Grant process. Additionally, attendees participated in discussions to get feedback on their Responsive Grant narratives and financial documents.
Sample Financial Documents
PowerPoint Slides
May: Visual Communication on Social Media
In this session, our communications intern, Mary Paniagua-Ugarte, led a conversation on the basics of visual communication for social media. She guides participants through creating compelling posts that persuade and inform your audiences about how your organizations give back to the community. Mary covered: easy Canva basics, using videos in social media (no editing needed), and how to effectively use emotional appeals, factual information, credibility, and testimonies in your content.
View slides from the session
Sign up your nonprofit to use Canva for free
Watch our session on how to use Canva
April: Balancing Urgency & Inspiration in Nonprofit Storytelling
In this session, Bruce C. Bryan from 5Points Creative discussed how nonprofits can tell their story more effectively in their communications and fundraising campaigns. He shared insights on crafting messages that strike a balance between the inspiration of your mission and the urgency for supporters to act.
View slides from the session
February: GiveLocalNRV Giving Day Workshop
At this in-person workshop, the CFNRV team shared details about this year’s event, a panel of giving day participants gave their tips for success, and attendees brainstormed ideas about the event with fellow participants. While this session was not recorded, you view the materials from the workshop via the below links.
– Presentation slides (PDF document)
– Giving Day Guide for Success (workshop handout, PDF document)
– Learn more about Canva, an online design tool in this recorded Third Thursday session from July 2024.
– Sign up for the 2025 GiveLocalNRV Giving Day at givelocalnrv.org. Sign-up will close on May 1.
January: Partnership for Progress Nonprofit Focus Group
During this session, attendees shared their thoughts on how Virginia Tech and surrounding communities can work together to positively impact our region. The Partnership for Progress is a collaboration led by Virginia Tech, localities, and community organizations with support from LINK Strategic Partners. Through a series of interviews, surveys, and focus groups like this one, LINK seeks to understand key community needs, what relationships currently exist between university and community partners, and how they can be improved. While this session was not recorded, you can learn about this group’s work here on the Partnership for Progress’ website.
2024 Sessions
September: Board Recruitment & Engagement
This session features a panel of nonprofit board members and staff members who discussed board recruitment and engagement. Panelists shared how they approach recruiting board members, how to engage with members once they are on your board, staff-board communication, what board members need, and more.
August: End of Year Mailings
While the end of the year is still a few months away, start thinking now about your plans for an end-of-year appeal! This month’s virtual Third Thursday, presented by Wordsprint’s Bill Gilmer and Josh Grubb, is about donor relations and fundraising appeals. Bill and Josh shared their expertise on what does and does not work when creating an appeal.
July: Design Simplified with Canva
Learn all about the free online design software, Canva, that makes designing print and digital materials so much easier. Presenter Lisa Garcia from the NRV TimeBank will share the basics of how to use this software, what features it offers, and why you should start using it…today!
Links to Resources Mentioned During the Presentation:
- Sign up your nonprofit to use Canva for free
- Canva for Beginners Tutorial
- Canva for Nonprofits Webinar Playlist
- Storytelling for Nonprofits Webinar Playlist
- Creating a QR Code in Canva
June: Financial Planning & Budgeting for Nonprofits
In this virtual session, David Riggan, treasurer of the CFNRV Board, shared how to approach creating a budget for your organization, why it’s important, key terms related to budgeting, and more. Link to the slides: Financial Planning & Budgeting Presentation
Grant-writing Basics (Ali Davitt’s presentation)
CFNRV’s Grant Application (Jess Wirgau’s presentation)
March: Donor Engagement & Fundraising Tools
In this session, held alongside our partners at Mightycause, we focused on engaging your donors and fundraising for the annual GiveLocalNRV giving day. We also shared about Peer-to-Peer Fundraising and matching grants. Link to the presentation: Donor Engagement & Fundraising Tools slides.
February: GiveLocalNRV Giving Day Kickoff
In this session, held alongside our partners at Mightycause, we’ll share details on this year’s giving day, tips for success and getting started, and debunk some myths around giving day events. Link to the presentation: Giving Day kickoff slides.
January: HopeHub Resource App
In this session, NRV Community Services shared about their HopeHub App, which connects New River Valley residents with local resources in one easy-to-use app. Whether you need help with food and housing, mental health and addiction services, or other supports, you’ll find resource details, contact information, and driving directions – all at your fingertips!
2023 Sessions
November: Planning for 2024
In this session, the Community Foundation team discussed what to think about when planning out your fundraising calendar for the year, including details on next year’s GiveLocalNRV Giving Day and how to incorporate it into your fundraising schedule. Plus, we shared details on other CFNRV dates to keep in mind as you plan for 2024.
October: Video Storytelling & Production
In this session, learn about video storytelling and production from Michael Hemphill, the creator and host of the TV show Buzz4Good. Michael shared his expertise on the elements of compelling storytelling, how to translate that into video, and how to produce a video on your smart phone.
August: 2023 Event Planning
In this session, we shared advice and tips for planning events, including what to consider when holding a fundraising event as well as events where fundraising is not the main objective. Special guest Ginny Ayers from Literacy Volunteers of the NRV joined us to share about her experience with events.
July: Building an Annual Giving Campaign
Learn about the steps to building a successful annual giving campaign for your nonprofit organization. Lead by Ann Bolton, Virginia Tech’s director of annual giving, you’ll learn about the importance of annual giving, how to build a foundation of donors, how to create a schedule that makes sense for your organization, and how to incorporate a giving day event into your planning. Ann shares how small, consistent efforts throughout the year can pay off in the long run.
Grants & GiveLocalNRV PowerPoint Presentation
Cybersecurity PowerPoint Presentation
CFNRV Overview & 2023 Plans PowerPoint Presentation
2022 Sessions
2021 Listening Sessions & Workshops
Handout: How Skipping Starbucks Can Save You Thousands
Handout: Don’t Wait on Inflation
Handout: Know your IRA Options
Navigating Difficult Conversations PowerPoint Presentation
Strategic Planning PowerPoint Presentation
Partnership Collection Template
2020 Listening Sessions & Workshops
October 2020: Engagement and Collaboration in a Virtual Setting
Jeff Dinger with Giles FOCUS, Tina King, Executive Director of NRV Agency on Aging, Kim Thomason, Western Regional Manager for Child Care Aware and Dr. Robin Lemaire, Associate Professor, Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy on engagement and collaboration in a virtual setting.
May 2020: Message and Fundraising Considerations for Nonprofits
Sarah Milston, CEO of The Spark Mill on Messaging and Fundraising Considerations for Nonprofits
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