Community Development Works (CDW), a program of The Rapides Foundation, announces its free skill-building trainings for Cenla residents and nonprofits. The spring classes run from March 8 through May 10.

CDW training topics are geared toward nonprofit staff, board members, community volunteers and people interested in starting a nonprofit to improve their communities.

The spring schedule includes webinars, in-person workshops and classes offered in the hybrid mode, where participants can choose to attend in person or online. Workshops are held in The Rapides Foundation Building in downtown Alexandria. The training calendar also includes one podcast and two videos that can be accessed at any time after registration.

Spring trainings are presented within the following topic areas: starting a nonprofit, grant writing, marketing and staff development. Spring class titles are as follows:

• Start-Up Series for Nonprofits: To Be or Not To Be a 501(c) (3); Introduction to Finding Funders; Fundraising at a New Nonprofit; and From Scratch: Building Fundraising.

• Grant Writing Series: Grant Writing Power Hour; Basic Grant Writing; Creating Grant Budgets; Denied a Grant? Revise it with a Funder’s Guidance; Ask A Grant Writer Anything (two sessions); Demystifying Competitive Federal Grant Writing.

• Marketing Series: 4 Myths

About Facebook Advertising; 5 Steps to Make a Stranger into an Advocate; Crafting Cause Marketing Partnerships with Meaning; Using Conversion Psychology to Get Better Results.

• Staff Development Series: New Algorithm for Post-Pandemic Success; Financial Management for Nonprofit Directors; Forget the Pecking Order; Refueling the Fire: Overcoming Burnout.

Participants have the option of attending all trainings in a series or choosing only the ones that interest them. Residents who register for a webinar but are unable to attend at the designated time will be given a link to watch the class at a later date.

Registration is required for all webinars, in-person workshops, podcasts and videos. To register, visit www.communitydevelopmentworks.org/attend-training to find a list of the classes. Call CDW at 318-443-7880 or 800-803-8075 for more information. Starting in 2022, webinars and hybrid classes will be offered online at BigMarker.com/cdworks. Participants do not need to download software to attend the online courses.

CDW trainings are part of The Rapides Foundation’s Social Environment Initiative and have the goal of building the capacity of nonprofit staff and volunteers in Central Louisiana. Trainings are offered in the spring and the fall.