Please see the calendar for upcoming events.

Faculty | Date & Times | Location & Price | Technical Requirements

The Internet has helped civil society organizations transcend geographical boundaries like never before. One of the demands of our new reach is the need to make presentations and host seminars without paying for everyone to be in the same room. At the same time, the Internet is replacing expensive remote conferencing tools with cheaper, generic systems that nonprofits can afford. While nothing entirely replaces face to face meetings for building trust and connection, online seminars are a increasingly powerful vehicle for management, training, organizing, and relationship building with our stakeholders - allies, staff, volunteers, and donors. In this self-referential online session, we will help you:

• assess the strengths and weaknesses of online presentations for your material and needs
• avoid the common pitfalls of online presentations
• maximize the outcomes and leverage the impact of any given seminar
• decide what technical features you need for the kind of presentation you want to make
• put together an affordable, sustainable delivery platform with maximum flexibility and minimum lock-in
• develop methods of engaging participants, before, during, and after the presentation
• adapt off-line presentations for online use
• plan and evaluate your seminar program

Online seminars are a halfway point between less personal media and face-to-face meetings. Organizations all over the world are waking up to the potential of this medium to enroll and mobilize people. If you think it's a medium that you want to explore and develop, then this workshop is right for you.
 

Our seminars are intended for the professional staff of nonprofit organizations, specifically those working in communication, fundraising, or technology. Our packages tend to be tightly focused on a particular professional field and our seminars deliver lessons that can be immediately applied within a particular professional's field of authority.
 

This seminar will be taught by Michael C. Gilbert, the author of dozens of online seminars on communication issues for nonprofits. He is a long time coach and consultant on matters related to information and effectiveness in work and civil society. He is the author of Communication Centered Technology Planning, 2nd Edition, the Editor of Nonprofit Online News, and the Founding President of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network. The Gilbert Center is now in the fourth year of its own online seminar program. For more information about Mr. Gilbert, please see his bio.
 

Seminar: The next live online seminar presented by The Gilbert Center has not yet been scheduled.

(You can also hire us to present this and any of the sessions listed on this site, as well as custom sessions, for your group privately, online or in person at your location. Please contact us for more info if you are interested.)

New On-Demand Option: If you would like to attend this seminar, but our schedule doesn't work for you, then you can now request the "On-Demand" option. What this means is that we will schedule time for you to watch the recording of the seminar when it is most convenient for you, within a couple weeks after the live session. (There is no additional charge for this option.)

One on One Consulting Sessions: To be scheduled with the instructor, within two weeks after the sessions.
 

This is an open registration seminar, which means that anyone can attend. It will be held online. The price is $99.00 for the first student. There is a $15 fee for each additional student watching at the same computer, and at the same time with the first.

(You can also hire us to present this and any of the sessions listed on this site, as well as custom sessions, for your group privately, online or in person at your location. Please contact us for more info if you are interested.)

Michael Gilbert has a proven track record of helping individuals and organizations move the ideas he has taught in a seminar from concept to implementation during one on one consultations afterwards. He will answer any questions you have regarding the seminar materials, of course. But more importantly, you'll have access to the discipline and focus that comes from his twenty years of experience. He can help you develop a plan and get it started. One call or many, it all depends on how much help you need in your particular situation. Each call is 30 minutes in length and should be scheduled to happen within two weeks after the seminar. Also, you may have additional people join the call on your end, if you like.

The price for one on one consulting is discounted by more than 50% if you buy it as part of a seminar package.

You are responsible for making sure that you can meet these requirements before you register to attend one of our online seminars. Please feel free to Contact Us with any questions you might have.

Seminar sessions are broadcast to you via Quicktime, and you are able to send in questions during the session via AOL Instant Messenger. For this you will need:

• An internet connection (broadband will yield improved performance)
• An email account and email address
• A free AOL Instant Messaging account and client software (AIM Web Site)
• Directions to get a free screen name
• Install AIM on your computer
• Or see the help page linked to below for other options.
• The free Quicktime Player plugin (Quicktime Free Download)
  • The ability to access this test movie with Quicktime.

If you're having trouble, check the Technical Help page.
 

• A telephone connection
• An internet connection that you can use while being on the phone
• A current, standards-compliant web browser