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Is it time to develop the budget? The process of building and monitoring a budget is fundamental to an organization’s planning and financial oversight. It results in a useful tool -- one that can be used on an ongoing basis to anticipate problems and provide a baseline against which programmatic and financial performance can be assessed. In this course we will evaluate how to build a sound budget for managing your organization and explore examples on how this budget tool can be used to deal with multiple programs and multiple funding sources.

Learning Objectives:
-How to build a budget for sound nonprofit financial management
-How to utilize your budget to monitor actual performance

Audience: This workshop is great for Executive Directors, fund development professionals, program managers, board members, and anyone else doing budgeting for nonprofit organizations.

Description:

The stories we tell shape the world we live in and the future we’re building. As funding becomes harder to secure and competition for awards grows, the ability to communicate your nonprofit’s impact with clarity, emotion, and purpose is no longer optional — it’s essential. This workshop gives nonprofit leaders the tools and confidence to craft stories that stand out and inspire action.

Learning Objectives:
- Explain the strategic value of storytelling as a tool for advancing their nonprofit mission, building trust, and influencing key audiences — including funders, advocates, and partners.
- Identify and shape compelling narratives that authentically reflect their mission, values, and impact.
- Apply practical storytelling tools and techniques to craft stories that inspire action, deepen engagement, and drive change.
- Design and implement a storytelling process within their organizations, including effective methods for sourcing, curating, and sharing authentic narratives.
- Develop and uphold responsible storytelling practices that ensure respect, dignity, and agency for the people and communities represented.
- Discover and surface powerful stories in unexpected places, expanding their organization’s capacity to capture and communicate impact.

Facilitator: Anne Freiermuth, CPA

Understanding the unique accounting principles and requirements that apply to nonprofits is critical for your mission to succeed. This four module seminar series will introduce students to the basic accounting concepts relevant to nonprofit organizations. Participants will be exposed to foundational accounting principles and their practical applications. This will include understanding cash vs. accrual basis, the matching principle, fund accounting, functional allocations, and how to read and prepare financial statements.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Series participants will be introduced to fundamental accounting rules (generally accepted accounting principles) and financial reports of nonprofit organizations.
Series participants will analyze which transactions get recorded in the accounting system and how.
Series participants will be able to recognize allocation methodologies and how they impact financial statements and external oversight.
Series participants will be able to record common accounting transactions.
MODULE OVERVIEW:

Module I: Introduction and Contributions Accounting
Wednesday, Mar 18 | 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Module II: Internal Controls, Fixed Assets, Reading Financials, Allocating Expenses
Thursday, Mar 19 | 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Module III: Putting it all Together: Case Study Year One
Wednesday, Mar 25 | 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Module IV: Putting It All Together: Case Study Year Two
Thursday, Mar 26| 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

LEVEL: Intro/Intermediate

TARGET AUDIENCE: Executive directors & CEOs, CFO’s, finance staff, Board treasurers and finance committees

Workshop with Terry Kang and Pamela Perkins-Dwyer.

Effective stewardship demonstrates to donors that you value their individual support and see them as an integral part of your community, growing their loyalty and trust in your nonprofit over time. Securing donors’ long-term support is critical for your nonprofit to continually fund its mission-driven initiatives. This workshop will empower development professionals, nonprofit leaders, and board members to strengthen donor relationships through stewardship strategies.

Participants will learn how to turn stewardship theory into everyday practice, creating personalized, mission-driven experiences that deepen donor engagement year-round. The workshop emphasizes building trust through transparency, gratitude, and storytelling while showcasing meaningful engagement opportunities such as behind-the-scenes access, intimate gatherings, and customized communications that highlight donor impact. Attendees will hear about real-world examples to assist in enhance their own donor relations programs.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to craft a stewardship plan that fosters a culture of appreciation, improves donor retention, inspires greater giving, and contributes to long-term organizational success.

Hiring the right people—and helping them thrive—can make or break your nonprofit’s success. This interactive workshop series walks you through effective interviewing techniques, collaborative problem-solving around common hiring challenges, and proven onboarding strategies to set new staff up for long-term success. You’ll leave with practical tools to attract, select, and retain talent that strengthens your mission and culture. Join your peers in this hands-on learning experience to sharpen your hiring and onboarding practices from start to finish.

Workshop Design

Morning Session – Effective Interviewing

Who you hire is a direct reflection of you and your organization. During this portion of the workshop, we will explore and role-play helpful tips and tools to improve your interviewing skills and ensure you hire the right candidate that your budget can afford every time. Focus areas will include defining your ideal candidate, proper interview preparation, and proper interview execution.

Brainstorming Lunch – Recruitment Challenges

Leveraging the peer knowledge in the room, we will surface the key challenges we all face in recruiting and retaining talent in the nonprofit sector. We will then seek to brainstorm as a group around solutions and best practices for addressing these difficulties.

Afternoon Session – Effective Onboarding

Phasing new employees into their roles with structured onboarding to set them up for success has always proven to be more effective than the very common “throw them into the frying pan,” or “figure your own job out” schools of learning. During this section of the workshop, we will examine and discuss tips and best practices to help new employees assimilate quickly and accelerate their speed to proficiency resulting in more productive, satisfied, engaged, and tenured employees.

Who Should Attend:

Nonprofit leaders and managers charged with hiring and building high performing staff teams. Organizations are encouraged to attend as a leadership group.

Come to the BIG BOOK SALE, Saturday Dec. 13th from 11am - 1pm at the new Buellton Library.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Buellton Library
All proceeds go to support the Buellton Library

~ Lots of good titles at low prices
~ Come early for best selection
~ Enjoy refreshments while browsing

Questions? Email us at Friendsofthebuelltonlibrary202@gmail.com

A master of flatpicking guitar and a dynamic songwriter with a voice that blends grit and grace, Americana trailblazer Molly Tuttle returns with a brand-new all-female band, bringing bold new energy to her genre-defying sound.

Let’s create spectacular theatre together! Now in its 56th year of Theatre for Youth, the Santa Monica Playhouse Diversity-in-Education Conservatory is delighted to offer one-week Winter Break Theatre Camp for kids 6 to 14. Activities include theatre games, voice, movement, acting, imagination building, writing, costume creation, self-confidence, making friends and a LIVE PERFORMANCE on the last day. Enrollment is limited. “Thank you for teaching me and helping me grow as an actor and person throughout the years. I am eternally grateful for everything you have done for me.” Diana Silvers (Booksmart, Ma, Space Force)

Santa Monica Playhouse Diversity-in-Education Conservatory alumni include Kate Hudson, Jason Ritter, Jason Segel, Diana Silvers, Cody Saunders, Rina Mimoun, Shana Feste, Karen Fukuhara, Liz Dean and Gadi Dechter.

Friday through Monday, December 26-29, 2025

Sessions meet daily 9am-3pm

Email education@santamonicaplayhouse.com for more details and to enroll. Let’s create holiday theatre magic together soon!

Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite will swing you into the holiday spirit along with festive carols featuring the New West Symphony Chorus (sung in English and Spanish), a Las Posadas celebration, and seasonally-inspired music from Tchaikovsky's "Winter Dreams" Symphony. The holidays never sounded so good!

Michael Christie, conductor
New West Symphony Chorus, Wyant Morton, director

Ellington/Strayhorn/Tyzik | Nutcracker Suite
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 1, "Winter Dreams"
Las Posadas Celebration
Gary Fry | Allelujah, Venite Gaudete, Wexford Processional, World of Joy

Additional holiday programming to be announced.

Founded in 1995, the New West Symphony is a professional orchestra that draws its players from the rich talent pool of professional Los Angeles-area musicians. With artistic direction led by GRAMMY® winner Maestro Michael Christie, appointed as music director in December 2018, the Symphony is the resident company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and performs at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.

It presents six Masterpiece Series concerts annually, performing major works from the symphonic repertoire with internationally-acclaimed artists as guest soloists. The Symphony also provides quality outreach and educational opportunities for the communities it serves through its annual Symphonic Adventures concert programs for youth, its traveling Music Van, and the Laby Harmony Project, a year-round music and leadership program for underserved students.

Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite will swing you into the holiday spirit along with festive carols featuring the New West Symphony Chorus (sung in English and Spanish), a Las Posadas celebration, and seasonally-inspired music from Tchaikovsky's "Winter Dreams" Symphony. The holidays never sounded so good!

Michael Christie, conductor
New West Symphony Chorus, Wyant Morton, director

Ellington/Strayhorn/Tyzik | Nutcracker Suite
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 1, "Winter Dreams"
Las Posadas Celebration
Gary Fry | Allelujah, Venite Gaudete, Wexford Processional, World of Joy

Additional holiday programming to be announced.

Founded in 1995, the New West Symphony is a professional orchestra that draws its players from the rich talent pool of professional Los Angeles-area musicians. With artistic direction led by GRAMMY® winner Maestro Michael Christie, appointed as music director in December 2018, the Symphony is the resident company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and performs at the Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center in Camarillo.

It presents six Masterpiece Series concerts annually, performing major works from the symphonic repertoire with internationally-acclaimed artists as guest soloists. The Symphony also provides quality outreach and educational opportunities for the communities it serves through its annual Symphonic Adventures concert programs for youth, its traveling Music Van, and the Laby Harmony Project, a year-round music and leadership program for underserved students.