Webinars and Telebriefings

Upcoming Presentations:

Prediction Maps from Climate Envelope Models: What Can They Tell Us?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
2 p.m. AT / 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT / 11 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. PT / 9 a.m. AK / 8 a.m. HI

Presented by James I. Watling, research professor, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center

Climate change is among the most pressing conservation challenges of the twenty-first century because it has the potential to reconfigure the spatial distribution of species and their habitats. Development of predictive models of biological responses to climate change is key to responding to climate change impacts and developing fish and wildlife adaptation strategies. To meet the need for robust models of species response to climate change, our team is producing predictive models (climate envelope models) for 26 federally listed threatened and endangered species occurring in peninsular Florida. In addition to development of individual species models, we also are developing a flexible protocol for climate envelope modeling that is applicable to other species and geographic locations, and using a variety of media to place this information in the hands of natural resource managers. In this webinar, we will introduce participants to some of the decision support tools we are developing, present preliminary insights from species models, and outline a quantitative and spatially-explicit approach to describing uncertainty in climate envelope models. Register for the webinar.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Wildlife Federation have developed a series of web conferences to increase communication and transfer of technical information between conservation professionals regarding the increasing challenges from climate change. This program is being facilitated by the USFWS's National Conservation Training Center Applied Landscape Conservation Team.

Health Care Reform, HIRE Act and Payroll Tax Holidays: A Short Course on Federal Policies That Will Affect Your Organization This Year

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
3 p.m. AT / 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT / 12 p.m. MT / 11 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. AK / 9 a.m. HI

Are you up to date on the federal tax policies that will affect your organization? An extended employee tax holiday and changes to health care credits and tax reporting are among those that may impact nonprofits in new and potentially big ways. What do these changes mean for your organization? How much can you earn from the health care credit? How much will you spend on new reporting requirements? What resources are out there for tracking these changes? Get answers to all of these questions and your own from Kim Ruef, CPA, of Wegner CPAs during this free one-hour webinar. Register for the webinar.

Presented by NWF and State Environmental Leadership Program

EXTRAordinary Wildlife Week Kickoff Webinar

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
5 p.m. AT / 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. MT / 1 p.m. PT / 12 p.m. AK / 11 a.m. HI

This Leap Day presentation will provide an overview of this year's National Wildlife Week activities, which center on the extraordinary ways of wildlife in our world. Individuals who participate in the webinar will receive a special kit of materials to use with groups or in classrooms. Register by February 10 for consideration.

In addition to lesson plans and service project ideas, resources highlighting 45 U.S. species of wildlife—record breakers, animals with unique defenses and more—will be shared during National Wildlife Week (March 19-25, 2012).

2011 Archives

Achieving Community Wildlife Habitat Certification

Do you live in a community that is working towards becoming a certified Community Wildlife Habitat? Or are you thinking of registering your community's project to become certified? Listen as Roxanne Paul, senior coordinator of community and volunteer outreach at NWF, and team leaders from certified communities around the country detail how to achieve certification. Recording available soon.

“Kids and Nature” Education Policy Webinar

In the past 15 years, American childhood has moved indoors. Along with that, young people are losing the formative childhood experiences that create an abiding affection for nature. How can we start to reverse the decline in kids’ connection to the natural world? By working together.

On January 18, Allen Cooper, National Wildlife Federation’s state policy director, provided an overview of state and national policies focused on environmental education and kids and nature. He described how groups can use current policies to get kids outdoors and protect funding for much needed federal environmental education programs. View Allen's presentation slides [PDF].

“Remember Us in your Will!” Planned Giving Basics from an Estate Planning Attorney

Presented by State Environmental Leadership Program

If your organization uses the following words—“Remember us in your will!”—this is the webinar for you. And if your organization doesn’t, this is definitely the webinar for you. In this online training, you’ll hear from estate planning attorney Melinda Gustafson Gervasi about the various types of planned giving options and what organizations like yours need to know before embarking on a planned giving program. You'll get an update on the federal estate tax, which may affect donor giving in the future, and learn how to make the process smoother and less cumbersome for both your organization and your supporters (read: how to save your supporters money so they can put more money into your organization). Listen and walk away with tools, tips and resources to help create or beef up your organization’s planned giving program.

View a recording of the webinar—available online until January 13, 2012.

View an outline of the "Planned Giving Basics" presentation [PDF].

Social Media Webinar

Want to actively engage constituents using a mixture of online tools and social media sites? Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Federation's social media manager, has suggestions for doing just that. At this webinar, Danielle talked about how nonprofits are using these resources as well as tactical ways to integrate social media into your work. View Danielle's slide presentation.

Keeping Up with Facebook's Changes (and 'Liking' It!)

Get up to speed on Facebook's recent changes and find out how you can take advantage of these enhancements to adjust your nonprofit's course. NWF's Danielle Brigida was be among the presenters. Check out the Facebook webinar recording.

Communicating Climate Change

Connie Roser-Renouf of George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication discusses audience segmentation research on Americans’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors related to climate change. She describes the relationship between parents’ and children’s attitudes toward climate change, and explore communication strategies for reaching six distinct audience groups, Global Warming’s Six Americas. View recording.

Pre-Reading Materials: Introducing Global Warming’s Six Americas

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Wildlife Federation have developed a series of web conferences to increase communication and transfer of technical information between conservation professionals regarding the increasing challenges from climate change. This program is being facilitated by the USFWS's National Conservation Training Center Applied Landscape Conservation Team.

Donor Research on a Shoestring

Building out useful information about donors and members is an important process for any organization. And while it can be a significant investment of time, it doesn’t have to be an expensive investment of money. Information that is readily available through the Internet’s major search engines can help to determine a donor’s capacity and interests.

On September 29, National Wildlife Federation’s Dan Gifford—an 18-year veteran of nonprofit development and fund-raising—described the tools and techniques that can turn a random name in your database into a more fully realized picture of a donor’s assets, employment, giving history, and more. He shared some of his favorite websites and research methods for developing a donor biography, and for generating strategic data that can be used for donor cultivation and engagement.

View a recording of the webinar—available online until October 29, 2011.

View a list of free research resources [PDF].

Protection from “SLAPP” Challenges

Because organizations are vulnerable to SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) and other legal challenges, NWF Board Member Dave Hargett recently asked if National Wildlife Federation could offer affiliate partners some information resources on how to insure themselves against such liability claims and related defense costs.

On September 26, Meghan Mullee of Alliant Insurance Services, NWF’s insurance broker, hosted a webinar on this topic. She shared basic information about the types of coverage her company provides, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

View Meghan's slide presentation [PDF].

One thing Meghan mentioned is that insurance coverage is not one size fits all. She recommended each affiliate organization review its structure, programmatic offerings and so on in advance of talking to any insurance agent, as this information will help determine the types of coverages needed.

Meghan is available to answer questions. She may be reached at 703-547-6292 or MMullee@alliantinsurance.com.

Grant-Writing Basics

View the webinar presentation by Janice Bezanson, executive director of Texas Conservation Alliance.