Fundraising management is the process of planning and developing strategies, including developing a fundraising plan, identifying potential donors, creating marketing materials and organizing events to raise money. Effective fundraising management helps organizations to build relationships with donors and other stakeholders. Also, it supports non-profit organization’s ability to carry out their missions and positively impact the world.

A successful fundraiser requires careful planning and execution, below are three key elements that can help ensure the success of your fundraising efforts:

• Clear Goal: It is essential to have a specific and achievable goal in mind when planning a fundraiser; it helps you focus your efforts and provides the donors with a clear understanding of their contributions.
• Identify Potential Donors: Research organizations that share your values and have similar interests in your mission; they may be willing to support the cause. You may also leverage social media platforms to research and connect with potential donors. This could include foundations, corporations, and even individual donors.
• Engaging Marketing Materials: Creating marketing materials will generate excitement and increase engagement around your campaign. Marketing materials will also help you to communicate your messages effectively, and you may use emails, social media posts, and other promotional materials in your marketing plan.

Accountability and transparency are essential in today’s society, and fundraising management is a vital part of an organizations duty to demonstrate these fundamentals to the public and their donors. It encourages openness on how donations are being used and helps to demonstrate the impact of their work. Also, it allows organizations to build confidence and trust among their donors and the wider community.

Why should you enrol for a Fundraising Management certificate with DC Professional and Part-time Learning:

The Fundraising Management Certificate program allows you to expand your knowledge of professional fundraising principles and examine various fundraising techniques and strategies, including special events planning, grant writing, and major gift giving. You will also explore the development of donor relationships as an integral part of fundraising.

• If you are already working in the non-profit sector or are involved in fundraising, learning about fundraising management can help you be more effective in your current role.
• Many non-profit organizations have fundraising as a crucial part of their operations, and being skilled in fundraising can open up new career opportunities.
• If you are considering starting a non-profit organization, learning about fundraising management can help you get your organization off the ground.

I am delighted to welcome you to Durham College’s Professional and Part-time Learning. A strong personal commitment to lifelong learning is more critical now than ever, and choosing to pursue additional education will help you achieve your career goals. Whether you are at the beginning of your career, or at mid-career and looking to advance or change careers, or are considering post-retirement options, I am confident that Durham College’s range of programming will meet your needs.

We pride ourselves in our flexible learning delivery and exceptional program quality and innovation. We are unmatched in Ontario in our offerings which include more than 70 programs ranging from micro-credentials, certificates, diplomas and graduate certificates and more than 1,000 courses. Each of our classes is delivered by instructors with deep industry experience, allowing them to share relevant and current insights with their learners. And our range of learning environments – including courses with scheduled sessions as well as those without specific requirements for a timetabled class – allow you to continue to focus on your family and work responsibilities while pursuing your education. Our goal is to make learning that fits your life.

Please take a look through the catalogue and consider how we can help you achieve your goals. Reach out if you have any questions, and we are happy to help you choose the right courses and/or program that is right for you. Wishing you a successful and fulfilling lifelong journey.

Jean Choi, PhD
Executive Dean
Professional and Part-time Learning and Faculty of Liberal Studies | Teaching, Learning & Program Quality

Personality and behavioural changes are common challenges for those caring for individuals or loved ones with dementia. These behavioural changes often impact the memory, judgement, orientation, mood, and behaviour of individuals with dementia, possibly resulting in aggression, delusions, hallucinations, and repetitive speech. These behavioural changes in people with dementia are collectively termed “responsive behaviours”.

While it is essential to recognize that these behaviours cannot be controlled or changed, it is essential to learn compassionate ways to communicate and care for those with dementia. It is also vital to develop strategies to aid you in addressing and Managing Responsive Behaviours in Older Adults.

Some of the most common responsive behaviours in older adults with dementia:

• Repetition: If you observe repetitive behaviours, such as asking the same question over and over or constant hand rubbing – it could indicate feelings of insecurity or loss. You should approach this situation by speaking calmly and answering their question, even if you have previously answered them.
• Aggression: You may notice that your loved one becomes angry for reasons that may not be obvious – it could be due to fear of a situation or a person they find threatening. It is recommended to approach from the front while maintaining eye contact and minimize surrounding noise and activity levels.
• Wandering: This is a typical response to overstimulation and overwhelming situations – it may indicate discomfort, and the your loved one could be experiencing delusions and hallucinations due to dementia or medication side effects. Distraction can be a great aid to redirect the person’s attention to a different activity and manage this behaviour.

To learn more about how you can manage and respond to Responsive Behaviours, consider completing the Managing Responsive Behaviours in Older Adults stacked micro-credential offered by Durham College’s Professional and Part-Time Learning. This stacked micro-credential is comprised of three courses:

• Recognizing Responsive Behaviours: Which examines a relational care approach and the complexities of dementia. Students will learn the many factors that affect responsive behaviours and the subsequent complexities of managing responsive behaviours.
• Assessing and Preventing Triggers of Responsive Behaviours: Which focuses on identifying, evaluating and preventing triggers for responsive behaviours. Students will learn to recognize the signs and symptoms that lead to responsive behaviours.
• Effective Non-pharmacological Interventions for Responsive Behaviours: Which emphasizes strategies that can be used to safely and appropriately prevent the escalation of responsive behaviours. Student’s will be engaged in various practice activities and scenarios that will prepare them to select interventions in different conditions.

According to Robert Half research, 95% of executives believe finding employees with the necessary skills and competencies is difficult. Micro-credentials assist people in retraining and upgrading their skills to find new employment. Micro-credentials are short-term training offered by Durham College’s Professional and Part-Time Learning department that can help you gain the skills that employers require.

Organizations are looking for opportunities to train, development, and upskill their employees.  Micro-credential can provide a great avenue for companies to achieve this goal.  Many organizations are rethinking how they screen candidates for interviews and are looking for specific competencies during the interview process. Micro-credentials align directly to this need and can assist candidates in standing out during the screening process.

Micro-credentials tend to be shorter to complete compared to traditional qualifications like degrees. At the same time, they can also help you work on practical projects and problem-solving assignments.

Why should you consider completing a micro-credential?

Working full-time professionals don’t always have a schedule that aligns with a traditional college or university. Micro-credentials provides a flexible and efficient approach for employees to expand their skill set and increase their employability.

Micro-credentials can be completed on your schedule and are usually shorter than a traditional degree. There are stacked micro-credentials designed to be combined and create a comprehensive portfolio of qualifications in a subject area.

Types of Micro-credentials:

• Individual Micro-credential: These are the most popular type of micro-credentials; they are highly focused on a specific competency related to a particular job.
• Stacked Micro-credential: As the name suggests, multiple micro-credentials support the development of various competencies related to a particular type of job.

What are the benefits of micro-credentials?

1. Cost-effective: The investment required for micro-credentials is far less when compared to traditional academic credentials. Given their nature and duration, making them cost-effective also make them easily accessible for many professionals.
2. Accessible: Since Micro-credentials are taught online, professionals can study from anywhere in the world. Unlike traditional academic courses, many individual micro-credentials don’t have prerequisites, ensuring that you can complete them without any prior experience.
3. Efficient & Modern Learning Style: When you take micro-credentials, many are taught through storytelling, practice-based assignments, and work-learning projects, allowing you to be self-paced with an end date to complete your assignments.

Do employers recognize micro-credentials?

Micro-credentials have been around for a long time, but it’s a modern learning style. They are widely recognized in constantly changing industry sectors such as business, marketing, and information technology.

In some organizations, micro-credentials are considered additional skills that a candidate brings to the table. Here these qualifications work hand-in-hand with traditional education. By taking these micro-credentials, a candidate can demonstrate their dedication to life long learning and gain specialized education in a particular area to grow their career.

Examples of Micro-credentials by Interest available at DC Professional and Part-Time Learning:

• Arts and Design
• Education
• Health and Community Services
• Trades and Technology
• Business

The skills learned with micro-credentials can be applied to your industries. You choose the skills that make your profile more competitive and marketable, making it easier to further your career.

Every company wants to treat its employees fairly, but often the bottom line hinders these noble intentions. The purpose of a human resources department is to create rules that balance the interests of both employers and employees.

Over the years, HR professionals have adapted from a company-first to an employee-first approach. Gone are the days of traditional payroll and benefits administration. Now modern HR is involved in formulating plans to find the best candidates, ensuring employee retention by addressing their problems, managing employee separation, and keeping up with the developments in the HR sector.

Mental Health and Employee Wellbeing: In this post-pandemic era, many organizations have prioritized employee well-being and adopted a more empathetic leadership style.

IBM Institute for Business Value’s study shows that there is a massive disparity between how employees believe that they are supported by their employers vs. how much employers are concerned about employees’ well-being. The HR professionals have been formulating and strategizing employee wellness through the lens of recruitment, benefits policies, and workplace culture.

Talent Acquisition and Management: The recruitment and selection process has been evolving, and the insurgence of remote work meant employers anticipate candidates’ preference for remote work. HR Professionals will have to devise and strategize a plan to maintain employee performance and effectiveness.

As more and more people enter the freelance economy, businesses will have even more options for hiring the best non-payroll talent. Employing freelance talent to be completely remote will become more common in the future of talent acquisition.

Virtual Human Resources: The candidate screening process was digitalized long ago, but businesses are now heavily adopting electronic human resource management (E-HRM) technology to allow HR employees to save time.

A new part of E-HRM systems is the HR Chatbots, which can analyze and organize people-centric data for staffing, training and development, and payroll tasks. This allows HR practitioners to design strategic procedures that will improve the business.

Hybrid and Remote Working: While most organizations have had an open-door policy and free-flowing communication when employees visit in person, HR practitioners must always have open communication channels. Many employees have not yet fully transitioned to working from home, so HR managers have to think outside the box to keep this culture alive in a remote office.

Implementing this culture and style in a virtual environment may require HR to facilitate talks or provide staff with the required tools. HR must communicate more than just business information in an entirely online workplace. They must also keep an eye on how staff members adapt to their new remote work environment. This will ensure that HR makes every effort to maintain the remote workforce’s satisfaction and productivity.

If you are interested in being a Human Resource professional, you should consider the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. It is one of the best entry-level qualifications in HR in Canada and is exclusively provided by Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).

Durham College also offers a two-year Ontario College diploma in Business – Human Resources, where you learn industry-standard softwares and learn from professionals who are connected to the industry.