- Nonprofits
- Nonprofit Resources for Grantees
- Nonprofit Workshops
The Summit Foundation is excited to host workshops for partner nonprofits that are engaging, informative, and relevant.
We are always open to new ideas to support our nonprofits as part of our Nonprofit Resources for Grantees (NRG) program. If you see an area in your work that needs support and you have an idea for a workshop, please email kathryn@summitfoundation.org to let us know!
Fill out this INTEREST FORM FOR workshop UPDATES AND REGISTRATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
Upcoming Workshops:
Human Resources 101: December 10, 2026, 9AM-12PM | Breckenridge, CO
Hosted by: Summit Foundation with guest expert presenter Julie Schafer
HR 101 is an open and practical conversation about the people side of running a nonprofit. Expect real tools, real examples, and a few laughs along the way. Come with your questions, your chaos, and your coffee.
Description
HR 101 is an open, practical conversation about the people side of running a nonprofit: the hiring, the handbooks, the hard conversations, and everything in between. Whether you have a dedicated HR staff member, a team that shares the work, or one person wearing all the hats, this session is for your organization. Expect real tools, real examples, and a few laughs along the way, with plenty of room to ask the questions you've been sitting on. We'll cover the fundamentals — hiring and onboarding, policies and handbooks, performance conversations, compensation, and employment law basics — and use your pre-survey responses to spend the most time on what you need most. Come with your questions, your chaos, and your coffee.
Who Should Attend
- Executive Directors who handle HR alongside everything else
- Any other staff, board members, contractors or volunteers associated with a Summit Foundation grantee organization with HR duties
Eligibility
Free to anyone associated with a Summit Foundation grantee organization. If you're unsure whether your organization qualifies, please contact Kathryn Califf at kathryn@summitfoundation.org before registering. Light snacks and drinks will be provided.
Objectives & Goals
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify which HR fundamentals their organization has in place and where the real gaps are
- Understand the core building blocks of human resources
- Leave with practical tools, templates, and next steps sized to their organization
- Connect with peers facing the same challenges at similar organizations
About Julie Schafer:
Julie Schafer is a Senior People & Culture leader with over a decade of HR experience and someone who will tell you that the secret to great HR is simpler than you think. It starts and ends with genuinely caring about the people in your organization.
Julie has spent her career building people practices from the ground up in fast-growing organizations, including serving as Senior Director of People & Culture at Breckenridge Grand Vacations. She has spent her career in the heart of the mountain communities she calls home; designing compensation systems, building HR infrastructure from scratch, coaching leaders at every level, and showing up for organizations and their people through just about every challenge that comes with managing people. She is also deeply passionate about the nonprofit sector and the work organizations in Summit County do every day to make this community stronger.
Past Workshops:
Scaling Grant Success: Streamline Your Process and Secure More Funding
September 2026
Hosted by: Summit Foundation with guest expert presenter Robin Thompson
Description:
Grant writing shouldn't feel like a second full-time job. Between decoding rigid funder guidelines, wrestling with budget spreadsheets, and staring down a blinking cursor at 9 p.m., it's easy to lose sight of what actually wins grants: a compelling, authentic story that speaks directly to a funder's mission. This hands-on, three-hour workshop, building on our recent masterclass sponsored by the Summit Foundation, Demystifying AI: A Practical Master Class for Nonprofit Leaders, is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to work smarter, not harder. You'll learn how to use Artificial Intelligence as a strategic partner to cut through the administrative grind, so you can spend less time on rote data entry and more time on the storytelling and relationship building that actually moves funders to say yes.
WATCH THE VIDEO: Scaling Grant Success
Demystifying AI: A Practical Master Class for Nonprofit Leaders
June 2026
Hosted by: Summit Foundation with guest expert presenter Robin Thompson
Description:
Many nonprofit professionals feel the pressure to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) but struggle to find a starting point that feels authentic to their mission. This high-impact, hands on three-hour workshop moves past the tech jargon to provide a clear, practical path forward. Designed specifically for the Summit County nonprofit community, this session explores how to use AI tools to simplify workflows, enhance donor relationships, and protect your most valuable asset: your time. Whether you are an executive director, fundraiser, grant writer or part of a larger development team, you will gain the confidence to integrate AI into your daily practice without losing your unique organizational voice.