Hosted by Common Good Vermont

Join us for a practical, skills-focused limited series on de-escalation in critical conversations, designed to support direct service staff in safely navigating high-emotion, high-stakes interactions.

Date/Time:

Session 1: September 16, 2026  10 – 11:15am
Session 2: September 23, 2026 10 – 11:15am

Session 1 (75 minutes) – 9/16/26

De-escalation in Critical Conversations: Staying Safe in High-Emotion Situations

In moments of heightened fear, uncertainty, and disruption—such as the current climate of increased immigration enforcement and rapid policy shifts—direct service nonprofit staff are often asked to hold space for intense emotions, deliver difficult updates, and respond when clients are scared, angry, or overwhelmed. This interactive webinar focuses on how to stay steady, safe, and effective in critical conversations with others when the stakes feel high and solutions may be limited.

Designed specifically for nonprofit staff in direct service roles, this session will focus on practical de‑escalation strategies and communication tools for navigating emotionally charged interactions. Participants will explore how to communicate clearly and compassionately, reduce escalation, and help people feel heard—even when the answer is “no,” “not yet,” or “I don’t know.”

The emphasis is on real‑world application: what to do and say in the moment, how to maintain safety, and how to respond when fear, grief, anger, or urgency are driving the conversation.

This session will cover:

• Practical de‑escalation techniques for tense or emotionally charged situations
• Strategies for navigating conversations shaped by fear, uncertainty, or systemic harm
• How to deliver hard news or limited updates with clarity and care
• What it means to “help” when there is nothing concrete to offer—and how presence still matters
• Recognizing escalation early and redirecting before situations become unsafe

Participants will leave with clear tools, shared language, and increased confidence in their ability to engage in difficult external conversations while prioritizing safety, dignity, and respect.

Audience:

Nonprofit staff in direct service roles, including frontline staff, case managers, advocates, support specialists, and supervisors.

Session 2 (75 minutes) – 9/23/26

Practices, Team Support, and Organizational Structures That Sustain Direct Service Work

In the current context of heightened immigration enforcement and ongoing social and policy uncertainty, direct service staff are carrying more than individual difficult conversations—they are operating within systems under strain, often absorbing emotional impact without clear structures to support them. This interactive session focuses on what it takes to stay grounded and safe internally while doing demanding frontline work—and how organizations and teams can share that responsibility.

Rather than framing self‑care as something staff must figure out on their own, this session emphasizes practical, collective approaches: how teams communicate across roles, how supervisors and peers can support one another in real time, and how organizations can put simple structures in place to reduce emotional overload and isolation.

Participants will explore tangible practices they can use immediately—as individuals, as teams, and within their organizations—to process difficult interactions, prevent emotional spillover, and make the work more sustainable over time.

This session will focus on:

• Recognizing the specific emotional and cognitive impacts of repeated high‑stakes conversations in direct service roles
• Practical strategies for closing out difficult interactions and transitioning between tasks without carrying the weight forward
• Clear, shared ways teams can debrief, communicate, and support one another across roles (frontline staff, supervisors, administrators)
• Simple organizational practices—such as check‑ins, handoffs, and role clarity—that reduce emotional burden and prevent staff from feeling solely responsible
• How supervisors and teams can normalize boundaries, encourage support‑seeking, and build cultures where it’s safe to name limits
• Identifying small, actionable policy or practice shifts that organizations can adopt to better protect staff and client relationships

Participants will work with realistic scenarios drawn from direct service settings and leave with concrete tools, shared language, and structural ideas they can bring back to their teams. The goal is not to eliminate difficulty, but to distribute it more fairly, so no one is carrying it alone.

Audience:

Nonprofit staff working in direct service roles, supervisors, and managers who support frontline teams, including case managers, advocates, program leads, and operations or people managers seeking practical ways to support staff sustainability.

Alliance for Nonprofit Impact members are eligible for the Common Good Vermont member rate.

The United Way Alliance for Nonprofit and Skills for Rhode Island’s Future have teamed up to offer a timely training initiative designed specifically for nonprofit leaders. This training will provide practical knowledge, tools, and strategies to help your organization navigate a changing funding landscape, identify new opportunities, and build a stronger foundation for the future.

During this training, you will:

1. Understand Federal Grants: Learn how federal funding works and how to better position your organization to compete successfully for grant opportunities.
2. Navigate the Changing Funding Landscape: Gain insight into current funding trends and what they may mean for your organization.
3. Explore Funding Opportunities: Discover different funding mechanisms and strategies to help diversify and strengthen your organization’s financial sustainability.
4. Build Strategic Partnerships: Learn how collaboration and strong partnerships can expand your reach, resources, and impact.

Presented by the Chronicle of Philanthropy

Join GoFundMe Pro and The Trevor Project to learn how to make recurring giving a core part of your year-end fundraising strategy. Discover how to identify donors most likely to become recurring supporters, create a more compelling giving experience, and build engagement strategies that keep donors connected long after giving season ends.

In this session, you'll learn how to:

• Build recurring giving goals and opportunities into your giving season strategy

• Use donor behavior and engagement signals to identify first-time donors most likely to upgrade to a monthly gift

• Apply acquisition and stewardship lessons from The Trevor Project to keep recurring donors engaged

• Use technology to recover failed payments, support seamless gift upgrades, and strengthen donor retention

Whether you're looking to grow recurring revenue, improve donor retention, or maximize the impact of your year-end campaigns, you'll leave with practical strategies you can put into action right away.

Register Here

Presented by the Nonprofit Broad

Nonprofit Connections RI is a monthly meet up for nonprofits and fans that takes place around the Ocean State. It is a free event to connect and collaborate!

The purpose of putting this together is to help build a stronger community of shared support and resources one relationship at a time. Because, we do more, together. 

It is important to note that this is not a typical networking event. It isn't about collecting business cards or pitching services. It is about building relationships and community starting with a conversation. It is about bringing nonprofit folks and business owners together to connect with one another. It might lead to finding your next board member or a new client, but right now it is sort of the 'meet cute' moment as they say in showbiz.

Our gatherings resumed on September 17, 2025 and take place the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 6 pm to 8 pm:

Register Here