For Nonprofits
Through the Nonprofit Support Center, the Foundation seeks to stimulate the development of a capable, forward thinking and collaborative nonprofit sector in Worcester County.
Whether you are looking to develop the capacity of your team, learn new skills, or find a consultant, we’re here to help with that… and more!
The Nonprofit Support Center was established in 1999 to create access to local high quality learning opportunities with their local peers. After reducing our programming in recent years due to Covid-19, the Foundation is reinvigorating the NSC in 2024 with a $1 million commitment over three years to support nonprofits in Worcester County.
The NSC will offer a calendar of high quality “nuts and bolts” type workshops, opportunities to deep dive into content with your peers through learning cohorts, and connections to external resources and consultants to help you continue to meet your mission equipped with knowledge, best practices and equitable practices.
2026 NSC Calendar: Fall and Winter
Our 2026 Nonprofit Support Center Calendar: Fall and Winter provides a full snapshot of workshops, funding opportunities, and events designed to support Worcester County nonprofits.
Upcoming Workshops
The Building Blocks of Finance for Small Nonprofits
Wednesday, September 23
3 - 5 p.m.
1 Mercantile Street, Auditorium
In this session with Rae Negron, participants will learn about the foundational practices of nonprofit finance, reflect on their own experiences with financial management, and have the opportunity to share and gain skills and practices that have worked for other small nonprofit organizations.
Building Capacity Through Strategic Partnerships
Tuesday, October 6
9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
1 Mercantile Street, Auditorium
Erica Olmstead will teach participants how the right partnerships can transform your work, the different partnership models, what it takes to build authentic, resilient partnerships, and how to recognize when one isn't working
Capital Projects Roadmap for Nonprofits
Tuesday, October 27
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
1 Mercantile Street, Auditorium
In this panel conversation led by Penn Ruderman, panelists will discuss the process of planning, designing, permitting, and constructing building projects for nonprofits.
Best Practices for Developing an Employee Handbook
Monday, November 2
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
1 Mercantile Street, Auditorium
This session, presented in partnership with MetroWest Nonprofit Network, provides an overview of current handbook best practices. Kevin Joly will lead a discussion of recent changes in the law and key policies to include
Nourishing Tomorrow's Leaders
Nourishing Tomorrow's Leaders is a nine week course that teaches participants how to become effective nonprofit board members while aiming to increase diverse representation on nonprofit boards in Worcester County. The goal of NTL is two-fold: we strive to give participants the tools, connections, and confidence needed to effectively serve on nonprofit boards and we seek to increase diverse representation on nonprofit boards.
Resources
Funding Opportunities
Nonprofit Effectiveness Grants are designed to support your internal organizational journey, focused on the areas of navigating change, leadership development, and growing internal structures.
The Mergers and Shared Services Fund supports nonprofits in various stages of exploration or implementation of an organizational restructure or a shared services model.
External Resources for Nonprofits
A collection of external resources that may be useful for nonprofit organizations.
2026 NSC Fall and Winter Calendar
Curry Printing
Thank you to our annual sponsor, Curry Printing, for their support!
Help in Healing
Located right off the highway in Bolton, Cultivate Care Farms is a sanctuary for those struggling with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. With support from a Nonprofit Effectiveness Grant from the Foundation, the team at Cultivate Care Farms received training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which focuses on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, and learned about applying DBT methods to the farm-based therapy approaches they were already practicing.