This day of professional development including a keynote presentation, breakouts, and networking is dedicated to current topics in the field of early childhood education. Topics presented are relevant for individuals, partners, and teams.

Join us for a dynamic and engaging School Administrative Assistant Conference, designed to empower, educate, and connect administrative professionals in the education field. This conference provides a valuable opportunity to enhance your skills, gain fresh insights, and network with peers who play a vital role in supporting schools. Don't miss this chance to invest in your professional growth and celebrate the important contributions of school administrative assistants!

Beyond New Teacher Academy is designed to support teachers in years 2, 3, and beyond! The sessions will be structured around standards, procedures, and fostering collaboration with other regional teachers. There will be four professional development days at Sourcewell and three individual coaching days in their classroom. Content will be presented, collaboratively discussed and applied to lesson planning for use in their classrooms. Attendees will have the opportunity to take Catalyst Whole Group Classroom Leadership Day 1 and attend Catalyst Live.

This cohort is for districts who are participating in the Career Consultant program. District identified career committees will attend to engage in professional learning, collaboration, and program planning. Development of career pathways is based on the nationally recognized Redefining Ready metrics and professional learning will include outside expertise and exemplars to guide district teams in design. Cohort sessions may take place at Sourcewell or another location dependent on content of the session.

Join a dynamic community of forward-thinking educators committed to transforming student learning. Discover innovative teaching practices from our region, explore how they can be adopted to any grade level or subject, and connect with local teachers to exchange ideas, strategies, and inspiration. Together, we can elevate engagement and enrich the classroom experience for all students.

Topics include:

• Sharing innovative ideas


• Inquiry-based learning


• Creative problem solving through design thinking


• Experiential learning from the natural world


• Independent research projects


• Technology supporting innovation


• Sharing in success and iterations towards success when trying something new

The New Teacher Academy is designed to increase confidence and capacity in novice educators by combining relevant training with growth-focused coaching support. Support throughout the year includes five full-day trainings at Sourcewell, four individual in-classroom coaching sessions, Catalyst Whole Group Leadership, and Catalyst Live.

The New Teacher Academy is designed to increase confidence and capacity in novice educators by combining relevant training with growth-focused coaching support. Support throughout the year includes five full-day trainings at Chase on the Lake, five individual in-classroom coaching sessions, Catalyst Whole Group Leadership, and Catalyst Live.

Add+VantageMR® (AVMR) Course 2 includes dynamic, diagnostic, individual assessments in place value, multi-digit addition and subtraction, and multiplication and division strategies. The assessment, organizational, and teaching tools accelerate the educator's ability to recognize the students' current levels of numeracy understanding to make data-driven instructional decisions. AVMR Course 2 is most appropriate for kindergarten through elementary classroom and special education teachers, as well as interventionists who work with children kindergarten through middle school.

The Creating Engaging and Rigorous Classrooms Community of Practice offers K-12 students access to rigorous coursework. Educators learn WICOR® practices and AVID Digital Learning: The 4 A’s® to integrate digital strategies, differentiate instruction, and increase student agency. Participants also learn techniques to build connected communities and foster supportive, equitable learning spaces.

Collaborate for Impact: Building Stronger Nonprofit Partnerships

Discover how collaboration can help your nonprofit do more with less! Join us for this Lunch and Learn focused on building meaningful partnerships and increasing your impact. Connect with fellow nonprofit professionals exchange ideas, and leave with actionable steps to strengthen your network and grow your capacity. Lunch provided—don’t miss this chance to make meaningful connections!

This event is a partnership of the Initiative Foundation, Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, and Sourcewell.

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with these partners to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region.   

This introductory workshop will offer you ways for your students to be thinkers beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. Jessica Strom, mathematics educator in a small rural Minnesota school, will introduce you to 14 teaching practices for enhancing learning, engagement, and discourse in your math classroom. Learn how to apply these practices to engage your students in learning mathematics.

This workshop is designed for teachers who are current users of Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics. We will be learning with Jessica Strom on grading, assessment, reporting in the morning. In the afternoon, we will be focusing on closing a lesson through consolidating, notes, and CYUs (check your understanding).

Learn to create environments that support all children in engaging thoughtfully through room layout and design by understanding how a student’s physical surroundings impact their ability to function, learn, and thrive at school. Students who learn in a predictable, safe, and purposeful environment are able to spend more of their energy on the content and less on navigating their space.

Dig deeper into the Catalyst Whole Group Leadership foundation skills as well as additional strategies and refinements to impact the learning in your classroom even more. Collaborate and practice with other educators who are committed to preserving relationships, increasing engagement, and have more curriculum time for their students.

At the core of strong classroom management is how the adults manage themselves. In this class, participants learn strategies (based on observations and field-testing in more than 50,000 classrooms) that allow them to strengthen relationships, increase equity, reduce frustration, and foster independence in the classroom.

This session will give an overview of recent updates that have taken place in the 2022 math standards adoption and implementation process and then offer a protocol that can be used for unpacking the new benchmarks.

The Minnesota Service Cooperatives have collaborated to bring you a virtual, asynchronous option to meeting your Cultural Competency licensure requirement. This course provides video learning, personal reflection time, an opportunity to hear from educators in the field, and many additional resources to explore as you continue your journey to be an even more culturally competent educator.

Minnesota statute requires Cultural Competency training for educators to renew their teaching license with PELSB (Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board). Sourcewell has developed a PELSB-approved training that meets all components of PELSB's definition.

EcoTime 2.0: Where Outdoor Learning Meets 3-Dimensional Teaching 

This interactive session introduces teachers to life science lessons that encourage outdoor learning while incorporating the use of science journals. Teachers will participate in lessons that: build community and engagement in science concepts; promote investigation, analysis, and interpretation of data; and extend science instruction to language arts, math, art, and engineering. Teachers will receive a copy of EcoTime 2.0, which includes 120 lessons that focus on the 3-dimensions of science instruction emphasized in the new science standards, and learn about opportunities for free workshops at their schools. Participants will learn through experience, so come prepared to go outdoors!

Based on Dr. Marzano’s 50 years of education research, The New Art and Science of Teaching is an instructional framework that comprehensively addresses the most alterable effect on student achievement—quality instruction. Explore instructional strategies carefully designed to maximize student engagement and ensure high levels of learning for all. Learn the instructional framework components, which include: 3 categories, 10 design questions, and 43 elements. Experience many of the 43 elements through hundreds of modeled instructional strategies. Use reflective guides as a means of enhancing instructional practices.

This event is offered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation.

Are you ready to strengthen your nonprofit’s fundraising game? Whether you’re new to fundraising or looking to refine your approach, in this interactive workshop Janet Cobb will guide you through the essential building blocks of a strong, sustainable development strategy.

What You’ll Learn:

• Put Your Policies and Processes in Place—Set the foundation for ethical, effective fundraising.


• Craft a Strong Case for Support—Inspire donors with a compelling story and clear impact.


• Get It on Your Calendar—Plan and prioritize your fundraising activities for success.


• Know Your Numbers—Gain confidence in your financials and fundraising metrics.


• Get Your Board on Board—Engage your board as fundraising champions.

Key Takeaways:

• Fundraising Policies & Processes Checklist—A ready-to-use framework to ensure your nonprofit’s fundraising is ethical, legal, and effective.


• Case for Support Template—A structured document to help you craft a compelling, donor-focused case for funding.


• Fundraising Action Plan & Calendar—A customizable template to help you plan, track, and execute your fundraising activities with clarity and confidence.

This hands-on session is designed for nonprofit leaders, development professionals, and board members who want to build confidence, clarity, and consistency in fundraising.

Take the next step toward sustainable growth and lasting impact!

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with the Initiative Foundation to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region.   

This event is offered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation.

Fundraising events are more than just a means to bring in immediate dollars—they are key moments to cultivate individual donors, engage corporate partners, and build long-term financial sustainability. Too often, nonprofits see events as an isolated fundraiser, missing opportunities to maximize revenue, deepen donor relationships, and secure lasting corporate sponsorships.

This six-hour interactive workshop, led by Janet Cobb, a seasoned nonprofit strategist and fundraising coach, will show you how to make your events work smarter—creating profit while serving as a catalyst for ongoing donor and corporate engagement.

Key Takeaways

• Designing Events That Drive Revenue and Relationships:
  
  
  
  • Develop events that balance profitability with donor cultivation, ensuring that ticket buyers and attendees stay engaged beyond the event.
  
  
  • Learn budgeting and planning strategies to maximize your net revenue while creating an experience that strengthens donor and sponsor connections.
  
  
  
  


• Corporate Partnerships That Extend Beyond the Event: 
  
  
  
  • Learn how to position your nonprofit as a valuable partner that corporations want to invest in—not just for a one-time sponsorship, but for long-term collaboration.
  
  
  • Understand what companies seek from nonprofit partnerships and how to craft compelling sponsorship packages that align with corporate goals and community impact.
  
  
  
  


• Using Events to Cultivate Individual Donors for Long-term Support:
  
  
  
  • Move beyond “just an event” by using it as a springboard for deeper donor relationships.
  
  
  • Learn strategies for effective follow-up, donor segmentation, and post-event engagement to convert attendees into long-term supporters, monthly donors and major gift prospects.
  
  
  
  

You will leave the workshop with an ROI calculator, corporate partnership communications templates and an event follow-up calendar template.

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with the Initiative Foundation to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region.   

This event is offered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation.
Minnesota’s Give to the Max Day on Nov. 20, 2025, is a prime opportunity to engage donors, inspire giving, and build momentum for a strong year-end finish. But how do you ensure that your nonprofit stands out in a crowded field of organizations vying for attention? And how do you transition Give to the Max Day donors into long-term supporters, rather than just one-time givers?

This 6-hour interactive workshop will equip you with practical strategies to maximize Give to the Max Day results while integrating it into a powerful year-end fundraising plan. Led by Janet Cobb, a seasoned nonprofit strategist and fundraising coach, this session will help you navigate timing, messaging, donor engagement, and revenue planning—so you can turn Give to the Max Day into a launchpad for long-term financial health.

Key Takeaways:

• Crafting a standout Give to the Max Day campaign:
  
  
  
  • Learn what motivates donors on giving days and how to craft compelling messaging that inspires action.
  
  
  • Master the art of donor segmentation—tailoring asks to new, recurring and major gift prospects.
  
  
  • Get tools to amplify your reach through peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate matches, and social media strategies.
  
  
  
  


• Bridging the Gap Between Giving Day and Year-End Fundraising:
  
  
  
  • Develop a seamless follow-up and stewardship plan to turn one-time donors into ongoing supporters.
  
  
  • Understand the psychology of year-end giving and how to use momentum from Give to the Max Day to maximize holiday giving.
  
  
  • Learn how to align Giving Day efforts with your larger fundraising goals and integrate it into your year-round donor engagement strategy.
  
  
  
  


• Managing the Financial Ebbs & Flows of Year-End Fundraising:
  
  
  
  • Address the challenge of calendar-year donations vs. budget-year planning and how to manage fluctuating revenue.
  
  
  • Explore tools for cash flow management, reserve planning, and donor retention to create a more sustainable funding model.
  
  
  • Learn how to use year-end giving data to refine your fundraising approach for the coming year.
  
  
  
  

You’ll leave the workshop with templates for communicating effectively leading up to Give to the Max Day and through year-end, and a plan for creating a sustainable funding model.

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with the Initiative Foundation to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region. 

Get equipped to use FastBridge interventions tailored to meet students' instructional needs. Interventions for early reading, independent reading, foundational math, applied and advanced math, and behavior will be explored.

Take a deep dive into FastBridge reports. Explore popular reports such as the Group Screening Report, Screening to Intervention Report, Progress Monitoring Report, and Group Growth Report alongside an experienced and knowledgeable FastBridge trainer. Questions about best practice uses of any and all FastBridge reports will be addressed.