Displaying items by tag: training
Heartbeat Academy
Heartbeat International Academy offers life-affirming leaders, staff members, volunteers, and supporters access to pregnancy help training through various educational formats tailored to the needs of pregnancy help professionals. Webinars provide on-demand training accessible anytime and anywhere with an internet connection, featuring a growing selection of programs at cost-effective prices. Online courses offer customizable options for group instruction or self-paced study, available 24/7 with dynamic, multi-media activities and progress-tracking features. Additionally, Heartbeat Academy hosts live virtual classes each quarter, taught by Heartbeat faculty members. These classes, varying in topic and length, provide in-depth training designed to enhance your expertise over a few weeks.
Learn the difference between a webinar, course, and live class. ▼
Plus, the Academy offers an online Store with a library of previously recorded training and in-depth Manuals.
Essentially, with Academy, we hope to offer a one-stop shop where pregnancy help leaders can access sector-specific training that will help them and their organizations continue to serve their clients and communities with excellence. We recognize the difficulty of trying to research where to go get training on raising funds, leading organizations, and serving clients, while simultaneously doing all of those things so our goal is to come alongside you to make it a bit easier. With our new learning plans feature, it’s even easier to identify what you need to know about any given topic and locate those trainings and resources that you need to raise funds, lead your organization, serve clients, etc. It doesn’t take much effort in today’s age to find a piece of information or training video online, but what sets Academy apart is our training goes beyond social work, Christian counseling, and nursing education, instead offering training and information through a Christian worldview specific to our pregnancy help community. With the expertise that we tap into through our faculty, we’re able to provide sector-specific training which means we’re not just training nurses in the physics and technical stuff on ultrasound, but training nurses to perform ultrasound in a pregnancy help organization as part of the process of building a relationship with that client. Not just the latest information on chemical abortion, but how best to respond to clients in this shortened window of opportunity. Now with our learning plan feature added in, even if you don’t know where to start, and don’t know what you don’t know you have a built-in guidance system of sorts to help make sure you find the right training for you. The short answer is anywhere and everywhere! When Heartbeat Academy was first launched, we focused on creating online coursework and a virtual learning space; that was what we were missing! Since 2020, we've brought those virtual and in-person worlds together so that now by completing the surveys offered onsite you can receive credit for training you’re doing in person with Heartbeat as well as credit for those digital and online training.
Why Academy? ▼
Plus, Affiliates receive 20% in the Academy! Click here to learn more.
What’s in the Academy? ▼
Where does training happen? ▼
How to use the Academy? ▼
With each webinar in the Heartbeat Academy, we now include an affiliate bonus registration for another member of your staff!
Each registration gives you access to the live presentation for yourself AND access for 1 additional person from your affiliated organization to access the recording through Heartbeat Academy! That recording access includes all the benefits of the webinar, including any CEUs offered.
How? Just register for yourself, and when the recording becomes available, you'll have the opportunity to enroll your additional staff member. That's one more benefit of being a Heartbeat International affiliate!
Courageously Pro-Life in a Post-Roe America
Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at 12 p.m. ET
Presented by Sarah Bowen
Webinar attendees will learn how the landscape has changed since Roe and how to communicate these changes to our churches and donor populations. Attendees will have access to a free small group Bible study (one session) that is great for churches, devotions at the center, and other settings. This material may also be used to develop your own talking points.
Possibilities with Prenatal Vitamins
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time
Presented by Martha Day, Vitamin Bridge
Pregnancy help organizations are uniquely positioned to be agents of change. Through the gift of prenatal vitamins, you have the potential to demonstrate compassion, improve birth outcomes, and invest in the next generation. Join us for this webinar to learn about the importance of nutrition for under-resourced women, raise awareness of the potential to improve birth outcomes, and learn how to implement and manage a prenatal vitamin program.
Featured Courses
Use the links below to explore the different ways you can use the Academy to enhance the knowledge and skills of you and your organization.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need assistance locating your courses or migrating your account to our new home.
Pregnancy Help Institute
Not your Typical Ministry. Not your Typical Training.
The Pregnancy Help Institute has provided thousands of pregnancy help leaders with professional training. Over time, this training has added key elements vital to the pregnancy help movement as services expand.
This year is no different. Our 2025 Pregnancy Help Institute will be July 21-25 in Columbus, OH. Start planning now! Watch for registration to open in early May!
The Pregnancy Help Institute dives deep into core topics useful both in the pregnancy help movement and in life. Organized under four intensive tracks (New Director, Development, Media, and Leadership), the Pregnancy Help Institute integrates executive-level instruction in a small-group environment, where you'll have the unparalleled opportunity to process information and strategies with experts and fellow front-line pregnancy help leaders. (Looking for ultrasound training? Click here!)
The New Director Track - for Directors with less than 3 years of experience
"I cannot imagine a more fitting training to kick off this new position. I left challenged, inspired, feeling connected to others in the movement. I am humbled and blessed."
If you have less than three years of experience in directing a life-affirming pregnancy center, medical clinic, maternity home, or nonprofit adoption agency, the New Director training is perfect for you. When you combine the wisdom gained from this training with your calling from the Lord, you are truly prepared to navigate effectively, avoid pitfalls, and increase your effectiveness as a leader. Facilitated by Heartbeat International staff with years of experience in pregnancy help leadership, you'll be in good hands.
Designed for Directors with less than 3 years of experience leading a pregnancy help organization.
Topics include:
- Keys to a Healthy Organization
- Strategic Planning
- Board Governance
- Volunteer Recruitment, Retention, & Training
- Core Client Programs
- Development — Raising Friends and Funds
- Staff Growth & Development
- Energizing Tips to Maintain Focus
The Development Track - for Fundraisers
"I am new to this field and have come away feeling equipped to make suggestions and push back on old systems and events that are less effective. I am excited to foster relationships with our supporters and to see where these relationships take us."
Advancing development through a more robust understanding of the nature and ministry of development is at the heart of this track. Anyone with responsibility for donor development or a part of the development plan will benefit from this advanced training. Seasoned pregnancy help leaders will join Cindi Boston-Bilotta, Leanna Baumer, Terri Barnhart, and Frances Lacson from Heartbeat's Mission Advancement team to provide a comprehensive view of a healthy development planning, follow-through, and steps for funding your mighty mission.
Designed for those whose role includes donor development within a pregnancy help organization.
Topics include:
- Biblical Foundations for Fundraising
- Setting Goals and Targets
- Funding Your Mission - Starting and Building
- Creating & Maintaining Monthly Support
- Developing Church Relationships
- Building Major Gift Relationships
- Writing Effective Grants
- Communicating with Financial Partners
- Creating Effective Direct Appeals
The Media Track - for Leaders
"I am new to this field and have come away feeling equipped to make suggestions and push back on old systems and events that are less effective. I am excited to foster relationships with our supporters and to see where these relationships take us."
The Pregnancy Help Institute's Media Training will take you on a transformative journey! Join us in empowering your team to navigate media interactions with finesse, foster positive relationships with reporters, and uphold ethical standards, ensuring your message resonates authentically with the world. In this track, we will delve into media landscapes as they relate to pregnancy help, empowering staff with a deeper understanding of various media types and trends. Through interactive sessions, we will unpack the impact of effective communication on public perception, while equipping participants with practical tools to create compelling messaging tailored to diverse audiences and platforms. We will also prioritize personal development by providing public speaking tips, immersive mock interviews, and on-camera practice to bolster confidence. Sessions will include media protocols, interview techniques, relationship building, crisis communication, and continuous improvement. Designed for leaders who want to refine their interview skills.
Designed for leaders within a pregnancy help organization.
Topics include:
- Media protocols
- Interview techniques
- Crisis communications
- Mock interviews
The Leadership Track - for Seasoned Leaders
"The leadership track went beyond expectations. For the first time in a long time, I was challenged in the area of strategic thinking, and I learned a lot that I will carry with me through life as a ministry leader, mother, and wife."
Created for seasoned leaders, the Leadership track contains concepts developed by Built to Lead, an executive coaching program that has trained CEOs, presidents, and ministry leaders nationwide. Here, you will learn proven techniques on how to lead effectively both at work and in your personal life and practice those methods throughout the week. Alumni are welcome to return for this track at any point for more training and refreshment!
Designed for seasoned leaders who want to invest in their ministry through leadership development.
Topics include:
- Personal Leadership Development
- Goal Setting
- Team Building
- Leadership Growth (Leading Leaders)
All Training Tracks will have prerequisite work that must be completed before attending the Pregnancy Help Institute. The list of prerequisites will be included in your registration confirmation
Hotel Information
Check back for 2025 hotel information!
5 reasons you need to come to Pregnancy Help Institute
- It’s corporate training at a non-profit cost.
Businesses nationwide use Built to Lead to train CEOs, Presidents, and Boards in Leadership Training. We have partnered with these executive coaches to bring you business training at a price you can afford. - It’s far more dynamic and personal than a conference.
Conferences, specifically the big annual ones, are incredible. There are so many people to meet and so much to learn, but sometimes you need more personalized in-depth training. Pregnancy Help Institute is intentionally sized for an intimate learning environment. Pregnancy Help Institute provides individual interaction and personal feedback to help you grow in your role and increase your effectiveness. - It’s vital to invest in yourself.
"We must all learn to lead ourselves with excellence before we can lead a team towards excellence. In other words, we believe that excellence achieved individually will spread organizationally." - Built to Lead’s Belief - A burst of training can take you a long way.
One week can literally revolutionize your personal leadership as well as grow your knowledge and understanding. Working with trainers and fellow participants over an extended time yields an exponential return on your investment of time. - The relationships you build will be powerful.
There's nothing more powerful than realizing you're not alone, and at Pregnancy Help Institute, you are surrounded by people not only who share your values, but also are close to you on the same journey.
Pregnancy Help Institute training qualifies for the Life Affirming Specialist (LAS) designation.
