Development at the Core Session Descriptions
Session One: Strengths and Opportunities
July 13, 2010 (evening)
July 14, 2010 (full day)
How effective are you in your current fundraising program? Do you have difficulty attracting volunteer leadership’s participation in fund development? Do you have systems and policies for gift acceptance, acknowledgement, and donor stewardship? Is your case for giving compelling? This session answers these questions and lays out a roadmap for increased effectiveness.
Session Two: Human Resources for Fundraising
September 20, 2010 (evening)
September 21, 2010 (full day)
Who is involved in fundraising in your organization and what roles do they play? What are the mission, vision, and values that inspire them? What are the weaknesses and challenges that worry them? This session answers these questions and considers how best to identify, recruit, educate, and motivate leadership for fund development.
Session Three: Donors & Funders
November 29, 2010 (evening)
November 30, 2010 (full day)
How do you identify prospects for your organization? How do you turn them into givers and then into lifelong donors? This session explores the skills of donor research, the literature on donor motivation, and the mindset to think like a donor. It sets the stage for “the ask.”
Session Four: The Case
February 8, 2011 (evening)
February 9, 2011 (full day)
Why should a donor give in support of your organization? How do you explain your agency to outsiders and convince them that it is a good investment? This session delves into the elements of the case—from a description of how the organization operates, to the program budget that shows what philanthropic dollars can accomplish, to the call to action. The session deconstructs and practices every step of “the ask.”
Session Five: The Plan
March 29, 2011 (evening)
March 30, 2011 (full day)
How do you manage to get through the fundraising year without missing important pieces and exhausting yourself and the organization? This session integrates the elements — your assessment, human resources, donors, and the case – into a comprehensive and achievable plan for the coming fundraising year. It also gives you monitoring tools for tracking your accomplishments.