19th Annual Nonprofit Conference on Sustainability Strategies - Part 2

The agenda for the day:

9:00 a.m.	Opening & Keynote Address: Colin Groth, Strive Partnership
9:45 a.m.	Networking Break and Exhibitor Fair
10:00 a.m.	Workshop Session #2 "The Board's Role in Planning Impact" Patricia Lewis, ACFRE, ASU Lodestar Center "Lessons from a Toddler: The Importance of Asking 'Why?' Prospect Research and Development for Long-term Strategic Fundraising" Christopher Sar, CFRE, Director of Prospect Development, Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation "Dreams Deferred No More: Meeting the Challenge of Capital and Endowment Fundraising" Penelope Cagney, MA, CFRE, President, The Cagney Company "Increasing Collective Impact Using Social Media: Best Practices" Amy Neumann, Vice President of Social Media Initiatives, Social | Impact Consulting, LLC "Collective Impact Through Outstanding Leadership" Karen Ramsey, ACC, President & CEO, Lead for Good "Project SAM: A Case Study in Collective Impact" Tony Banegas, MPA, Philanthropic Advisor, Arizona Community Foundation Sally Clifford, Executive Vice-President, Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits Hallie Preskill, Ph.D, Executive Director, FSG – Strategic Learning & Evaluation Center Tamela Casey-Devore, Senior Development Manager, Junior Achievement of Arizona
11:15 a.m.	Networking Break and Exhibitor Fair
11:30 a.m.	Buffet Lunch and Networking
12:00 p.m.	Cases, Models and Collective Progress Discussion Tony Banegas, Arizona Community Foundation (Moderator) Laura Libman, CEO and President, Tia Foundation Allen Gjersvig, Executive Director, Keogh Health Connection Matt Lehrman, Executive Director, Alliance for Audience (ShowUp.com) Duane T. Miller, Board Chair, Social Venture Partners Arizona Debra Raeder-Gay, Executive Director, Governor's P-20 Council
1:00 p.m.	Exclusive screening of Saving Philanthropy: Resources to Results documentary
2:00 p.m.	Discussion and take-aways, facilitated by the producer, Kate Robinson
2:45 p.m.	Closing and Evaluations

My Takeaways:

So today was definitely better. In the morning, a Senior Philanthropic Advisor from ACF ended up sitting at my table and you can damn well bet I got his card! I need all the friends I can get on the inside. LOL.  So that was a very nice start to the day.

I attended the purple highlighted workshop and really enjoyed it. Here's the blurb:

Young children ask "why?" about everything imaginable. And they ask it again and again. It's not that they didn't hear the first answer. They've learned as early as toddlers that the response is always an explanation. And usually, the more times you ask it, the simpler and more direct the response ultimately becomes. The same process can be applied to developing your fundraising strategy. You will identify the core community needs. You will develop more focused organizational priorities. You will identify your best and most logical partners. And you will cultivate better relationships with your best current and potential supporters.

• Development starts with our case support. Build a case for support wit an eye toward how this will be viewed by potential supporters. What questions will they ask and will they feel this is worthwhile and important to them.
• Why is it important? Why are we doing this? Why would someone else support this work? Why now? Why this methodology? Why these partners? Why does it cost this much?
• Development Constructs: Pyramid Giving, Five "I's" of Donor Development, and Rosso's Concentric Circles.
• Pyramid of Giving: Bequests - 80%, Major Gifts, Annual Giving, First Time or One-off Gifts
• The Five I's: Identify (find potential supporters names), Interest (discover goals and objectives), Inform (let prospective supporters know about us), Involve (prospective supporters in our mission), and Invest (give them opportunities to put their passion into action).
• Rosso's Concentric Circles: the organization's universe, people with similar interests, former participants; former donors; former board members; clients; general donors; members; employees; volunteers; others, major donors, board, management.

Prospect Development and the Role of Research

Development Cycle: Identify--Research--Cultivate--Solicit--Steward

Process for Qualification/Research involves:

• Prospect research (history, public records, etc)
• Peer review
• Ongoing direct interaction
• Pitfalls and warnings

Recording and Maintaining a Donor Database:

• Giving history
• Contact management
• Research indicators

When meeting with donor prospects, ask them why to better understand their motivations. Why did they support the cause to which they gave their biggest gift? Why might our project interest them? Why are they involved in our organization? Why are they moved by/passionate about our cause?

Overall:

I enjoyed this conference and plan to attend again next year depending on the topic.