Philanthropy
- Maintaining Momentum in Challenging Times
- Successful Donor Visits: All I Really Need To Know I Learned On Match.com
- Part Art, Part Science: Turn Direct Mail Into Your Bread and Butter
- Major Gifts in Tough Times
- Prospecting and Qualification: The Process, The Team, The Successes and The Pitfalls
- A Conversation about Educational Philanthropy in the Current Economy: How to Use the Data to Strengthen Your Program
- Yes We Can! Student Philanthropy 2.0: How to Set Your Students on a Path of Lifetime Giving
- Bridging Perceptions and Realities About Institution Size as it Relates to a Donor’s Sense of Community
Maintaining Momentum in Challenging Times
Session 1: Thursday, Feb. 18, 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Detail: This presentation will highlight the current and future challenges to fund raising, focus on steps ALL gift officers should undertake to promote stronger relationships with donors, identify specific gift vehicles that continue to make sense for most donors, and offer tips for introducing these gift vehicles into your donor conversations.
Presenter
Dan Peterson has served WSU, UW and Oregon State University in a variety of campaign, major and gift planning roles for the past 25 years. At OSU he is currently participating in his third comprehensive campaign. Peterson earned his B.A. from WSU and his J.D. from Seattle University in 1985. He co-chaired the CASE District VIII Conference in 1990 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Successful Donor Visits: All I Really Need To Know I Learned On Match.com
Session 2: Thursday, Feb. 18, 11:00 a.m. -12:15 p.m.
Detail: This lighthearted but focused session will guide you from the universe of prospects to a targeted call list, and that all-important blind date, leaving the door open for the kind of tender courtship that will help you find your one true donor. (Well, hopefully, more like your Top 100 true donors.)
- Target your list: Find people who share your interests and values
- Make the phone call: Getting her/his attention
- The visit: Practice your dance steps – but follow their lead
- Next steps: Chocolates? Flowers? “May I call you again?”
You’ll leave the session with clear and simple tips to help target your list; get the appointment; make the most of the visit; open the door for follow up; and live happily ever after.
Presenter
Ellen Bussing has more than two decades of development leadership experience ranging from foundation proposals to annual funds to major gift programs. At Doernbecher she is responsible for the management of operations for the Foundation and for establishing its first formal major gifts program. In her previous position as Assistant Vice President for Major Gifts at Willamette University, she played a key leadership role in the public phase of a successful $131-million campaign. Ellen has also worked for Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, Ind.), University of Portland, Portland State University, and Portland Opera, and has presented for CASE , American Association of Grants Professionals, Willamette Valley Development Officers (where she is a past board president), and others. Ellen holds a Bachelor of Music from Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, Ind.). She currently serves as board president for BodyVox Dance Company in Portland.
Part Art, Part Science: Turn Direct Mail Into Your Bread and Butter
Session 3a: Thursday, Feb. 18, 2:00 - 3:15p.m.
Detail: Direct mail can be an intimidating process. Have you ever wondered, "should I use a BRE or a CRE?" or "what's the perfect segmentation strategy?" or "how long should the letter be?" Get the answers and more at this practical session on how you can achieve the appropriate blend of art and science in your direct mail program. You will learn the most important dos and don'ts, segmentation and timing, how to target your story and message to your audience, and you'll even do a hands-on exercise to help you write more persuasively.
Presenter
Flavia Arsenault has been running Lewis & Clark College's direct mail program for the past three years. Prior to that, she worked on the program side of a volunteer-based non-profit organization for many years. She earned her BA in French Studies from Lewis & Clark and volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Willamette Valley Development Officers.
Major Gifts in Tough Times - Live Simulcast!
Session 3b: Thursday, Feb. 18, 2:00 - 3:15p.m.
Detail: Times have been tough and donor assets are still recovering. Join us to discover creative approaches in major gift fundraising and planned estate giving for today’s economic environment, along with survival tips, critical basics and essential tools. BYOB: development professionals are also encouraged to bring your own board member, campaign committee member or strategic fundraising volunteer. Join us live for this exciting session which will also be broadcast via webcast in real time to others in District VIII.
Presenter
Tom Wilson, Vice-President and Western Regional Manager, Campbell & Company. Tom Wilson started his consulting and fundraising career more than a quarter-century ago. Building successful campaigns from inception, reinvigorating stalled initiatives and leading board/staff training summits are just a few of his talents. He provides guidance to fundraising staffs, helps nonprofit leaders manage their organizations and encourages board members to realize their potential as volunteers in the fundraising process. Tom frequently presents at conferences- his two most recent workshops include "The Win Win Ask" and "Motivating Board Members for Fundraising Success."
Prior to joining Campbell & Company, Mr. Wilson served for ten years as president of his own consulting firm, Wilson & Associates. Past positions include the vice president of development at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, vice president for development at the Phoenix Symphony, director of corporate and foundation development at Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and general manager, chief fundraiser and assistant conductor of the Lake Forest Symphony in Illinois. He began his fundraising career as an endowment campaign consultant for the Ravinia Festival (summer home of the Chicago Symphony) in Highland Park, Illinois.
Tom trained as a musician (clarinet, saxophone and conducting) and has degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Tom’s first book, Winning Gifts -- Make Your Donors Feel Like Winners (Wiley & Sons, 2008) has stimulated many speaking engagements throughout North America. He is just starting to write his second book on listening. http://www.campbellcompany.com/
Prospecting and Qualification: The Process, The Team, The Successes and The Pitfalls
Session 4: Thursday, Feb. 18, 3:45-5:00 p.m.
Detail: This presentation will describe the evolution of UW Medicine’s prospecting and qualifying processes team from 2004 to the present. This program began as a cold calling prospecting campaign and quickly evolved into typical portfolio management. While they identified several new leads, the team began managing full portfolios, significantly reducing their actual prospecting (stalling our prospect pipeline). Over the past couple of years, they have found a proper balance between portfolio management and prospecting/qualification work. This process helps UW Medicine identify future major gift donors while providing major gift training for junior fundraisers, creating an internal frontline fundraiser training system. The presentation will cover:
- Manageable and scalable prospecting for organizations
- How to implement
- The actual qualification process
- And how this provides staff retention and career development
While there have been numerous successes originating from this process, there have also been challenges and pitfalls. This presentation of our experiences can help other organizations avoid these challenges, helping them shorten the timeframe from implementation to realization.
Presenter
Mike Cheever has enjoyed a varied development career ranging from database conversions to front line fundraising, from building departments to analytics and prospecting. He served as the Senior Development Director during the Houston Symphony's last capital campaign and is currently a senior member of UW Medicine’s advancement team, which recently finished a $1 billion campaign. As a senior development officer, he has served as both a major gift officer and executive team member at both organizations.
A Conversation about Educational Philanthropy in the Current Economy: How to Use the Data to Strengthen Your Program
Session 5: Friday, Feb. 19, 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Detail: These are challenging times for fundraising. The media are full of stories about declining fundraising revenues and the impact of the recession on a wide range of organizations. In past recessions lasting eight months or more, educational fundraising declined an average of –1.9%, adjusted for inflation. In 2008, Giving USA and the Council for Aid to Education estimate giving to education declined –9%, adjusted for inflation. While the economy may have begun to improve, concerns about giving and the economy remain.
Implications of data from Giving USA 2009 will be presented and discussed, as well as continuing research on the impact of recessions on giving to different sectors, and the reactions of individual donors, foundations, and corporations. The emphasis throughout the conversation will be on practical information that can be used to encourage and educate Board members, staff, and volunteers and keep fundraising efforts working productively no matter what the economy is doing.
Presenters
Gary Cardaronella and Patricia Stirling are founding partners of Cardaronella Stirling Associates, a resource development consulting firm specializing in the educational sector. Founded in 1992, their firm provides campaign services, strategic fundraising counsel, board and staff development, and other assistance to a wide range of educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. Gary and Patricia bring to their work over 50 years of combined, hands-on fundraising experience as major gift fundraisers, senior development leaders, campaign strategists, and consultants.
Yes We Can! Student Philanthropy 2.0: How to Set Your Students on a Path of Lifetime Giving
Session 6: Friday, Feb. 19 – 11:00-12:15 p.m.
Detail: Students are a captive audience, and for those of us in higher education, they are the future alumni donors. But, how do you introduce students to philanthropy? When and how do you engage them? What are the key messages? Join us for an engaging discussion about the latest strategies and best practices to educate students about the importance of philanthropy to their alma mater. Using a variety of case studies you will learn how to integrate philanthropic messaging throughout your organization, various ways to involve students, and how to establish a student-run fundraising program. While geared towards development professionals in higher education, any group with identified non-donors will benefit from this session.
Presenter
Bob Heck serves as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at Willamette University. As a senior at Willamette, Bob was the chair of the senior class gift committee, and since joining the Office of Annual Giving in 2007, he has been the staff advisor to the University's senior giving program. Bob also advises a majority of the student education initiatives, oversees the Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Circle Gift Society and solicits leadership gifts for both the Parents and Willamette Funds.
Bridging Perceptions and Realities About Institution Size as it Relates to a Donor’s Sense of Community
Session 7: Friday, Feb. 19 – 2:00-3:15 p.m.
Detail: This session presents the results of a national survey that examines the potential impact that institutional size may have upon the relationships of an alumni brand community and the community’s willingness to provide institutional support. This presentation will discuss the implications of the size of the educational institution and the strength of community upon relevant and desired outcomes that include gifts, the purchase of logo-branded apparel, and a generation of supportive word of mouth communications.
Professor McAlexander will present a conceptual model of integration within the brand community that emphasizes the importance of understanding and attending to diverse relationships that bonds alumni and donors with their peers, with their education experience, with the University’s brand, and with the institution behind the brand.
Institutions of higher education differentiate themselves on the basis of qualities that, on their face, would seem to directly influence the ways in which a brand community may form and its members interact. This session will explore the different faces universities portray to their alumni and donors and how this positioning affects an alumni or donor’s sense of connection and overall sense of community.
Presenter
James McAlexander, Ph.D., is the Dean’s Professor of Marketing and Faculty Director of the Close to the Customer Project at Oregon State University. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Utah. Professor McAlexander’s research is internationally recognized as path-breaking with respect to building and understanding community. Professor McAlexander's most recent research explores the formation and experiences of brand community in higher education. This research has been developed and successfully used in the industry for nearly twenty years. In addition to his work with communities in higher education, companies such as Harley-Davidson, Jeep, and Nissan have used these tools to better understand how to build connections to their customers and potential customers.
