Finding Individual Funders: the art of successful research | San Francisco, CA

Finding Individual Funders: the art of successful research

Are you looking to establish a major gifts component to your capital, annual, or planned giving campaign but wondering where to begin? Prospect research is an integral part of any well-rounded fund development plan and can make all the difference in boosting your average gift size, but it can be a daunting task for the uninitiated. Too often, there’s a lack of direction and more importantly, a lack of information. Learning how to describe your ideal donor, developing data mining skills, and devising a plan to cultivate donor relationships is the key to getting to “Yes.”

In this session, learn the basic prospect research building blocks:

- Project planning: what are you trying to find funding for?
- Profile your funders: what (and who) is a prospect?
- Prospect research tools: using web-based tools to identify eligible funders
- Building a pool of potential prospects
- Prospect tracking: planning and recording significant interactions with potential funders

Attendees will leave this session convinced of the importance of prospect research and equipped with the fundamental tools needed to develop a successful plan for getting started.

Speakers for this session:

Kim Bender

Director, Foundations and Major Gifts

San Francisco Film Society

Kim has been involved in fundraising for 20 years. In her current position as Director, Foundations and Major Gifts at the San Francisco Film Society, she is responsible for researching, identifying and establishing relationships with individuals for unrestricted gifts, special project support and capital campaigns. Her work also involves close collaboration with other departments to craft effective program and general operating proposals to support the Film Society’s three focus areas: exhibition, education and filmmaker services. Previously, as Capital Campaign Director at Bolinas Firehouse and Clinic, Kim was responsible for providing leadership to three boards of directors to build a new Firehouse and Medical Clinic in Bolinas. She developed and implemented the funding strategy for the joint project to raise $6.7 million. The new buildings opened in September 2007. Before that, she worked as Major Gifts Associate at California Film Institute where she was responsible for managing foundation and individual giving for the California Film Institute's three areas: Mill Valley Film Festival, Smith Raphael Theater and CFI Education. Kim currently serves as Board President of the Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Humanities from UC Berkeley. She is a member of Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Maggie O`Brien

Manager, Prospect Research and Management

San Francisco State University

Maggie has been a professional researcher for more than 20 years. Currently, she manages a team of two researchers and is responsible for developing research strategies, coordinating and conducting research on individuals and organizations, and managing prospect portfolios for University Development. Maggie has worked in both for-profit and non-profit organizations including Pacific Gas & Electric, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation and RCM Capital Management. She is a member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and California Advancement Researchers Association (CARA); currently she serves on the CARA board as secretary/director. Maggie is an alumna of San Francisco State University and San Jose City College, receiving her degree in Journalism. She has also taken coursework in Library Science at UC Berkeley.

Joe Parker

President

Consulting By Parker

Joe has been involved in development for 42 years. In his current position, he is a consultant to many nonprofits in comprehensive fundraising including prospective research strategies for finding individual funders. Previously, as Giving and Training Officer at Mission Increase Foundation, Joe was responsible for Training nonprofits how to raise major gifts through matching gifts. Before that, he worked as advancement director at English Language Institute/China where he was responsible for Major gifts department leader. He earned Bachelors of Science in Admin from Trinity College & University. He is a member of Christian Leadership Alliance, and a Certified Executive with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

2010 San Francisco Fundraising Summit

A relationship approach to fundraising
WHY ATTEND THE FUNDRAISING SUMMIT?
Fundraising is primarily a relationship business, and with increasing pressures facing all nonprofit professionals to build key relationships, it is becoming more important, though much more difficult to meet people face-to-face. Our innovative Summit format provides the most efficient and cost effective use of time away from the office by enabling attendees to interact with experts in the field, as well as other nonprofit leaders.

CAN ONE ATTEND SPECIFIC SESSIONS ONLY?
We understand the demands that are placed on you and on your time. That’s why you can attend only the seminars that are of interest to you. Come for the day or stop by for a couple of hours. You pay for only the seminars you wish to attend and only for the information relevant to you. It’s a novel approach to learning that allows you to get exactly what you’re looking for in a short amount of time. You can also sign up for a two-day pass and attend all sessions at a reduced price.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE SEMINARS?
Each seminar features a panel of 3-4 experts who will break down the fundraising process into a series of phases with measurable outcomes and action steps for each phase. During the seminar, panelists will engage with the audience in an interactive manner to ensure that the sessions are educational and also fun to attend.

ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING SESSIONS
In 2010, we are adding an exciting new component to our Summits: one on mentoring sessions. In these 30 minute sessions, you can sit down with an experienced nonprofit fundraiser to discuss specific questions not addressed by the seminars. Mentoring sessions will cover the same topics as the seminar topics.

HOW IS THE SUMMIT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER EDUCATIONAL EVENTS?
The Summit offers a unique format to help you accomplish the following:

Build relationships: to ensure maximum exposure to the experts and other nonprofit leaders, each seminar offers structured networking before the session starts
Hear different perspectives: the experts are drawn from different sectors of the nonprofit community to ensure cross-pollination of ideas and practices
Provide a global view: speakers give an overview of key issues so that you can eliminate any gaps in your understanding of the subject
Drill down to the specifics: speakers will also focus on providing specific answers to real-world questions that are common to most attendees
Obtain information you can use: the emphasis in all sessions is on avoiding theoretical discussions in favor of practical tools and techniques that nonprofit leaders can actually use

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUMMIT?
The Summit is organized by the Center for Nonprofit Success, a nonprofit organization that specializes in bringing highly relevant information that nonprofit leaders need to run their organizations successfully. We developed the Fundraising Summit series as a follow-on to the Nonprofit Success Forum, a highly successful educational series on grantmaking that has been taking place around the country for the past two years. The Fundraising Summit drills down into specific areas of fundraising to give nonproft leaders cutting edge tools and techniques.

HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT?
Simply click on the seminars listed below to learn more about the topics that will be covered in each seminar. Then select only those seminars that you wish to attend.

Location/Directions

The Summit will take place at the Event Center at St. Mary’s Cathedral. St. Mary’s Cathedral is easy to reach by public or private transportation. The full address is:

The Event Center
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
1111 Gough Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

Public Transportation
St. Mary’s Cathedral is accessible by both Muni Bus and BART.

Muni Bus: The Van Ness Station is the closest Muni stop. Take #38L route (not Limited), which runs along Geary or take #47 route or #49 route, which run along Hwy 101 to the Van Ness station. To walk from the Van Ness Station to St. Mary’s Cathedral, walk to the West (left) on Geary for two blocks. You will cross Franklin. St. Mary’s Cathedral is on the corner of Gough and Geary.

BART: The Civic Center Station is the closest BART stop and is 1.59 miles from St. Mary’s Cathedral. To walk from The Civic Center Station to St. Mary’s Cathedral, start out going southwest on Market Street toward Hyde Street. Turn right onto Hayes Street. Turn right onto Van Ness Ave/US-101. Turn left onto Geary Blvd. Turn right onto Franklin Street. Turn left onto Sutter Street. Turn left onto Gough Street.

Directions by Car

From East Bay (Bay Bridge)
If traveling from East Bay (Bay Bridge) take the 9th Street Exit. Go one block, and then turn right onto 9th Street. Stay in the two right lanes – 9th Street turns into Larkin. Stay on Larkin until Ellis and turn left. Just past Gough and the high school, make a right into the parking lot of the Cathedral.

From The Golden Gate Bridge
If traveling from The Golden Gate Bridge take the Lombard Street turnoff, continue on Lombard to Gough and turn right on Gough. Follow Gough across Geary. The parking lot has two driveways on the Gough street side of the Cathedral.

From the South Bay
If traveling from the South Bay you can take either 280 to Highway 101 North or take 101 North directly. From 101 North stay in the extreme left hand lane. Take the 9th Street Exit. Stay in the two right lanes – 9th Street turns into Larkin. Stay on Larkin until Ellis and turn left. Just past Gough and the high school, make a right into the parking lot of the Cathedral.

Parking at the St. Mary’s Cathedral
There is limited visitor parking in the lot at St. Mary’s Cathedral. It is free to park at the church. If the church lot is full, the closest parking is the Japan Center Main Garage located at 1610 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 94115 about 3 minutes/0.8 miles away.

Directions to Japan Center Main Garage: Go South on Gough Street. Turn left onto Eddy Street. Turn left onto Franklin Street. Turn left onto Geary Blvd.

Hourly Parking Rates at Japan Center Main Garage:
0-1 Hour     $ 1.75
1-2 Hours     $ 3.50
2-3 Hours     $ 5.00
3-4 Hours     $ 6.50
4-5 Hours     $ 8.00
5-6 Hours     $ 9.50
6-7 Hours     $ 11.50
7-8 Hours     $ 13.50
All Day In and Out Rate     $ 15.00
Early bird special $ 9.50 per day (Must enter by 10:00 a.m. and exit before 10:00 p.m.)
Motorcycle (2 wheels)     $ 4.00 per day

Hotel Accommodations

Most hotels near St. Mary’s Cathedral are within the $139-$269 per night range. The following hotels are within a one-mile radius of the hotel.

1. Cathedral Hill Hotel BOOK NOW .19 miles from venue

2.    Hotel Majestic BOOK NOW    .2 miles from venue
3.    Hotel Kabuki                                   BOOK NOW              .23 miles from venue
4.    Best Western Hotel Tomo          BOOK NOW                .4 miles from venue

5. Holiday Inn Golden Gateway BOOK NOW .4 miles from venue

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One-on-one mentoring

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