Complex issues affecting major gifts solicitations | Washington, DC

Complex issues affecting major gifts solicitations

Tackling the most challenging aspects of major donor solicitation is possible when you have the skills. In this session, we'll help you steer through advanced aspects of major donor solicitation - from composing a compelling case statement to working with an advisory group to approach high-value donors. Topics to be covered will include:

- Putting together a major gifts advisory group
- Compiling a major gifts case statement
- Overcoming some of the more common challenges in major gifts solicitations
- Benchmarking, goal setting and managing multiple priorities in a major gifts program

Put the final pieces of your major donor program in place by attending this informative session.

Speakers for this session:

Beth Grupp

President

BethGruppAssociates

Beth has been involved in fundraising for 26 years. In her current position, she is responsible for providing guidance and expertise to local, national, and international groups ranging from portfolios of $1M to portfolios $100M. She provides coaching and consulting on all aspects of fundraising including asking and closing strategy, micro-targeting, getting in the door, getting phone calls returned, anatomy of a major donor visit, structure of the 'ask', getting to yes, building major donor relationships, framing the message, foundation proposals, board development, coaching of senior executives, etc. Previously, as Finance Director for Senator Kennedy, Beth was responsible for all aspects of fundraising including major donor solicitation, events, direct mail, telemarketing, and relationship management. Before that, she worked as Development Director at Nuclear Weapons Freeze campaign where she was responsible for raising the entire budget from foundations, individuals, grassroots fundraising, direct mail, and major donors. In addition, she supervised staff and ran a national campaign with chapters across the country. She earned BA in Use and Abuse of Power from Cornell.

Diane Lebson

Director, Major Gifts

SOS Children`s Villages USA

Diane has been involved in development for 16 years. In her current position, she is responsible for SOS Children's Villages major gifts program, which secures support from donors who are capable of making gifts of $5,000 and above. Previously, as Senior Director of Major Gifts at United Way of the National Capital Area, Diane was responsible for a rebranding initiative and donor outreach strategy that increased major gifts revenue by 122% over the course of two years. Before that, she worked as Director of Strategic Markets at United Way of America where she was responsible for developing and implementing a cultivation strategy that generated over $100M per year from key affinity groups (women, young professionals, African-Americans, and Latinos). She also taught United Way major gifts officers from across the country how to optimize fundraising through market segmentation and customer relationship management strategies. Diane is an Incoming Board Member of the Junior League of Washington and a Board Member of the District of Columbia Public Library Foundation. She earned B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a M.S. in Administration from Central Michigan University. Diane is also a Certified Fund Raising Executive.

2010 DC Fundraising Summit

A relationship approach to fundraising
Nonprofit fundraising has become highly specialized, and each segment of your donor market requires a different set of relationship management skills. Whether you are reaching out to private foundations, wealthy individuals or your own members, you need to understand who they give to, and why. The DC Summit focuses on the relationship aspects of fundraising, and offers you several ways to enhance your relationship management skills:

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. In 2009, we are also introducing a two-day pass so that attendees can 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 give a short overview of the key developments in that field. After that , we will move into a moderated discussion to explore what these developments mean for nonprofit organizations. During the seminar, panelists will engage with the audience in an interactive manner to ensure the real-world implications of these developments emerge, and the session will end with a summary of practical next steps.

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. However, each mentoring session that you sign up for will focus entirely on questions facing your organization.

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 be taking place at Catholic University which is 3 miles north of downtown DC, and close to all forms of public transportation. The full address is:
Catholic University of America (CUA)
Edward J. Pryzbyla Center
620 Michigan Ave NE
Washington, DC 20064

The Registration table will be in the Atrium.

Public Transportation
CUA is located on the Metro Red Line at the Brookland/CUA stop. Exit left out of the turnstile and the CUA campus is at the top of the Metro escalator. You will cross John McCormack Rd. Continue up the sidewalk between Gowan and Pangborn Halls. Turn south at the Crough Center. The Pryzbyla Center is directly behind the Crough Center.

Directions by car

From the West, I-66:
I-66 from Virginia empties onto Constitution Avenue. Continue east on Constitution Avenue and turn left on 6th Street, NW. Turn right on E Street, NW. Turn left on North Capitol Street. Drive approximately 2 miles and turn right on Michigan Avenue, NE. You will soon see the dome of the Shrine on your left marking a university entrance at 4th Street, NE.

From the South, I-95:
When I-95 intersects the Capital Beltway in Springfield, Virginia, follow I-395 North. After crossing the Potomac River, take the "Route 1 North" exit. The road becomes 14th Street, NW. Turn right on Constitution Avenue. Turn left on 6th Street, NW. Turn right on E Street, NW. Turn left on North Capitol Street. Drive approximately 2 miles and turn right on Michigan Avenue, NE. You will soon see the dome of the Shrine on your left marking a university entrance at 4th Street, NE.

From the East, Route 50:
Take Route 50 West (becomes New York Avenue) and exit on South Dakota Avenue. After approximately 1.3 miles, turn left onto Monroe Street. Follow Monroe Street until it merges with Michigan Avenue. You will see the dome of the Shrine on your right marking a university entrance at 4th Street, NE.

From the Northwest, I-70 to I-270:
From Frederick, Maryland, take Exit 53, I-270 South to Washington. I-270 divides. Take the 495 East, Silver Spring/College Park exit (two left lanes). You will eventually feed onto the beltway, I-495. Continue on I-495 and take Exit 22 B, the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. Continue traveling south on the Parkway and exit at Route 50 West. Take the South Dakota Avenue exit. After approximately 1.3 miles, turn left onto Monroe Street. At Michigan Avenue, Monroe Street ends. Bear left and you will see the dome of the Shrine on your right marking a university entrance at 4th Street, NE.

From the North, I-95 to I-495:
Follow I-95/I-495 South to Exit 22B, the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. Continue traveling south on the Parkway and exit at Route 50 West. Take the South Dakota Avenue exit. After approximately 1.3 miles, turn left onto Monroe Street. Monroe Street ends at Michigan Avenue, NE. Bear left and you will see the dome of the Shrine on your right marking a university entrance at 4th Street, NE.

Parking at Catholic University
Parking for the Pryzbyla Center is available in the nearby McMahon Parking lot. Parking permits for this parking lot can be purchased in the Pryzbyla Center at $7/day/vehicle. If you are attending both days you can purchase your permit for both days for $14. Once you enter the Pryzbyla Center, look to the left and go to the Information Desk to purchase the permits. The passes can be purchased starting at 7am. They take cash, check, credit card, or debit card.

Hotel Accommodations
Most hotels near the Summit venue are within the $140-$319 per night range. The following hotels are within a two-block radius of the venue:

1. Fairfield Inn By Marriott                         BOOK NOW                1.7 miles from venue
2. Holiday Inn Express Washington
    National Arboretum                               BOOK NOW                 1.7 miles from venue
3. Renaissance Washington DC               BOOK NOW                 2.6 miles from venue
4. Holiday Inn Washington-Central/
    White House                                         BOOK NOW                 2.6 miles from venue
5. Courtyard by Marriott Embassy Row    BOOK NOW                 2.8 miles from venue

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One-on-one mentoring

Click on any seminar title or the arrow on the right side to learn more about that seminar

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