Panel discussion and dialogue with Grantmakers

As the grant seeking process becomes more and more competitive, it is essential to understand what grantmakers are actually looking for when they decide whether or not to award a grant. This session offers an unusual opportunity to hear directly from a variety of corporate, community, private and family foundation funders, and consists of two parts:

A. Panel Discussion
In the first two hours, grantmakers from a variety of private, corporate and family foundations will participate in a panel discussion. Issues we will explore with the panelists include:

Foundation culture: what kinds of projects do grantmakers like to fund?
Winning proposals: what makes them stand out?
Foundation guidelines: are they set in stone?
Building the relationship: what gives foundations confidence in the organizations they fund?

Whether you have been securing grants for decades or are just starting out, the panel discussion will provide you with a valuable view of the grantmaking world from the point of view of the grantmaker.

B. Q&A session
In the third hour, the grantmakers will join attendees at at their tables to answer specific questions. Grantmakers will switch every 15 minutes to a different table to ensure that everyone in the room is able to ask them questions.

Speakers for this session:

Arnold (Arn) Boezaart

Vice-President Grant Programs

Community Foundation for Muskegon County

Mr. Boezaart serves as Vice-President of Grant Programs at the Community Foundation for Muskegon County. The Foundation located in downtown Muskegon was established in 1961 and holds over 800 individual funds that support a broad range of community needs. Mr. Boezaart also leads the Foundation’s Environmental Program established in 1997 in partnership with the Great Lakes Community Foundation Environmental Collaborative. More recently, Mr. Boezaart in partnership with other key community leadership helped form the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition and serves on the Coalition leadership team that promotes and advances the principles of Sustainability in the greater Muskegon region. Mr. Boezaart’s public and community service career extends more than 35 years with a passion for excellence and for making a positive impact on many facets of community life. He holds a BA degree from Michigan State University and an MSW from the University of Michigan.

Sue Hammersmith

President & CEO

Lenawee Community Foundation

Sue Hammersmith, President & CEO of the Lenawee Community Foundation in SE Michigan, previously served as: Executive Director of a local United Way and a chapter of a national health charity, Director of Development for a private school, and a teacher. She attained her Masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University, and has received the CFRE and CSA (Certified Senior Advisor) designations. Hammersmith is a certified faculty member of the International Association of Fundraising Professionals; a Prudential Youth Leadership Institute Certified Trainer; a facilitator for Lenawee Youth Leadership; and a Mentor & Planned Giving Facilitator for the United Way of America Retirees Association. She enjoys consulting in the areas of board governance, fundraising, nonprofit management, planned giving, strategic planning, and youth asset development. In her spare time, she volunteers in her community with Rotary, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Human Services Council.

Detroit 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 Ann Arbor Summit focuses on the relationship aspects of fundraising, and offers you several ways to enhance your relationship management skills:

Day One:
In the morning, listen to a panel of private, corporate and community grantmakers who will openly discuss their philosophy on grantmaking, how they operate, and most important, how you can build a more successful relationship with the grantmaking community. In the afternoon, participate in seminars led by experienced grant seekers who have successfully secured many foundation grants, and have built successful relationships with the grantmaking community.

Day Two:
Attend a series of fundraising seminars covering the hottest areas of fundraising (capital campaigns, major gifts, annual giving campaigns, and many more). Panels of experts will discuss the latest developments in these fields, and then enter into a dialogue with the participants that addresses their most pressing questions.

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.

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.

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 McGregor Memorial Conference Center, which is located on Wayne State University’s Main Campus. The Michigan League is easy to reach by public or private transportation. The full address is:

McGregor Memorial Conference Center

495 W. Ferry Road

Detroit, MI 48202

Public Transportation

Wayne State University is Bus accessible. The DOT buses are from Dexter, Hamilton, Warren and Woodward.

Directions by Car

Detroit from the west via I-94

The general campus area is accessible from I-94, I-75, or U.S.10. Those who coming to Detroit from the west via I-94 should take the Trumbull Ave. exit. They should travel south on Trumbull and then go east (left) on Warren Ave. Proceed east on Warren to Anthony Wayne Dr. (Third Ave.). Turn left onto Anthony Wayne and follow this for several blocks until it curves to the right and intersects Palmer. Go right on Palmer for one-half block for parking. Those approaching campus via I-94 east should take U.S.10 south and follow directions in the next paragraph.

North on U.S.10 (the John C. Lodge Freeway

Those coming to the campus from the north on U.S.10 (the John C. Lodge Freeway) should take the Warren/Forest exit. Crossing over the freeway, turn left on to the Lodge Service Drive. Continue north on the Service Drive for one block. At the light, turn right (east) on to Warren. After one block, turn left onto Anthony Wayne and follow this for several blocks until it curves to the right and intersects Palmer. Go right on Palmer for one-half block for parking.

North or South via I-75 (the Chrysler Freeway)

Those coming to the campus from the north or south via I-75 (the Chrysler Freeway) should take the Warren exit and proceed west on Warren to Cass Ave. Turn right on to Cass and proceed to intersection with Palmer. Turn left onto Palmer. Parking Structure #1 is on your right.

Parking at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center

The McGregor Memorial Conference Center is located on Ferry Mall on the main campus of Wayne State University. Visitors may park in Parking Structure #1, which is the north side of Palmer. Visitors must use Gate #3. Parking is paid when entering the structure, which is $3.50 per day. From the parking location, McGregor is one block to the south.

Hotel Accommodations

Most hotels near the Summit venue are within the $109-$139 per night range (please ask for the Wayne State rate). The following hotels are within a three-mile radius of the hotel.

1. Inn on Ferry Street BOOK NOW Approx $139 2.5 blocks (<1/4 Mile)

2. Omni River Place BOOK NOW Approx $185 3.0 miles away

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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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