Center For NonProfit Success

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:

Tom Keefe

Vice President for Advancement

St. Louis University

Thomas Keefe has 20 years of advancement experience in higher education, having served at Drake University, University of St. Thomas, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and is presently the Vice President for Advancement at Saint Louis University. He brings a wealth of experience and a track record of significant success in managing and enhancing advancement operations. As Vice President at Saint Louis University, he heads a division of more than 100 that includes Development, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving Programs, University Marketing and Communications and web site development. Saint Louis University is entering the final stages of a half-billion-dollar capital campaign that has included the enhancement of the University by the construction of an $85 million medical research facility and an $82 million sports arena. Keefe earned his law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law and a Bachelors Degree from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.

Dan Reynolds

Vice President

Holmes, Radford, and Avalon, INC.

Dan worked for six years in the nonprofit field before consulting. He began his career in the independent sector with a low-income housing organization in Chicago, and prior to joining HRA in 1999 he was a Director with Doorways, an inter-faith residence in St. Louis serving people with living with HIV/AIDS. In his ten years with HRA Dan has conducted fund development program audits, managed fund development operations, facilitated strategic planning sessions, created annual fund raising action plans, directed fund raising planning and feasibility studies, guided capacity building initiatives, designed major gift programs, and led numerous capital campaigns raising millions of dollars with his clients in the Midwest. Dan earned bachelor`s degrees in Latin American Studies and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in Public Policy Administration with a certificate in nonprofit management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

St Louis 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 St. Louis 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 corporate and 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. In 2009, we are 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 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 2009, 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 Busch Student Center, which is located on the St. Louis University Campus. The Busch Center is easy to reach by public or private transportation, and the full address is:
St. Louis University, Busch Student Center
20 North Grand Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63103

Public Transportation
The Busch Student Center is MetroLink accessible. The Grand station is the MetroLink station closest to St. Louis University (SLU). From there, the University offers two transportation options to campus: the SLU Shuttle or SLU Ride.

SLU Shuttle
This service operates 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday - Friday during the academic year. Shuttles are clearly marked with SLU colors and images, and they stop 4 times an hour on both sides of Grand Boulevard near MetroLink's Grand station. For the complete SLU Shuttle schedule and route, click here.
To catch the SLU Shuttle:
1.    Get oriented. After you exit the train, look for the street beyond the train tracks. When you're facing the street, you're facing north. To your right is east.
2.    Take the east staircase or elevator up to Grand Boulevard.
3.    Once you're on Grand Boulevard, wait on the platform for the next shuttle.

SLU Ride
This program offers prompt rides to campus. Depending on the time of day, you'll ride in a car or a van. All SLU Ride vehicles are clearly marked as University vehicles.
To arrange a SLU Ride:
1.    Get oriented. After you exit the train, look for the street beyond the train tracks. When you're facing the street, you're facing north. To your right is east.
2.    Look for the metal SLU Escort call box on the backside of the east elevator shaft. Press the button to call the dispatcher. OR Use your cell phone to call the dispatcher: (314) 977-3000.
3.    When the dispatcher answers, identify yourself as a SLU visitor who wants to be taken either to the north end of campus.
4.    Take the east staircase or elevator up to Grand Boulevard.
5.    Once you're on Grand Boulevard, wait on the platform for the SLU car/van.

Directions by Car

NORTHEAST: I-55/70 south across the Poplar Street Bridge; I-64 west to
Grand Boulevard exit. Right on Grand. Right on Lindell and
then right into Olive/Compton Garage (visitor lot).

NORTHWEST: I-70 east to I-170 south to I-64 east to Grand Boulevard
exit. Right on Grand. Right on Lindell and then right into
Olive/Compton Garage (visitor lot).

SOUTH: I-55 north to I-44 west to Grand Boulevard exit. Left at the
stop sign, right on Grand. Right on Lindell and then right
into Olive/Compton Garage (visitor lot).

SOUTHWEST: I-44 east to Grand Boulevard exit. Left on Grand; left on
Laclede into Laclede Parking Grand. Right on Lindell and
then right into Olive/Compton Garage (visitor lot).

Parking at the Busch Student Center
Visitor parking is available at Olive Compton Garage at the cost of $5 per day- cash only.

Hotel Accommodations
Most hotels near the Busch Student Center venue are within the $145-230 per night range. The following hotels are within a 2 ½ mile radius of the hotel.

1.    Residence Inn by Marriott            Book Now        1 mile from venue
2.    Courtyard by Marriott St. Louis Downtown    Book Now        1.1 miles from venue
3.    The Hampton Inn St. Louis Downtown/Union Station       Book Now        1.2 miles from venue
4.    St. Louis Union Station Marriott                           Book Now        1.5 miles from venue
5.    Sheraton St. Louis City Center Hotel & Suites                 Book Now        1.8 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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