Spotlight: Fundraising Tools of the Trade

Raising the financial support we need for our mission work requires a lot of creativity, passion, and of course some tools to help us track and connect it all! Join us for a day spotlighting the tools we use in fundraising, and how they can connect with other work management tools to integrate fundraising with all the other important work of your nonprofit mission.

This full-day, virtual training offers four 60-minute sessions that highlight software tools in different parts of fundraising, and how they interact with both fundraising tools and other platforms that support your nonprofit, such as finance, communications, and reporting. Spotlight: Fundraising Tools of the Trade is designed for people working in fundraising to learn about other platforms, integrations, and tactics to improve their workflow.

We know it’s difficult to carve out large chunks of time in your day to attend trainings, so we’ve spread the sessions out over a full day, with breaks in between. You will have access to the session recordings for three months!

Schedule

All times listed in Central Time.

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. // Welcome and Setting the Stage: The Life of Fundraisers and Accidental Tech Support

Steve Boland, Director, Next in Nonprofits

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. // Where Have All the People Gone? Individuals as Donors and More

Donor Management Systems (DRMs) are a natural starting place for fundraisers. Most accept online donations and automatically put records into a system. Hurray! Some are free. But what about people that work for grant makers? What about householding records? What about connecting workplace giving to people? Let’s look at some starting integrations across some common fundraising tools like Little Green Light, GiveLively, and more.

Karen Graham, Owner, Karen Graham Consulting

10:30 – 11:45 a.m. // How to Win Friends and Influence Grant Decisions

The grand tradition of the Grant Tracking Spreadsheet is alive and well, but it is a very siloed tool. Grant tracking software can integrate with other tools to help build connections across your DRM, contact management software, and more. We’ll look at tools like Instrumentl, Grant Seeker from Fluxx.io, and others to be able to track and assign grant tasks internally and see the whole picture of who makes grant decisions. Prospecting those pesky “invite only” grants can move forward with some connected friends at your side. (If only we could get a better LinkedIn integration…)

Andrea M. Satter, Director Of Development, Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities

12:00 – 12:45 p.m. // Lunch Chat on Privacy and Transparency

Bring your lunch to the desk and jump in on a facilitated chat about rules for who can and should have access to what information. Volunteer stewards may need to know donation amounts, but they probably do not need access to client records. Bring your own questions and experiences.

Masami Kawazato, Program Director, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. // Communications and Events for Fun and Profit

Most fundraisers want to integrate to the communications plan for the whole organization to ask for donations, promote events, and more. What if the bargain-basement donor tools need to connect to Mailchimp? Or EventBrite? Or GiveButter for auction donations? Who manages access, creates audiences, and runs those reports? Can we sync data both ways so we learn more about non-donors who may eventually become donors?

Kevin Vollmers, Engagement Consultant, Foster Advocates
Jenna Ray, Interim Executive Director, GiveMN

2:30 – 3:45 p.m. // One Ring to Rule Them All: Connecting People, Places and Things in Data

Steve Boland, Director, Next in Nonprofits

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Event Details

This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform. Your access link will be emailed to you the day before the event after 12 p.m.

This session will be recorded. The recording will be made available to registrants after the live event.

Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.

Small Team Rate: Register three people from the same organization at once and the fourth registration is free! To register online, one person will login to their MCN account and will add colleagues to your group – your fourth colleague will be free! Visit our Events and Registration FAQ page (choose “How do I register multiple people?” from the FAQ options) for instructions on how to complete online group registrations.

To learn more about events, registration, and payment, visit our Event & Registration FAQ page.

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Speaker Information

Steve Boland, Director, Next in Nonprofits, is a nonprofit veteran with over twenty-five years of experience helping charities grow with new ideas in fundraising and communications. He served as executive director of three organizations before founding Next in Nonprofits in 2013. Steve has presented over 100 learning sessions on topics such as crowdfunding, engaging corporate philanthropy, and social media strategy for nonprofits. He disputes his Myers Briggs Type characterization of Commander (ENTJ) as any kind of apt descriptor, as authentic leadership never comes from issuing orders. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Steve holds a Master of Nonprofit Management from Hamline University and is an alumnus of the Shannon Leadership Institute.

Karen Graham is a speaker, trainer, writer, and consultant with expertise in technology leadership and innovation, nonprofit software, and digital strategy. Her consulting work includes strategic technology roadmaps, development of knowledge resources, and leadership coaching. Karen was the Executive Director of the national nonprofit Idealware, and has held leadership roles in capacity building, arts, and human service organizations as well as a software startup. She holds an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the University of St. Thomas.

Additional presenters to be announced soon.