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. // Boosting Fundraising Success with Donor Management Software

You can raise more money by making the most of donor management tools. In this session, we’ll explore the capabilities of Donor Management Systems such as automation, relationship management, and segmentation–capabilities you can use to build donor engagement, improve response rates, and increase gift sizes. Then we’ll do a quick scan of the current software market, including some free tools, and how to choose. You will come away with insights into features and tools for enhancing your donor relationships and boosting campaign performance.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand the difference between donor management/CRM software and simpler giving tools (e.g. GiveMN, PayPal) or spreadsheets.
2. Learn how to leverage DMS/CRM capabilities to improve fundraising results.
3. Become familiar with a few donor management options and how to choose the right one.

Karen Graham, Founder & Principal, 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…)

Bethany Whitehead, Owner, Artichoke Consulting

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

How do you make your fundraising communications holistic with so many complex fundraising goals? In this interactive session, we’ll explore effective comms strategy development, different tools that support the work, roles within communications work, and adaptable strategies for organizations of varying sizes. Learn practical ways to manage your organization’s communications strategy while maximizing the outcomes of clearer messaging and better connection with your supporters

Melia Smith, Director of Annual Giving, Summit Academy OIC

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.

Bethany Whitehead, Owner, Artichoke Consulting. Bethany Whitehead has built a diverse career in the Twin Cities nonprofit scene, with grant writing and reporting as a common thread throughout her work; she most recently worked in development at Gender Justice. With the ability to craft compelling narratives and precise budgets within any character limit, she brings expertise to every proposal. Through her consulting business, Artichoke Consulting, she continues to support impactful projects of various scales and sizes. When she’s not writing grants, Bethany can be found competing in speed jigsaw puzzle tournaments, traveling, and enjoying the arts—sometimes all at once.

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.

Melia Smith, Director of Annual Giving, Summit Academy OIC, is a community-driven fundraiser, who like most people of her contemporary, fell backwards into fundraising. She has worked the spectrum of fundraising roles from data entry to leading a development department. She has broad experience in the field and her expertise lies in establishing, analyzing and overhauling fundraising operations, community-centered donor strategy development, and institutional and professional fundraising writing. Melia’s experiences in a number of diverse fundraising environments have given her holistic perspective on developing solutions to systemic challenges in fundraising spaces. Her career has been shaped by working in challenging environments where she has been able to lean into leadership roles as a strategist and community builder, leveraging skills like project management, coaching, and conflict mediation and management to build collaborative and human-centered working environments. Melia’s fundraising praxis is rooted in justice and she excels when she gets opportunities to blend traditional and grassroots fundraising practices to advance a more equitable philanthropic community.

Additional presenters to be announced soon.