Much of the time fundraisers ask, “How do we get more people to contribute?”

Let’s start with a different question: “Why would anyone want to give money to us?”

In this roundtable, we’ll talk about the critical foundation of knowing your own story and how to build the case for support in a way that will inspire people to join in. When you have a strong case for support, people catch the vision for the difference your work is making and they want to be part of it.

This session is the first in a four-week series on Annual Funds.

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to donor engagement.

Some donors are long-time partners; some are new. We all have donors with vast knowledge and experience about the organization’s work and supporters who only recently joined on. Donors are young, old, and in every season of life.

Yet, often we treat them all the same – as though the reason they support us is also one-note.

In this roundtable, we’ll talk about improving donor engagement through segmentation. We’ll include some of the most common segmenting strategies as well as how to determine your own segmentation for one-time projects or unique circumstances.

This session is the second in a four-week series on Annual Funds.

Every organization’s fundraising donor base has a threshold of giving. Commons threshold are $100 and $1,000, but those certainly aren’t the only ones. Whether you set a level yourself as part of a first-time donor marketing strategy or because donors naturally gravitate toward a certain level, there’s no doubt thresholds exist (and, once you start looking, there is likely more than one threshold level in your donor base).

During this roundtable, we’ll talk through reasons why donors find thresholds so comfortable and outline ways to encourage givers to reach beyond those levels to grow their giving. From messaging strategies to timely appeals, upgrading donors to new giving levels deepens their engagement, strengthens their retention, and increases your organization’s financial support.

This session is the third in a four-week series on Annual Funds.

What would you do if someone gave your organization a submarine? If your first response to this question isn't, "Our Gift Policy Says..." then this roundtable will be essential for you. While the focus of this document is on Planned Giving, it also has huge implications for your annual fund and capital campaign giving. In addition, if someone wants to continue their annual gift into perpetuity after they die, do you have a vehicle for making that possible? Endowments often get a bad rap, but that is because they aren't managed using best practices. In this roundtable, we will also highlight why you need Endowment By-Laws and what should be included.