There’s a strong likelihood that your organization has some kind of fundraising event. From From auctions to golf outings, 5K races and fancy dinners, what’s the point of these events that soak up lots of time and energies while yielding modest financial return? Participation in events has shifted during the Covid era. Are fundraising events still worth doing? During this roundtable, we’ll talk about how to leverage events to strengthen your fundraising program and when to call it quits on a fundraising event.

When you have an event, acquire new donors should be a tangible outcome. Setting goals ahead of time and having a plan are critical in making this a useful part of your annual plan.

An honor/memorial program is a great way to acquire new donors and build the foundation to be remembered in the long-term planning of your closest donors. These gifts can become very fruitful and can be counted on over the long-term.

When giving is down, even if it is part of an annual cycle like summer vacations, anxiety rises. The temptations is to write a letter announcing the deep crisis, and the need for an influx of cash NOW. Learn why this approach is ultimately self-defeating, and what to do instead.

Effective meetings build energy and engagement in organizations by ensuring leaders gifts are used in impactful ways. In this session we will explore practical steps you can implement today to ensure fiduciary responsibilities are met, while increasing engagement and impact.

Whether you call them planned gifts, legacy gifts, or estate gifts, they don't just fall out of the sky. They take a great deal of thought, intentionality, and follow-through to ensure not only that they are done, but that they are done correctly. Did you know that 70% of estate plans fail to pay out the way the donor intended? So, if you aren't communicating with your donors about leaving gifts and leaving them correctly, you may not want, or be able to actually receive those that fall out of the sky. In addition, most donors simply think about leaving a church or charity "in their Will." During this roundtable, we will learn how your communication is critical to sparking their creativity and maximizing gift ideas and options.

Congregations need to take a more institutional approach to congregational stewardship than they have in previous decades. For us, this means that we begin with case development. Rather than asking people to tell us what they will give and then figuring out what ministry we will do, we need to inform and motivate the congregation around the ministry that we strive to do and need their increased gifts to support. This cultivation needs to happen during the stewardship appeal, but also year-round. Year-round cultivation happens as we share outcome stories of the impact that our ministry is having on our members and across the community and world.

The next step in your strategic planning work is to form the actionable portion of your plan. The leveling of the plan from the Macro through the Micro, will help you to better communicate the plan to constituents, and better manage the plan internally. We suggest the plan have three levels.

“The reason we came to Epworth was because my mother wasn’t financially secure and we constantly moved and missed school. One day we stopped moving from house to house and began moving from hotels to motels. My mother sat me down one day and told me that we were going to live without her for awhile until she got back on her feet. My mother didn’t tell me she was taking us to a group home though.”

Donors fall into three categories: Annual Fund, Capital Gifts, and Legacy. The biggest bang for their buck comes in one of these categories. Legacy or Planned Giving donors are a special kind of person. They can see into the future and they have truly caught your vision, but knowing who they are and "where" to find them can be difficult. It is critical to add components to your program that help you identify them, while also allowing them to self-identify. During this roundtable, we will discuss these components.

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.

Healthy and effective organizations start at the board level. Taking the next warm body on the board that says, “I guess I will do it,” will only serve to weaken the organization. Implementing a system for identifying and recruiting strong, passionate, knowledgeable, and generous board members must be a priority for any organization wanting to raise more money and advance their mission. During this roundtable you will receive the steps and an annual calendar for getting this work going well.

Since 2007, small businesses have enjoyed a tax benefit which was passed by congress to stimulate the economy. Purchased equipment and vehicles have mostly been depreciated for tax purposes. What happens when these assets are sold or the business is transitioned to new ownership? The short answer is, they are taxed. Many of these small businesses are owned by some of your donors. At this roundtable, we will discuss ways donors can use the benefits of making gifts to your organization with these assets, in a very tax-wise way.

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.

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.

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.

As you enter this portion of the work, here are a couple of key strategies to remember.

Strategic Planning is cyclical, there are seasons of Visioning, planning, and assessment. Good plans build continual assessment into the plan.

Use this script and tracking sheet to conduct the follow up for you annual stewardship appeal.

Non-profit leaders often wonder what type of gifts they should consider giving to their donors. There is a place for this, but making it special and not expected are two key items we will explore.

Why would someone increase their giving to your congregation in the coming year? When people think that you will do the same ministry next year, they will plan to give the same amount. We will discuss how clear ministry goals energize people to expand their generosity to make bold things possible.