Fundraising Day in Maryland delivers dynamic programming for fundraisers at all levels of experience and in all types of organizations, providing up to 2.5 points towards CFRE certification/recertification. This annual event provides a full day of professional development with educational tracks including: 

Target Audience Guide: 

• Beginner: Less than 3 years’ experience
• Intermediate:  3+ years’ experience
• Advanced: 10+ years’ experience 

SPECIAL TOPICS TRACK                                                

Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 

Trends in Fundraising
(Target Audience: All)
Presenters: Keith Curtis, President, The Curtis Group; Victoria Dietz, Vice President, The Curtis Group 

Trends in Fundraising covers an array of the latest information on giving in our country. The presentation will include data and actionable strategy on: 

• What motivates donors to give (particularly high-net worth donors)
• Recent trends in giving methodology
• Strengthening volunteer leadership and governance
• Attracting and retaining top fundraising staff
• Differences in giving by generation 

This session will also include highlights from the latest Giving USA data, the nation’s longest-running study on philanthropy researched and written by The Lilly Family School on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In addition to the presentation, Keith and Victoria will provide practical practitioner observations and recommendations, and take questions from the audience. 

Session 2: 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Nine Ways to Turbocharge Your Grant Seeking
(Target Audience: Intermediate to Advanced)
Presenter: John W. Hicks, CFRE, Principal, DLB HICKS LLC 

You have a great program. You have strong proposals. You want more and better grants. How do you improve your grant seeking results? In this session you will learn nine ways to “turbocharge” your foundation and corporate fundraising including: 

1. How to focus on the right kind of grants
2. How to improve your goal setting
3. How to seek sustaining grants and investment grants
4. The importance of focusing on the “right” grant makers
5. The importance of your visibility and brand
6. How to strengthen your network
7. How to “build a bigger footprint” to position your organization with grant makers
8. How to use a strategic agenda to frame your ask
9. How to communicate your vision to a grantmaker 

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRACK 

Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 

Propel Yourself Further to be an Exceptional Leader!
(Target Audience: Advanced)
Presenter: Lori Counts, CFRE, Accordant Philanthropy 

You have been promoted to the top fundraising spot because you have proven to be an excellent fundraiser. However, it is simply not enough to be a seasoned executive or a great manager when leading as a dynamic member of the c-suite to inspiring future philanthropy professionals in your foundation. What makes a true philanthropic, strategic leader? How do you transform your leadership style? In this session, we will examine several leadership characteristics of past Si Seymour Award winners (AHP’s highest leadership honor) as well as practical techniques that will take you past being an effective leader to being an exceptional leader and a terrific role model. 

Session 2: 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Targeting Your Fundraising Program Using Key Metrics
(Target Audience: Intermediate to Advanced)
Presenters: Jan Wood, Chief Development Officer, Anne Arundel Medical Center; Tim Nurvala, Corporate Vice President, CCS Fundraising 

There is much talk in development, at nonprofits of all sizes, about data-driven fundraising. What does that mean and how do you do it well? How are you using data to evaluate your fundraising program and set targets for future success? Data is an important tool in fundraising more effectively, managing staff more efficiently, and most importantly – raising more money. In this presentation, we will discuss how you can use your data to drive strategic decision making, staffing decisions, and donor cultivation and solicitation. 

DEVELOPMENT TRACK 

Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 

Developing Your Major Donor Pipeline: How to Establish a Formal Qualification Program
(Target Audience: Intermediate)
Presenters: Christina Yoon, Vice President, Campbell & Co; Rita Walters, Chief Development Officer, Catholic Charities of Baltimore 

Qualifying major donors is an essential part of any healthy major gifts program, but it’s a common challenge for most development shops. An ongoing process with no hard deadlines, qualification involves reaching out to unknown prospects and weathering rejections.  

The solution? A formal qualification program that establishes an efficient and manageable process for gift officers to follow. Using a structured approach can help steward donors, identify potential major and planned giving prospects, and upgrade annual gifts. In this session, we’ll discuss the nuts and bolts of a successful qualification program. 

Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of: 

• The importance of a qualification program and how it can benefit their organization
• How to effectively develop a qualification program
• Leveraging internal staff for a qualification program
• Tools to overcome common challenges or concerns related to managing a qualification program 

Session 2: 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Magic in Monthly Giving: If Only Raising Money Were as Simple as Waving a Wand
(Target Audience: All)
Presenter: Jess El-Zeftawy, Development Officer, Frederick County Public Libraries 

The culture of philanthropy is changing. Offline donors are aging, acquisition sources are shrinking, and direct mail costs are increasing. This session will take on creating and sustaining an innovative and truly magical monthly giving program at your organization. You will learn what's happening with monthly giving in the nonprofit sector, tips for cultivating younger more valuable donors, and how you can invest in a cost-effective multi-channel approach to secure more loyal monthly donors. 

*Please bring any materials that make specific mention to monthly giving to share with the group. We will be brainstorming ways to improve communications and materials, together! 

In this session, participants will: 

• understand national data trends for monthly donor acquisition and retention
• learn (3) strategies for attracting new monthly donors
• learn (3) strategies for engaging and upgrading existing donors into a monthly giving program
• learn best practices for combating transactional churn, donor fatigue, and reactivating lapsed donors
• draft and collectively critique content specifically curated for monthly donors 

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS TRACK 

Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 

Utilizing Social Platforms to Engage Millennial Donors
(Target Audience: Intermediate)
Presenters: Kim Becker Cooper, Director of Annual Giving, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and Maura Winebrenner, Digital Media Specialist, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland 

Millennial donors are looking for two things – authenticity and impact. In this session, we will discuss how nonprofits can tap into the “millennial mindset”, how to utilize social media to reach millennials, how to evaluate and use social-based giving platforms to tap into crowdsourcing, and how to embrace the “Netflix Model” to sustain long-term giving relationships. Attendees will learn strategies to amplify their organization’s digital presence, increase funding through crowdsourcing, and establish and maintain relationships with younger donors. 

Session 2: 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Break Through the Crowd: Essential Tactics for Building a Great Website to Reach your Donors
(Target Audience: Intermediate)
Presenter: Rebecca Teaff, Owner, Redstart Creative 

Rebecca Teaff of RedStart Creative will present an educational session on the how to build an effective website to communicate with donors. This session will be a “how to” session including specific instructions for how to complete this work. We will cover how to: 

• define your website objectives
• organize your home page content to appeal to donors
• create an effective site map
• fill your website with relevant content
• craft your site for optimal organic SEO 

In addition, we will review layout tips and tricks and accessibility. This session will include instruction, group discussion and six separate worksheets to guide the process of story creation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Register for Fundraising Day